JP Morgan has reinstated its coverage of Informa PLC (LSE:INF), rating the shares 'overweight' and setting a price target of 1,020p for December 2026. That points to a potential upside of 18%, according to Lara Simpson’s note.
After ten years of building up its business-to-business events platform, Informa’s management is turning to its “One Informa” strategy, which runs from 2025 to 2028.
The new plan focuses on squeezing more value from existing operations, particularly the live events business, while also simplifying how the company is run.
JP Morgan forecasts organic revenue growth of 6% a year between 2025 and 2028, with operating margins rising to 29.5% by 2028.
The note also highlights lower financial leverage on the horizon, with adjusted earnings per share expected to increase by roughly 10% each year. “Ongoing (and higher) cash returns to shareholders” could provide further benefits.
Several options for unlocking more value are flagged. These include putting greater emphasis on organic growth over acquisitions, the potential sale of Taylor & Francis, reducing debt, and aligning management incentives more closely with shareholder interests.
JP Morgan’s analysts believe this combination could help drive upgrades to earnings forecasts, and see room for Informa’s valuation discount to its peers to narrow further.
“We argue for both ongoing earnings upgrades and a further narrowing of the valuation discount to peers,” the note says.
The shares rose 1.6% to 862.2p.