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Rightmove’s shares have plummeted after the property portal warned that increased spending on artificial intelligence would hit its profit growth. The group’s stock initially plunged by as much as 28 per cent on Friday morning, before settling around 12 per cent lower. Investors were spooked by Rightmove’s announcement that accelerated investment in AI between 2026 and 2028 would help reshape the business, making AI "central to all that we do," but would also impact short-term profits. While underlying earnings are still on track to grow by between 8 per cent to 10 per cent in 2025 and more than double by 2030, the company expects growth to sharply pull back to between 3 per cent and 5 per cent 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.”
