LSEG Stock Soars 7.4% as JPMorgan & Goldman Sachs Declare AI Fears ’Overblown’
Wall Street heavyweights just threw cold water on the AI panic—and sparked a major rally.
JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs analysts came out swinging this week, arguing that market fears about artificial intelligence disrupting London Stock Exchange Group's core business have been dramatically overstated. Their bullish take sent LSEG shares skyrocketing 7.4% in a single session.
The AI Overreaction
For months, whispers about AI-driven trading platforms and decentralized finance protocols have haunted traditional exchanges. The narrative suggested automated systems could bypass established market infrastructure entirely.
But according to the banking giants, that threat remains largely theoretical—at least for now. They point to LSEG's entrenched position, regulatory moat, and existing technology partnerships as durable advantages.
A Reality Check for Disruption Hype
The sharp rebound highlights a classic market pattern: initial overexcitement about technological disruption, followed by a recalibration when real-world complexities emerge. While AI transforms data analysis and execution speeds, replacing entire regulated market ecosystems requires more than clever algorithms.
It needs trust, compliance frameworks, and capital reserves—things fintech startups often underestimate until they're staring down a regulator's subpoena.
The Bottom Line
Sometimes the most disruptive technology isn't a neural network—it's old-fashioned institutional credibility. LSEG's surge suggests that in the race between silicon and settlement systems, the boring stuff still matters. After all, even the smartest AI can't yet navigate the labyrinth of financial regulations that keeps the suits employed.
JPMorgan and Goldman explain why the panic is wrong
Enrico reminded investors about the October partnership between LSEG and Anthropic. That deal gave Claude access to LSEG’s data. The message from Enrico was clear. LSEG is not getting left behind. It’s helping power the AI boom.
The data business is huge for LSEG, bringing in more than 40% of revenue in its latest earnings report.
This isn’t a startup running on vibes. LSEG built its data empire after spending $27 billion to buy Refinitiv in 2021. That deal made LSEG one of the top providers of financial data in the world. But after the Claude Cowork launch, the company got lumped into the software crash like the rest of the sector.
Goldman Sachs analyst Oliver Carruthers also pushed back. He said AI will only affect a small slice of LSEG’s business. Specifically, just 6% of revenue tied to workflow products could be exposed. Oliver also set a price target of 14,550 pence, the highest among all analysts watching LSEG, and said there’s still room for 90% upside from current prices.
The panic wasn’t just about LSEG. The entire software and data sector took a hit. On Wednesday, the Nasdaq 100 logged its worst two-day drop since October, losing over $550 billion in value. Traders are calling it the SaaSpocalypse.
The fear is that AI will kill the SaaS business model. That model depends on users paying monthly or yearly fees to access apps in a browser. In 2023, that model drove over $400 billion in cloud spending.
But if AI can do the same tasks faster and cheaper, why pay? That’s the question eating up these companies. Anthropic’s Claude Cowork tools promise to automate things people used to do with regular apps. That’s what sent shares of Microsoft, Salesforce, Oracle, Intuit, and AppLovin tumbling.
Goldman’s software stock basket dropped 15% in seven days, falling to its lowest point since April. It’s now 25% below where it was in September.
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