Thomson Reuters facts for kids

This page is about the company. For the charitable organization of the company, see Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Quick facts for kids
Thomson Reuters Corporation

Office at Bay Adelaide Centre, Toronto
Type	Public
Traded as	TSX: TRI S&P/TSX 60 component NASDAQ: TRI Nasdaq-100 component
Industry	Mass media
Predecessors	Thomson Corporation Reuters Group
Founded	17 April 2008; 17 years ago (2008-04-17)
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario , Canada
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	David Thomson (chairman) Steve Hasker (president and CEO)
Revenue	US$7.258 billion (2024)
Operating income	US$2.109 billion (2024)
Net income	US$2.207 billion (2024)
Total assets	US$18.44 billion (2024)
Total equity	US$12.01 billion (2024)
Owner	The Woodbridge Company (67.1%)
Number of employees	26,400 (2024)
Divisions	Reuters Openly Context
Subsidiaries	West

Thomson Reuters Corporation is a big Canadian company that uses technology to provide information and news. It was started in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where its main office is still located.

The company was formed on April 17, 2008. This happened when the Thomson Corporation bought a British company called Reuters Group. Most of Thomson Reuters is owned by the Woodbridge Company. This is a company that belongs to the Thomson family from Canada.

How Thomson Reuters Started
What Thomson Reuters Does
See also

How Thomson Reuters Started

The Thomson Corporation Story

Thomson Reuters Building in Downtown Stamford, Connecticut. This office used to be the main headquarters for Thomson Corporation.

The Thomson company began in 1934. It was started by Roy Thomson in Ontario, Canada. He started by publishing a newspaper called The Timmins Daily Press.

Later, in 1953, Roy Thomson bought a newspaper in Scotland called the Scotsman. He then moved to Scotland. He also got involved in television and bought more newspapers, like the Sunday Times and Times.

The company also expanded into other areas. In 1965, it bought an airline called Britannia Airways. In 1971, it started exploring for oil and gas in the North Sea. After Roy Thomson passed away, the company changed its focus. It sold its national newspapers and moved into publishing books and information. For example, it bought Sweet & Maxwell in 1988.

In 1989, the Thomson Corporation was officially formed. In 1996, it bought West Publishing. This company provided legal research and services, including Westlaw.

The Reuters Group Story

The Reuters company was founded in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter in London. It started by sending stock market prices between cities. Reuter set up his office and made a deal with the London Stock Exchange. He would provide stock prices from other countries in exchange for London prices. He then shared these prices with stockbrokers in Paris.

In 1865, Reuters in London was the first to report the news that Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated. The company also helped develop the use of radio for news in 1923.

Reuters grew quickly in the 1980s. It offered more business products and expanded its global news network. It provided services for media, finance, and economics. Some of its key products included Equities 2000 and Reuters 3000 Xtra.

Thomson and Reuters Join Forces

The Thomson Corporation bought Reuters Group plc. This created Thomson Reuters on April 17, 2008. For a while, Thomson Reuters had two parent companies listed on stock exchanges. But in 2009, they combined into one company.

As of October 2022, Thomson Reuters Corporation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange. In February 2025, the company moved its US stock listing to the Nasdaq Global Select Market. It also joined the Nasdaq-100 index in July 2025.

Thomson Reuters was recognized as a top Canadian brand in 2010. In 2013, the company announced it would reduce some jobs to save money.

Market Position and Merger Review

Thomson Reuters Building as seen from Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan

When Thomson and Reuters merged, governments in the U.S. and Europe reviewed the deal. They wanted to make sure it was fair for competition. In February 2008, both the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission approved the merger. They asked the companies to sell off a few small parts of their business. This was to ensure that other companies could still compete fairly.

These changes were very small compared to the size of the merger. The deal was also approved by the Canadian Competition Bureau.

In November 2009, the European Commission looked into Thomson Reuters again. They wanted to see if the company was using its strong market position unfairly. In December 2012, Thomson Reuters agreed to make changes. This allowed customers to use their special codes (RICs) with other data providers.

Reuters Purchase Details

New York building as seen from Times Square

Historically, no single person was allowed to own more than 15% of Reuters. This was to keep the news unbiased. However, this rule was changed for the Thomson family's purchase. Their company, Woodbridge, now owns 53% of Thomson Reuters. Some journalists at Reuters were worried about this. They feared that the news part of the business might become less important than the financial data part. They also worried about the company's reputation for fair journalism.

The Chairman of the Reuters Founders Share Company explained why the rule was changed. He said Reuters needed to be strong financially to continue its work. The Thomson family agreed to vote in a way that protects Reuters' principles.

What Thomson Reuters Does

How the Company Works

The current leader of Thomson Reuters is Steve Hasker. The chairman is David Thomson.

In 2018, the company had four main parts:

Legal: Provides information and tools for lawyers.
Reuters News Agency: Delivers news to media outlets around the world.
Tax & Accounting: Offers software and services for taxes and accounting.
Government: Provides information and tools for government agencies.

In 2018, the Financial & Risk division made up more than half of the company's income. Thomson Reuters competes with companies like Bloomberg L.P. in providing financial and legal news.

Merative

In 2012, Thomson Reuters sold its Healthcare division. This part of the company was later bought by IBM and then became a new company called Merative in 2022. Merative focuses on healthcare data.

Clarivate

Clarivate used to be the Intellectual Property and Science division of Thomson Reuters. In 2016, Thomson Reuters sold this part of its business. Clarivate is now an independent company.

Companies Thomson Reuters Has Bought and Sold

Thomson Reuters has bought many companies over the years. Between 2008 and 2018, it completed over 200 acquisitions.

For example, in 2009, it bought Streamlogics, a data mining company. It also acquired Breaking Views, a financial news service. In 2010, it bought Super Lawyers, which helps people find lawyers.

Here are a few other examples of companies they have acquired:

In 2011, Thomson Reuters bought CorpSmart from Deloitte.
In January 2012, it acquired Dr Tax. This company was Canada's largest independent developer of tax software.
In July 2012, Thomson Reuters bought FX Alliance Inc. This company provided electronic foreign exchange trading services.
In July 2012, it also acquired MarkMonitor. This company helps protect brands on the internet.
In January 2013, Thomson Reuters acquired Practical Law Company. This company provides legal information and tools.
In February 2014, it acquired Brazil's Domínio Sistemas, which develops accounting services.
In July 2016, Thomson Reuters sold its Intellectual Property and Science business. This part became Clarivate Analytics.
In January 2018, Thomson Reuters announced it was selling its financial and risk unit. This unit became a new company called Refinitiv. Thomson Reuters still owns 45% of Refinitiv and provides Reuters news to it.
In October 2018, Thomson Reuters announced it would acquire Integration Point. This company helps manage global trade operations.
In January 2023, Thomson Reuters acquired SurePrep. This company is a leader in tax automation software in the US.
In June 2023, Thomson Reuters agreed to acquire Casetext. This company provides AI technology for legal professionals. The deal was completed in August 2023.
In October 2024, Thomson Reuters announced it was selling its FindLaw business.
In January 2025, Thomson Reuters acquired SafeSend, a US tax filing software company.

Sponsorships

Thomson Reuters has sponsored Canadian golf champion Mike Weir. It has also sponsored the Williams Grand Prix Engineering Formula One team. The company also sponsors Marketplace, a radio show from American Public Media.

Thomson Reuters, along with other media companies, has also donated money to the Clinton Foundation.