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WPP tops the Financial Times’ list of the biggest stock market losers for 2025. The share price of Cindy Rose’s communications conglomerate, owner of Burson and Ogilvy, has plummeted 60 percent so far this year, losing more than half their value.
She is in the process of overhauling WPP after it reported a 5.9 percent drop in Q3 revenues, which Rose called “unacceptable.” She assumed the helm from Mark Read on Sept. 1.
The FT notes the whole advertising sector is grappling with the implications of AI technology “and its ability to create ads quickly and cheaply—for its business model.”
WPP’s woes are compounded by the loss of key clients. Its shares tumbled to their lowest levels since 1998 and the company fell out of the FTSE 100 for the first time in three decades.
Besieged by tech giants Meta and Amazon, WPP’s competitors are also singing the stock market blues.
Publicis Groupe’s shares have dipped 14 percent this year, while Omnicom stock was down 18 percent before the shares were “bailed out” by its acquisition of Interpublic.
WPP CEO Cindy Rose has retained Goldman Sachs to explore strategic options regarding its Burson PR flagship, according to a report in the London Times.
Mike Sitrick has bought his firm Sitrick And Company back from RGP, the Dallas-based management consulting firm. He sold the strategic communications powerhouse for $43.4M in Oct. 2009.
Omnicom CEO John Wren enjoyed a 222 percent jump in 2025 compensation to $69.9M as the firm completed the acquisition of Interpublic.
Public Policy Holding Company recorded 24.7 percent growth in 2025 revenues to $186.5M and a 32.1 percent surge in adjusted net income to $36.6M.
S&P Global has reaffirmed its negative “BBB” rating on WPP due to ongoing challenges that it will face during the next 12 months.
