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WPP shares have been dropped from the London Stock Exchange’s prestigious FTSE 100 index as its stock market price has plunged by two-thirds this year.
The struggling ad/PR combine has been rocked by client defections and the threat posed by AI. It also faces a rampaging Publicis Groupe and the bulked-up Omnicom following its takeover of Interpublic.
WPP CEO Cindy Rose, who took over for Mark Read on Sept. 1, has ordered a strategic review of operations following a 5.9 percent drop in Q3 revenues, a performance she deemed “unacceptable.”
In taking over the top spot, she faulted WPP for not having "gone far enough or fast enough in adapting to the evolving needs of our clients."
WPP has been a member of the exclusive FTSE 100 club for 27 years. Its market capitalization has plunged from $24B in 2017 during the glory days of Martin Sorrell to $3.2B.
British Land, the most valuable stock in the FTSE 250, has been promoted to replace WPP.
Institutional Shareholder Services advises investors to vote "no" on a compensation package for WPP chief Cindy Rose at the May 8 annual meeting.
FTI Consulting chalked up a 9.5 percent rise in Q1 revenues to $983.3M, powered by gains in its PR, corporate finance and technology segments.
Stagwell reports 4 percent growth in Q1 net revenues to $585M and a record $141M in net new business wins.
WPP reported a 6.7 percent drop to $3.1B in Q1 like-like revenues less pass-through costs. CEO Cindy Rose says 'it will take time to outpace historical losses."
Omnicom CEO John Wren reports Q1 revenues from “core operations” rose 6.7 percent to $5.6B, driven in part by a 3.9 percent boost in organic growth.
