WPP Gets a Turnaround Bounce, Not a Victory Lap

WPP Gets a Turnaround Bounce, Not a Victory Lap

Mark Nichols

Thu, August 6, 2026 at 5:28 PM GMT+3 4 min read

THE GIST

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WPP shares soared as much as 29% Thursday after Britain's biggest advertising group reported first-half results that were bad, but better than feared. CEO Cindy Rose says WPP's turnaround is taking hold, helped by cost cuts, new business wins and a simpler structure. The market cheered because WPP is shrinking more slowly. In advertising right now, that counts as a plot twist.

WHAT HAPPENED

WPP delivered a better-than-expected first half.

Revenue less pass-through costs fell 4.7% to £4.75 billion (about $6.4 billion), ahead of analyst expectations for a 6.5% decline. The second quarter improved, with the decline narrowing to 2.8% after a weaker first quarter. Headline operating profit fell 2.7% to £398 million. Adjusted pre-tax profit was down 7.7% to £277 million.

That was enough to spark a major rally. WPP shares jumped more than 20%, at one point rising as much as 29%, reaching their highest level since September.

Rose, a former Microsoft executive, has simplified WPP's structure, placing creative agencies under WPP Creative alongside media, production and enterprise solutions. The company has also cut heavily. WPP said 8,468 roles had been removed since the first half of 2025 through restructuring and cost savings.

Rose said legacy account losses still weighed on performance, but Q2 showed sequential improvement and signs of momentum. WPP also sold 15 non-core assets and expects to raise at least £200 million from disposals.

WHY IT MATTERS

WPP has not suddenly become a growth stock again. It has become a less terrifying turnaround.

For years, WPP looked too big, too complex and too slow. Rivals like Publicis gained ground, major clients moved elsewhere, and investors lost patience as revenue shrank. Publicis overtaking WPP as the world's largest ad group in 2024 was less a symbolic setback than a flashing dashboard warning.

Rose inherited great brands, deep client relationships and a serious structural problem: the old agency holding-company model is under attack.

Clients want simpler teams, faster work, clearer accountability and lower costs. AI is accelerating all of that. Campaigns that once required armies of people can now be produced, versioned, tested and optimized faster. That threatens the traditional agency model of billing for people and time. WPP's answer is to simplify and automate before the market does it for them.

The new structure is designed to make WPP feel less like a pile of agencies and more like one integrated company. Rose's pitch is that WPP can combine creative, media, production, data and technology through platforms like WPP Open, its AI-powered marketing system. That is the right direction. The challenge is execution.

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AI can help WPP produce work faster, target consumers more precisely and capture more of clients' budgets. Rose pointed to Coca-Cola work during the World Cup that helped boost sales by 5% in the quarter. That is the kind of proof WPP needs: not "we use AI," but "AI helps clients sell more." But AI also compresses pricing.

If campaigns get cheaper to produce, clients will expect more for less. If agencies cannot prove strategic value, they risk becoming expensive wrappers around tools clients can use themselves.

That is why Rose's line that AI is a growth opportunity is important, but not yet proven. WPP has to show that AI expands its relevance rather than cannibalizing its fees.

The new business wins help. WPP pointed to clients including Estée Lauder, Jaguar Land Rover and Henkel, plus retention of Huawei, Tesco and L'Oréal in key markets. Those wins suggest the group is not simply bleeding clients anymore. Still, the results are more "stabilization" than "revival."

Revenue is still falling. Legacy account losses are still hurting. Headcount cuts have helped profits, but cost-cutting is not a growth strategy. Disposals can sharpen the group, but they do not answer the central question: can WPP win more than it loses? That is why the share move says as much about expectations as performance.

Investors had priced WPP like a company sliding toward irrelevance. Instead, it showed signs of control. The decline is moderating. The structure is clearer. Costs are coming out. New business is improving. That is enough for a relief rally.

But once investors stop rewarding "less bad," they will demand actual growth.

Rose wants WPP back to growth in 2027. Publicis is still setting the pace. Clients are experimenting with in-house AI tools. Big tech is creeping further into marketing services. WPP has a better story today than it did yesterday. It still needs better numbers tomorrow.

WHAT'S NEXT

Investors will watch whether the second-quarter improvement continues, whether new business wins convert into revenue and whether client losses ease. The key tests are AI monetization, margin protection, asset sales, client retention and whether WPP can return to organic growth in 2027.

WPP has stopped looking like an ad giant in freefall. Now it needs to prove it is more than a cheaper, leaner version of the old problem.