𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Rightmove has seen its shares plummet after the property portal warned over a hit to profit growth as it ramps up spending on artificial intelligence.

The group’s shares plunged as much as 28% at one stage on Friday morning, before settling around 12% lower.

Rightmove spooked investors as it said moves to accelerate investment in artificial intelligence (AI) between 2026 and 2028 would help reshape the business and make AI “central to all that we do”, but also impact profits in the short-term.

It said while underlying earnings were on track to grow by between 8% to 10% in 2025 and would more than double by 2030, growth would pull back sharply to between 3% and 5% next year.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Investing for future growth is not a bad thing but the scale of the market’s negative reaction implies real scepticism about (Rightmove’s) decision to put so much money into AI.

“In the longer term Rightmove suggests this expenditure will drive double-digit underlying profit growth, however, the market is far from convinced by this jam tomorrow story.

“It’s possible to see how AI might help Rightmove operate more efficiently, make greater use of its increasing amounts of data and enhance user experience on the site.

“However, there is clearly concern that Rightmove is jumping on the bandwagon in dialling up its AI spending.”

Rightmove said that its investment plans would mean that by 2030, annual underlying operating profit growth should rise to over 12%, with revenues set to rise by more than 10%.

Chief executive Johan Svanstrom said: “AI is now becoming absolutely central to how we run our business and plan for the future.”

He added: “We are investing to accelerate our capabilities, which we are confident will create an even stronger platform and higher-growth business over time.

“We aim to further advance our leading digital position in the UK property ecosystem.”