Publicis Groupe bested expectations in Q3 and again raised its full-year guidance, extending a winning streak that has consistently defied an otherwise rocky ad market. Organic revenue increased 5.7% year over year to 3.53 billion euros, or roughly $4 billion, while the ad-holding group now expects to deliver between 5% to 5.5% organic growth in 2025, according to an earnings statement.
The owner of agencies like Razorfish and Publicis Sapient previously cautioned that a macroeconomic climate clouded by tariffs could push clients to pull back on spending in H2, but Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun indicated the opposite has occurred in recent months. No material cuts took place in Q3, while scopes of work have expanded and the group has seen “significant growth in production and creative wins,” the executive said on a call discussing the results with analysts.
One of the chief drivers of momentum is traction for artificial intelligence (AI) offerings. Publicis has shored up its ability to inform AI using data through deals like its acquisition of Lotame earlier this year. CoreAI, a platform Publicis introduced at the beginning of 2024 as part of a larger pivot toward the technology, has “powered every single pitch we have won this year,” Sadoun said — and that’s when the network has to engage in a traditional pitch at all.
“We have been able to convince very big brands with material accounts to move to Publicis without a pitch for a very single reason, which is: AI [allows] us to differentiate even more and leverage our capabilities in a unique way [...],” said Sadoun.
Sadoun explained that AI is having an impact in three important areas: Connecting paid media with channels like e-commerce and influencers; assisting with production and better personalizing content; and aiding clients in building agentic networks. Publicis in June expanded its AI transformation capabilities through a deal with Nvidia focused on the Sapient consultancy and its agentic platform Bodhi.
By category, connected media comprised 60% of Publicis’ net revenue in Q3 while creative made up 25% and consulting 15%. About 80% of connected media is now powered by AI, according to Sadoun. AI is helping to thread together various arms of the business, the executive explained, wedding Epsilon data with the technology of Captiv8 and creator network of Influential.
“[We] have built the world's largest and most powerful influencer media platform, enabling our clients to deliver the same reach that they can get to the Super Bowl for only a fraction of the cost,” said Sadoun.
Publicis’ strength in Q3 was apparent across regions as well. In the U.S., a market that accounted for 59% of net revenue, organic growth landed at 7.1% for the period. Across the first nine months of 2025, Publicis achieved net-new billings of $6 billion, inching close to its total take from last year.
