Europe Media Advertising Ad Agencies 1H 2Q Preview

This report provides a 1H/2Q 2026 preview for European ad agencies, forecasting growth acceleration despite geopolitical and macro pressures. Analysts highlight AI investment as a key catalyst decoupling ad spend from GDP growth.

Key Takeaways

• 1.Advertising agencies are showing signs of growth acceleration in Q2 2026, buoyed by AI-driven investments.
• 2.Publicis and Omnicom maintain Buy ratings due to positive organic growth outlooks and synergy expectations.
• 3.WPP remains Sell-rated as previous account losses weigh on growth for the first half of 2026.

Table of Contents

• Upside risk to consensus in Q2
• COMvergence data suggests limited impact from in-housing in 2025
• Stock Implications
• Expect Global Ad Revenue to remain healthy in 2026 despite geopolitical pressures
• Updating our Account Wins/Losses tracker
• Tracker for Ad agencies organic growth IT Services ex-fx growth
• Publicis: Expect acceleration in 2Q growth despite macro headwinds; Buy
• Omnicom: Expect focus to remain on margin delivery from cost synergies; Buy
• WPP: Expect account losses from previous years to weigh on 1H26 growth

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