WPP says Trump tariffs haven’t impacted client spending

WPP CEO Mark Read said the holding company hasn’t seen clients react to tariffs yet and that the company will keep its guidance even as sales in the first quarter fell more than expected. Revenue, excluding pass-through costs for services from other vendors, fell 2.7% to £2.48 billion ($3.3 billion), the company said in a statement on Friday. That compares to the £2.54 billion average analyst forecast compiled by Bloomberg. Read said companies are continuing with their current strategies until there’s greater clarity about how President Donald Trump’s campaign to levy global tariffs will play out. French rival Publicis Groupe SA also said last week it would stick to its revenue forecast for 2025, betting recent client wins would help it weather the economic uncertainty. Also read: CMOs looking to spend less on agency partners “We deal with the world as we see it, not as we’d like it to be,” Read said in an interview. “Uncertainty is not great for business confidence, and that’s what we were talking about when we gave our guidance for the year,” which was for sales to remain flat or decline as much as 2%. WPP shares rose 1.6% to 569.40 pence at 8:59 a.m. in London trading. The company’s stock has declined 31% this year. Results from the big consumer brands that the advertising industry relies on, including Unilever and Proctor & Gamble Co., have been mixed. Unilever posted strong results, citing demand for premium products, while Procter & Gamble cut its outlook, citing volatility and tariff impact. Exclusive to All Access subscribers: Unilever ad spending trends WPP clients in Western Europe, particularly Germany, had a “slower start” to the year, Read said. German clients were dealing with a tough economic environment that hit the automotive industry and was reflected in their spending plans with the advertising agency. Adjusted first-quarter revenue fell 4.5% for Western Europe in the quarter from a year earlier. WPP, once the largest ad agency globally, has been working on ways to reignite growth and streamline its operations. The British ad firm had previously restructured its stable of brands to save costs and announced a plan to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on new technologies including building out artificial intelligence capabilities. Publicis became the biggest ad company by revenue for the first time in 2024 after years of growth from acquisitions and the expansion of its digital business. The French company will soon be overtaken when Omnicom Group completes its acquisition of Interpublic Group. —Bloomberg News

WPP says Trump tariffs haven’t impacted client spending

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