Informa's nine-month revenue grows 6.5% — then Saudi rescheduling cuts the year to 3%

Informa reported 6.5% underlying revenue growth for the nine months to 30 September 2026, with its B2B Live Events division up 8.0%, in the nine-month trading update it published on 27 October. The same document cut the group's full-year underlying revenue growth guidance to 3%±, from 6%±, assuming no further contribution from Saudi Arabia this year. "Informa continues to deliver strong performance and underlying growth," said CEO Stephen A. Carter.

The numbers, and the caveat

The 6.5% excludes non-recurring data contracts; with them included in the 2025 comparison, nine-month growth was 5.4%. The divisions diverged: B2B Live Events grew 8.0% underlying, Academic Markets 4.0%, while Informa TechTarget was 1.6% lower year on year.

India, the Middle East and Africa is no longer a footnote: more than 50 brands traded in IMEA this year for more than $530m, and since the half-year results 30± brands traded for $230m+, including 15+ events in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.

Then the caveat. Citing a "recent escalation in KSA" and assuming no further contribution from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2026, Informa reaffirmed double-digit underlying growth in adjusted diluted EPS, but group underlying revenue growth now tracks to 3%±. Two Riyadh editions moved: the 2026 Global Health Exhibition runs in a virtual format, with the physical event pushed to October 2027, and the 2026 Cityscape Global shifts to January 2027.

Context: demand is not the problem

The 8.0% growth in B2B live events is the demand signal. The rescheduling is the risk signal: one market's disruption can move a group's full-year growth by three points, and a flagship show can be moved at short notice. Informa's answer was a rescheduling programme that kept 50+ brands trading in the region, and a virtual format for the Riyadh health show rather than a cancelled edition. Consolidation runs in parallel: completion of the Clarion Events acquisition is expected in the first two weeks of December, adding more than 100 B2B brands to the portfolio for 2027.

What this means for event organisers

If your 2027 plan leans on one market, one venue or one date, the exposure is now measurable — three points of growth, or an entire edition. A format that does not depend on one hall keeps running when that hall closes.

This week

1. Write the virtual fallback for your next flagship before you need it: date, format, who runs it, and how exhibitors keep their stands.
2. Map your 2027 calendar for single-market dependency and for biennial swings.
3. Move lead capture off paper and badge scans, so a reschedule does not erase the contacts.

A show can go virtual — if the booth already lives online

Informa kept 50+ brands trading in a disrupted region and moved a Riyadh flagship to a virtual format instead of cancelling it. The same fallback can sit inside your event plan: with vcity you can run the physical edition and an immersive 3D environment from one plan, keep exhibitor stands open after the doors close, and capture leads before, during and after the event. If your next flagship depends on one hall, build that layer now.

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Sources

• Informa nine-month trading update, RNS, 27 Oct 2026 (primary — confirms 6.5%, 8.0%, 4.0%, 1.6% lower, 5.4% comparison, 3%± guidance, IMEA figures, Global Health Exhibition virtual 2026, Cityscape January 2027, Clarion completion in the first two weeks of December, 100+ brands)
• Informa nine-month trading update, PDF (primary — same document; PDF not readable with our tool, pending human click)
• Global Health Exhibition postponed to October 2027 (coverage — physical edition 25–28 October 2027; Digital Forum through 2026)
• Exhibition industry news, October 2026 (coverage — confirms Cityscape Global January 2027 and Clarion timing; 29 October)