*

AI threat causes selloff in European software and

advertising

stocks

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RELX ( RELX ) and Wolters Kluwer shares drop over 10% due to AI

concerns

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Publicis shares fall 8.5%, plans AI-focused acquisitions

in 2026

By Samuel Indyk and Danilo Masoni

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A sell-off in European

software, data analytics and advertising companies accelerated

on Tuesday, as updated artificial intelligence models raised

fresh doubts about ‌whether incumbent firms can defend their

business models, underscoring the technology's disruptive threat

to sectors once viewed as AI winners.

One of the ​catalysts for Tuesday's selloff was the introduction

of Anthropic's legal plug-in for its Claude generative ‍AI

chatbot, according to traders and analysts.

The move sent shares in both ⁠Britain's RELX ( RELX ) and the

Netherlands' ⁠Wolters Kluwer, which both provide

analytics services to the legal industry, down over 10%.

"The software companies were assumed to be winners ‌from AI,"

said Lars Skovgaard, senior investment strategist at ​Danske

Bank.

"But all of a sudden, you start to worry about whether you

can earn the money back (from your AI investments), and/or will

you be outsmarted by ⁠updates coming in."

Shares in RELX ( RELX ) have now slumped ‍over 45% ​from their peak

last February.

The dramatic reversal in RELX's ( RELX ) share price, which had

become one of the 10 largest listed companies in Britain last

year, is an example of the ‍impact AI is having on Europe's

software sector.

Germany's SAP, which less than a year ago was Europe's

most valuable company, slumped over 16% last week, after its

cloud revenue forecast failed to meet expectations, which wiped

off $40 billion in one day. Its shares were down 1.9% on Tuesday

and down 40% from last year's high.

"We maintain the view that deflationary pressure on

software-sector multiples could persist ​as long ‍as the organic

monetisation of AI is not clearly demonstrated," said Maximilien

Pascaud, analyst at Baader Bank in a note where he cut his

target on SAP, while keeping ​an add rating.

Other companies that specialise in professional services

were also down.

Experian ( EXPGF ), Sage Group ( SGGEF ), London Stock Exchange

Group ( LDNXF ) and Pearson were down between 4.2% and

8%.

ADVERTISING COMPANIES HIT

Advertising companies were also under pressure. France's

Publicis shares dived over 8.5% after the company's

results.

Publicis, the world's largest advertising group by market

capitalisation, said it had earmarked approximately 900 million

euros ($1.06 billion) for acquisitions in 2026, focusing on

AI-powered technologies and data assets.

According to a Barclays survey of buy-side ​investors

published on Monday, advertising agencies are seen as the most

exposed part of European media to artificial intelligence, with

WPP ( WPP ), Omnicom ( OMC ) and Publicis ranked the top "AI

losers".

Analysts at the bank said companies could most effectively

shake off an "AI loser" label by launching ‍and clearly promoting

revenue-generating AI products.

($1 = 0.8481 euros)