Dive Brief:

• Publicis Groupe reported 5.9% organic growth during the second quarter of 2025. Following a strong first quarter, the company was able to deliver 5.4% organic growth for the first half, per its earnings announcement. 
• Performance was driven by new business wins, including the Coca-Cola Company’s North American data and media account in Q1. Overall, the company reported more than a dozen wins in the first half of material new business. 
• Growth was strong across geographic regions — up 5.3% in North America, up 4.6% in Europe and up 5.7% in Asia Pacific — for the second quarter. Business practices like connected media, technology and intelligent creativity also made gains. 

Dive Insight:

Despite continued macroeconomic uncertainty surrounding tariffs, Publicis Groupe executives insisted the company is well-positioned to weather any upcoming storms. Already this year, the large volume of new business is helping it gain market share, per press details. And based on the two strong quarters, Publicis revised its full-year guidance, projecting close to 5% organic growth for the year, up from its previous projection of between 4% and 5%. 

Strategic investments, including in acquiring and enhancing its artificial intelligence capabilities, are supporting the growth using a so-called “bolt-on” M&A strategy to reinforce AI capabilities in data management, new media, production and business transformation. Publicis Groupe spent over $10 billion between 2015 and 2025 on properties, including Sapient and Epsilon, as well as more than an additional $2 billion since 2024 to launch its Core AI product. A recently unveiled partnership through Publicis Sapient will create an AI Center of Excellence to help clients reshape their enterprises.

“We are uniquely positioned to win market share by bringing clients the immediate business solutions they need to grow in an uncertain global context,” said Publicis Groupe Chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun, in a statement. “We are reinforcing our status as a Category of One with a targeted M&A strategy to further accelerate on AI-led capabilities.”

Publicis Groupe’s moves come as the industry moves toward a landscape that consists of three large holding companies, rather than the four that defined the space in the recent past. Omnicom’s $13 billion acquisition of IPG is on track to close in the second half of the year, creating the world’s largest agency holding company. Omnicom’s Q2 organic revenue increased 3% year over year, which was in-line with expectations, though the company’s branding and retail commerce and public relations divisions experienced sharp declines, down 17% and 9%, respectively. The company upheld its full-year guidance of growth between 2.5% to 4.5%.

WPP, meanwhile, revised its full-year guidance downward, expecting declines between 3% and 5% based on macroeconomic conditions and the network winning less net new business than anticipated. The agency network had previously expected like-for-like revenues, less pass-through costs, would be flat or down 2%.