REG - WPP PLC - Strategy Update and 2025 Preliminary Results
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RNS Number : 4449U WPP PLC 26 February 2026
26 February 2026
Strategy Update and 2025 Preliminary Results
WPP announces multi-year strategic plan to simplify and integrate client
proposition, restore growth and drive long-term value for clients, talent and
shareholders
"My first six months as CEO have only reinforced my conviction that WPP is an
extraordinary company. As our clients navigate uncertainty, AI disruption and
macro-volatility, we're looking ahead with a clear and focused mission: to be
the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands in the era of AI.
"Today we are unveiling a bold plan for a simpler, more integrated WPP. Our
intention is to stabilise the business, return to organic growth, create
capacity to invest in the future and deliver attractive returns for our
shareholders. WPP will become a single company, streamlined into four
operating units across four regions, all unified by our pioneering agentic
marketing platform, WPP Open.
"Our recent underperformance has been driven by excessive organisational
complexity, a lack of an integrated operating model and inconsistent strategic
execution. While disappointing, I see huge potential as these issues are all
within our power to fix and we're already making great progress.
"We have everything we need to succeed: exceptional talent, world-class
capabilities, trusted data and technology solutions and groundbreaking
partnerships, as well as the scale and reach to service the most complex
multi-national, multi-brand clients in the world. The momentum we are seeing
from the decisive action we've already taken gives me the confidence that
we're on the right path to creating a WPP that is fit for the future and built
to win."
Cindy Rose OBE, Chief Executive Officer of WPP
Strategy Update: Elevate28
WPP today announces 'Elevate28', a multi-year strategic plan to simplify and
integrate our client proposition, restore growth and drive long-term value for
clients, talent and shareholders. Transitioning from a holding company
structure to a single company, WPP will simplify its business to deliver fully
integrated, AI-enabled solutions through four core operating units: WPP Media,
WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions across four regions,
North America, Latin America, EMEA and APAC.
Central to this strategy is a new mission: to be the trusted growth partner
for the world's leading brands, helping them navigate change, capture
opportunity and deliver growth, while transforming their business in a
dynamic, complex environment. The plan focuses on stabilising the business in
2026, building momentum in 2027, and delivering accelerated, high-quality
growth from 2028, supported by £500m of gross annualised cost savings and
portfolio rationalisation to unlock value.
Meeting to cover the Strategy Update and 2025 Results at 9.30am GMT/4.30am
EST:
• In-person meeting: Please contact WPP Investor Relations at
irteam@wpp.com (mailto:irteam@wpp.com) for more details and to register
• Webcast: Live webcast will be available here
(https://www.investis-live.com/wpp/696132420064e60016378cf6/gred)
ELEVATE28: OUR STRATEGY TO STABILISE WPP SHORT-TERM, BUILD A NEW PLATFORM FOR
GROWTH AND ACCELERATE FUTURE PERFORMANCE
• Deliver superior growth for clients
• Lead with Media at the heart of an integrated proposition
• Establish next-generation Creative and Production capabilities
• Elevate Enterprise Solutions to partner with clients on AI
transformation
• Become a simpler, integrated company
• Simplify the operating model
• Strengthen execution and transform our go-to-market
• Drive a high-performance culture and attract and retain the world's
best talent
• Unlock the advantage of WPP Open
• Connect capabilities through WPP Open
• Differentiate with trusted data solutions through Open Intelligence
• Expand strategic technology and data partnerships
• Create firm financial foundations for the future
• Unlock £500m of annual cost savings, enabling a reallocation of
investment
• Focus the portfolio to reduce leverage and create further capacity
to invest in growth
• Disciplined capital allocation with a focus on maintaining an
investment-grade balance sheet while delivering attractive returns for
shareholders
OUTLOOK & PHASES OF DELIVERY
The plan is designed to deliver sustained growth through three distinct
phases:
• Phase 1 - Stabilise (2026): The immediate priority is to stabilise net
new business performance. We will execute cost savings initiatives and
rationalise the portfolio.
• Phase 2 - Build (2027): Our transformed go-to-market strategy supported
by a more effective operating model will be embedded and will help deliver a
fully integrated offer spanning media, creative, production and enterprise
solutions. We are targeting a return to organic growth during the course of
2027.
• Phase 3 - Accelerate (2028 and beyond): We aim to be a simpler,
lower-cost, AI-enabled business, recognised by clients as a trusted growth
partner, showing accelerated growth, improved margin and strong cash
conversion.
To achieve this transformation and deliver £500m of gross savings by 2028, we
anticipate total cash costs of approximately £400m phased over two years. We
will reinvest a significant portion of savings into high-growth areas. See
below for more details.
WPP's Strategy Update and 2025 Preliminary Results announcement has been
submitted in full unedited text to the Financial Conduct Authority's National
Storage Mechanism and will be available shortly for inspection at
https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
(https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism) .
The Report is also available at
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4449U_1-2026-2-25.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4449U_1-2026-2-25.pdf) and
on the WPP investor relations website www.wpp.com/investors
(http://www.wpp.com/investors) .
For further information:
Investors and analysts Media
Thomas Singlehurst, CFA +44 7876 431922 Niken Wresniwiro, WPP +44 20 7282 4600
Anthony Hamilton +44 7464 532903
Melissa Fung +44 7353 107064
irteam@wpp.com wpp.com/investors press@wpp.com
2025 Preliminary Results
Key figures (£ million) 2025 +/(-) % reported(1) +/(-) % LFL(2) 2024
Revenue 13,550 (8.1) (3.6) 14,741
Revenue less pass-through costs 10,176 (10.4) (5.4) 11,359
Reported:
Operating profit 382 (71.2) 1,325
Operating profit margin (%)(3) 2.8 (6.2)pt 9.0
Diluted EPS (p) (20.0) (140.5) 49.4
Dividends per share (p) 15.0* (61.9) 39.4
Headline(4):
Operating profit 1,321 (22.6) (17.1) 1,707
Operating profit margin (%) 13.0 (2.0)pt (1.8)pt 15.0
Diluted EPS (p) 63.2 (28.4) 88.3
Cashflow and balance sheet:
Adjusted operating cash flow pre WC(5) 1,189 (11.5) 1,343
Net cash inflow from operating activities 724 (48.6) 1,408
Adjusted net debt 2,167 24.4 1,742
Average adjusted net debt 3,404 (2.9) 3,506
*including proposed final dividend.
WPP reports 2025 revenue of £13,550m, down 8.1% on a reported basis and down
3.6% like-for-like (LFL), with revenue less pass-through costs of £10,176m
down 5.4% LFL, ahead of latest guidance. Q4 LFL revenue less pass-through
costs of £2,691m was down 10.1% reported and 6.9% LFL. 2025 reported
operating profit margin was 2.8% and headline operating profit margin was
13.0%, representing a LFL decrease of 1.8pt. Adjusted operating cash flow
before working capital was £1,189m, in line with latest guidance and year-end
average adjusted net debt was £3.4bn, with an average net debt to EBITDA
ratio of 2.2x.
FY and Q4 2025 performance
• Revenue - 2025 reported revenue of £13,550m was down 8.1%, with a LFL
decline of 3.6%. 2025 revenue less pass-through costs of £10,176m was down
10.4% reported and down 5.4% LFL. Q4 revenue of £3,628m was down 8.3%, a LFL
decline of 5.5%. Q4 revenue less pass-through costs of £2,691m was down 10.1%
reported and 6.9% LFL.
• Business segment and regions - Global Integrated Agencies 2025 LFL
revenue less pass-through costs fell 5.7% (Q4: -7.6%) with WPP Media declining
5.9% (Q4: -10.8%) and other integrated creative agencies declining 5.6% (Q4:
-4.3%). By geography, North America declined 4.6% (Q4: -7.3%), UK -7.6% (Q4:
-9.2%), Western Continental Europe -4.7% (Q4: -3.5%) and Rest of World -5.9%
(Q4: -7.5%), with India increasing 3.8% (Q4: +8.6%) offset by a decline in
China of -14.3% (Q4: -13.6%).
• Clients - WPP's top 25 clients declined 4.1% LFL in 2025, including
client assignment losses from the first half of the year. While the Healthcare
and Pharma client sector improved in 2025, all other client sectors saw
reduced spend year-on-year.
• Operating profit - 2025 headline operating profit was £1,321m, a
margin of 13.0% (2024: 15.0%), down 1.8pt LFL. The lower margin reflects the
decline in revenue less pass-through costs with higher severance costs
contributing to a drag of 0.9pt YoY (in particular at WPP Media), and
continued investment in tech and data, partially offset by lower staff
incentives which contributed a 1.4pt benefit YoY (1.2pt LFL, which excludes
FGS). Reported operating profit was £382m, down 71.2%, including goodwill
impairment of £641m and property impairments of £114m.
• Cashflow and average adjusted net debt - 2025 adjusted operating cash
flow excluding working capital was £1,189m (2024: £1,343m) in line with
guidance. 2025 reported net cash inflow from operating activities was £724m
(2024: £1,408m). Average adjusted net debt at 31 December 2025 of £3.4bn was
down £0.1bn compared to 31 December 2024.
• Dividend - The Board has proposed a final dividend of 7.5p (2024:
24.4p) giving a full year dividend of 15.0p (2024: 39.4p).
Financial outlook for 2026
• LFL revenue less pass-through costs - We are encouraged by the
improvement in new business in the fourth quarter and early 2026. Organic
growth, however, is a lagging metric and as such we anticipate LFL revenue
less pass-through costs to decline in the mid to high-single digits in the
first half of 2026 with an improving trajectory in the second half.
• Headline operating profit margin - While we will benefit from the full
year impact of cost saving actions taken last year and a part year impact from
Elevate28 cost actions, we will invest to support a return to growth and
rebuild incentives. Accordingly, for the full year we anticipate headline
operating profit margin in the range of 12% to 13%.
• Adjusted operating cash flow before working capital - Including both
the anticipated costs associated with historical plans as well as the
restructuring costs linked to the Elevate28 strategy update, we anticipate
adjusted operating cashflow before working capital of £800m to £900m.
Excluding these charges, we would anticipate adjusted operating cashflow
before working capital of £1.0bn to £1.1bn.
• Financial leverage - With the implementation of the new strategy,
our focus over the next 12 months will be to stabilise the business while
freeing up capital to provide further financial flexibility. We are committed
to maintaining an investment grade balance sheet, a position supported by
Fitch Ratings today assigning WPP a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating of 'BBB'
with a Stable Outlook.
(1.) Percentage change in reported sterling.
(2.) Like-for-like. LFL comparisons are calculated as follows: current year,
constant currency actual results (which include acquisitions from the relevant
date of completion) are compared with prior year, constant currency actual
results, adjusted to include the results of acquisitions and disposals for the
commensurate period in the prior year.
(3.) Reported operating profit divided by revenue less pass-through costs.
(4.) In this press release not all of the figures and ratios used are readily
available from the unaudited results included in Appendix 1. Management
believes these non-GAAP measures, including constant currency and
like-for-like, revenue less pass-through costs and headline profit measures,
are both useful and necessary to better understand the Group's results.
Details of how these have been arrived at are shown in Appendix 4.
(5.) Adjusted operating cash flow before working capital as reconciled in
Appendix 4.
Elevate28 - Detailed plan
Market context and strategic rationale
The global total addressable market (TAM) for agency marketing, creative,
digital and transformation services is growing at c.5% and expected to exceed
$500bn by 2028(1). However, the commercial ecosystem is seeing fundamental
change, driven by the rapid diffusion of AI, changing consumer behaviour,
competitive disruption and macro-volatility. Clients need a trusted growth
partner capable of orchestrating media, creativity, production and technology
to navigate this complexity.
While WPP possesses industry-leading capabilities, recent performance has been
impacted by excessive organisational complexity, lack of an integrated
operating model and inconsistent strategic execution. Elevate28 addresses
these challenges by reorienting the company around the evolving needs of
clients, leveraging WPP's scale and WPP Open, our pioneering agentic marketing
platform, to deliver transformation and growth for our clients.
WPP's competitive advantage
WPP is well positioned to capitalise on this market evolution. Our confidence
is grounded in three structural advantages that create a strong competitive
edge for WPP:
• Trusted data and intelligence: Open Intelligence is our foundational
intelligence layer, securely connecting live data from clients, partners and
WPP in a privacy-first way. Built on InfoSum's data collaboration technology,
it unlocks unique insights without data ever being shared - turning real-world
behaviour into predictive intelligence while preserving privacy, control and
trust. Clients see exactly where, how and why their marketing investment is
working.
• Integration of media, data, creative and technology: In an AI-driven
world, the discipline of brand building is being permanently rewired. In this
landscape, human creativity and craft, judgment, taste and empathy are what
earn attention, build trust and differentiate brands. We combine cutting-edge
media intelligence, world-class creativity, industry leading production and
transformative enterprise solutions - all powered by exceptional talent and
WPP Open.
• Global scale and deep client relationships: As an established partner
to a large number of the world's leading advertisers, we possess a massive
installed base of opportunity. By simplifying our operating model, we unlock
the ability to cross-sell high-growth capabilities - such as Enterprise
Solutions - directly into our existing client relationships.
Elevate28: A unified growth strategy
The Elevate28 strategic plan is anchored in four objectives: delivering
superior growth for clients, becoming a simpler, integrated company, unlocking
the advantage of WPP Open and creating firm financial foundations for the
future.
(1.) Source: IDC; Madison and Wall; Gartner; Provoke; Citi; PQ Media;
Emarketer
Deliver superior growth for clients
• Leading with Media at the heart of an integrated proposition: Re-orient
our go-to-market around a more integrated client proposition with media and
data at the core to accelerate client growth.
• Establish next-generation Creative and Production capabilities: Build
unified, next-generation creative and production capabilities each powered by
a single operating model to drive insight-led content delivery and operational
efficiency.
• Elevate Enterprise Solutions to partner with clients on AI
transformation: Establish a standalone operating unit bringing together WPP's
customer experience, commerce, CRM, content transformation and technology
& data platform capabilities to capture high-growth demand for enterprise
AI transformation services.
Become a simpler, integrated company
• Simplify the operating model: Move to a simplified structure comprising
four operating units (Media, Creative, Production, Enterprise Solutions)
across four regions (North America, Latin America, EMEA, APAC).
• Strengthen execution and transform our go-to-market: Transform how we
engage with clients, empowering Global Client Leaders and leveraging our new
team of 'Client Solution Architects' to orchestrate integrated, outcome-based
growth strategies.
• Drive a high-performance culture, attract and retain the world's best
talent: Overhaul the performance framework to align objectives and incentives
globally to client outcomes and overall WPP success.
Unlock the advantage of WPP Open
• Connect capabilities through WPP Open: Connect all four operating
units through WPP Open, our pioneering agentic marketing platform. Powered by
Open Intelligence, our foundational intelligence layer, enabling privacy-first
data collaboration and agentic workflows.
• Differentiate with trusted data solutions through Open Intelligence:
Leverage InfoSum's data collaboration technology to connect live data from
clients, partners and WPP, unlocking unique, predictive insights and
optimising marketing investment in real time while preserving privacy, control
and trust.
• Expand strategic partnerships: Deepen integration with strategic
partners to co-innovate AI, data and technology solutions that support client
growth.
Create firm financial foundations for the future
• Structural simplification: Unlock £500m in annualised gross savings by
2028 from operating model changes, deduplication of support functions and
real-estate/long-tail efficiencies.
• Focus the portfolio: Rationalise portfolio, reduce leverage and
create capacity to invest in growth.
• Disciplined capital allocation: Maintain an investment-grade balance
sheet while prioritising organic investment in high-growth areas and
delivering attractive returns for shareholders.
Our execution plan
We are moving with urgency to implement this framework. Actions taken to date
include:
• Go-to-market: Created central 'Client Solution Architects' and Growth
teams to cross-sell services more effectively and integrate new business
capabilities.
• Technology: Full integration and deployment of Open Intelligence into
WPP Open driving an improvement in net new media business. Expansion of our
Google partnership for AI and cloud technology and Adobe partnership for
integrated solutions for global brands; launch of WPP Open Pro (self-service)
and Agent Hub (internal app store for AI agents).
• Organisational structure: Launch of WPP Production, bringing together
WPP's extensive production capabilities into one unified organisation to
centralise expertise and enable a more integrated offering for clients.
Actions announced today:
• WPP Creative: Formation of a unified operating model for our iconic
agency brands across Creative, PR and Design. This preserves distinct agency
cultures while implementing a shared operating system to facilitate
frictionless collaboration and resource sharing and allowing clients to
benefit from access to the full breadth of WPP's capabilities and exceptional
creative talent.
• WPP Enterprise Solutions: Establishment of a new operating unit
consolidating WPP's customer experience, commerce, CRM, content transformation
and technology & data capabilities to capture high-growth demand for
enterprise AI transformation. Clients will benefit from access to AI
transformation and marketing modernisation services.
• Cost efficiency: Initiation of a new £500m savings plan to fund
investment in growth drivers and rebuild margins.
• Talent framework: Implement new framework to embed a high-performance
culture and align objectives and incentives globally to client outcomes and
overall WPP success.
• Focus the portfolio: Action decisions from our portfolio review to
unlock capital which will be used to reduce leverage and further build greater
financial flexibility. Processes are underway and we will update in due
course.
Three phases of delivery
The plan is designed to deliver sustained value through three distinct phases:
Phase 1: Stabilise (2026) The immediate priority is to stabilise net new
business performance. We are encouraged by an improved new business
performance in Q4 2025 (see Q4 2025 highlights below for detail) and will
build on actions at WPP Media to improve competitiveness (specifically in the
US and UK). We will also execute cost saving initiatives, and take portfolio
actions to improve balance sheet flexibility.
• Financial goal: Deliver positive net new business, achieve gross
run-rate savings of £250m by year-end (equivalent to around £100m in-year
gross savings) and progress portfolio actions.
Phase 2: Build (2027) We will fully implement and start to benefit from our
revised go-to-market strategy and continue to deliver benefits of the new
operating model via improved execution and further reductions in costs.
• Financial goal: Return to organic growth during 2027, rebuild margins
and reduce leverage.
Phase 3: Accelerate (2028 and beyond) WPP will emerge as a simpler,
lower-cost, AI-enabled business. Revenue growth will be driven by the full
integration of media, creative, production and enterprise solutions, as well
as the global scaling of agentic workflows.
• Financial goal: Accelerate organic growth, expand margins, deliver
strong cash conversion.
Across all three phases a priority will be to maintain an investment-grade
balance sheet.
Financial framework
To achieve this transformation and support the delivery of £500m of gross
cost savings, we anticipate total cash costs associated with the Elevate28
programme to be approximately £400m, phased over two years.
We anticipate separating out restructuring spend from our headline P&L
earnings metrics, however all cash restructuring spend will be included in our
adjusted operating cash flow pre working capital.
WPP will reinvest a significant portion of these savings into high-growth
areas including media, commerce, high velocity production and enterprise
solutions, as well as strengthening our go-to-market capabilities, rebuilding
incentives and sustaining investment in WPP Open. The balance will support a
rebuild of our margins, alongside improved operating leverage as we return to
growth.
Balance sheet and capital allocation
Reflecting this investment trajectory, we anticipate financial leverage
(average net debt to Headline EBITDA) to rise in 2026 before reducing from
2027 onwards as the company benefits from improved operating performance,
alongside actions already in progress to realise value from our portfolio.
In light of the transformation programme, we have reassessed our approach to
capital allocation and cash returns. Our priorities, in order, are as follows:
• Maintain an investment grade balance sheet: our primary focus is to
retain strong liquidity, reduce gross debt where possible and improve leverage
ratios over time.
• Fund organic growth: we will ruthlessly prioritise investment in the
fastest growing areas of our business funded with our cost initiatives,
enabling a reallocation of investment to those capabilities that support
group-wide growth prospects.
• Share the proceeds of growth: we will balance sustainable returns to
our shareholders with inorganic investment but will have a laser focus on only
deploying capital when acquisition is more efficient than building internal
capabilities. Excess capital will be returned to shareholders.
Reflecting confidence in the plan, having declared a 7.5p final dividend for
2025, the Board intends to maintain the annual dividend at 15.0p per share in
2026.
Full year overview
Revenue was £13,550m, down 8.1% from £14,741m in 2024, and down 3.6% LFL.
Revenue less pass-through costs was £10,176m, down 10.4% from £11,359m in
2024, and down 5.4% LFL.
£ million Q4 2025 % % % +/(-) % LFL
£m reported M&A FX
Revenue 3,628 (8.3) (1.9) (0.9) (5.5)
Revenue less pass-through costs 2,691 (10.1) (2.6) (0.6) (6.9)
£ million 2025 % % % +/(-) % LFL
£m reported M&A FX
Revenue 13,550 (8.1) (2.7) (1.8) (3.6)
Revenue less pass-through costs 10,176 (10.4) (3.3) (1.7) (5.4)
Segmental review
Business segments - revenue less pass-through costs
+/(-) % LFL Global Public Relations Specialist Agencies
Integrated Agencies
Q4 2025 (7.6) (3.4) (0.1)
2025 (5.7) (6.0) (0.7)
Global Integrated Agencies: WPP Media saw a LFL decline in revenue less
pass-through costs of 5.9% in 2025 (Q4: -10.8%) which was a result of client
assignment losses, cuts to client spending and one-off factors during the
year. As anticipated, performance in the fourth quarter has deteriorated
further given the client losses in the US and UK from the first half of the
year, further weakness in Europe and continuing declines in China, partially
offset by improving performance in India and Australia.
Other Global Integrated Agencies declined 5.6% in 2025 (Q4: -4.3%) as a result
of lower overall client spending, particularly at Ogilvy which declined
high-single digits in the year. There was also continuing pressure on
project-based work which weighed on all our agencies, albeit all agencies saw
a slight sequential quarterly improvement on easier comparisons in Q4.
Declines have moderated at VML (low-single digits) and Hogarth (which was
consolidated into the newly formed WPP Production business in February 2026)
has grown mid-single digits on the back of new business momentum.
Public Relations: In 2025, Burson saw a mid-single digit LFL decline in
revenue less pass-through costs as the business faced a challenging
environment for client discretionary spending, in particular in Europe. We
are, however, encouraged by a moderately improving trend in Q4, with LFL
revenue less pass-through costs down low-single digits (compared to mid-single
digits in Q3) and continued new business momentum with a positive trending LFL
growth in the US in Q4. Reported revenue less pass-through costs continues to
be impacted by the disposal of FGS Global which completed in Q4 2024.
Specialist Agencies: CMI Media Group, our specialist healthcare media planning
and buying agency, continued to grow strongly at double-digit digit growth in
the year. Meanwhile, Landor and Design Bridge and Partners continued to grow,
supported by spend from existing clients. Pressure remains on the longer tail
of activities within the segment, and overall Specialist Agencies LFL growth
was flat in Q4 and declined 0.7% in 2025.
Regional segments - revenue less pass-through costs
+/(-) % LFL North America United Kingdom Western Cont. Europe Rest of World
Q4 2025 (7.3) (9.2) (3.5) (7.5)
2025 (4.6) (7.6) (4.7) (5.9)
North America declined by 4.6% in 2025, driven by an anticipated further
sequential deterioration of 7.3% in Q4 relative to Q3 2025 (-6.0%). Q4 saw the
full impact of H1 client account losses at WPP Media, in addition to some
client spending cuts, in particular at Ogilvy and AKQA, with pressure centred
on CPG and Government and a decline in spend in Tech & Digital Services.
Meanwhile, the region saw growth from Healthcare and Automotive in the
quarter.
The United Kingdom declined 7.6% in 2025, with Q4 declining 9.2% despite an
easing comparison (Q4 2024: -5.1%) with the continuing impact of client
assignment losses amplified by spending cuts. Pressure was centred on WPP
Media and VML offsetting an improving trend at AKQA.
Western Continental Europe saw an improving sequential decline of 3.5% in Q4
2025 compared to Q3 2025 (-4.4%) and also against a tough comparison from 2024
(Q4 2024: +1.4%). Spain continued to grow in Q4, while declines in Germany
continued, albeit at a lower rate compared to Q3, driven by pressure on WPP
Media from client assignment losses.
Rest of World declined 5.9% in 2025, mostly driven by Asia Pacific. India is a
relative outperformer, growing 8.6% in Q4 on new business momentum, in
particular at WPP Media, although against an easier comparison (Q4 2024:
-5.4%). India grew 3.8% overall in 2025. This was offset by a decline of 14.3%
in China on the continued impact of client assignment losses and persistent
macroeconomic pressures. There were declines in Latin America (2025: -2.5%)
but stability in Africa & Middle East, with Q4 returning to growth +2.3%
and also growth in Central & Eastern Europe (2025: +2.6%).
Top five markets - revenue less pass-through costs
+/(-) % LFL USA UK Germany China India
Q4 2025 (6.3) (9.2) (5.9) (13.6) 8.6
2025 (4.2) (7.6) (5.8) (14.3) 3.8
Client sector - revenue less pass-through costs
Q4 2025 2025 2025
% share, revenue less pass-through costs(1)
+/(-) % LFL +/(-) % LFL
CPG (12.6) (7.1) 27.5
Tech & Digital Services (5.8) (2.0) 17.8
Healthcare & Pharma 2.0 2.1 11.8
Automotive (3.7) (2.6) 10.5
Retail (1.2) (4.1) 9.0
Telecom, Media & Entertainment (20.1) (10.1) 6.4
Financial Services (11.4) (5.0) 6.2
Other 4.0 (9.4) 4.3
Travel & Leisure (3.8) (5.8) 3.6
Government, Public Sector & Non-profit (7.5) (0.7) 2.9
(1.) Proportion of WPP revenue less pass-through costs in 2025; table made up
of clients representing 82% of WPP total revenue less pass-through costs.
Financial results
Unaudited income statement(1):
Headline Reported
£ million 2025 2024 +/(-) % 2025 2024 +/(-) %
Revenue 13,550 14,741 (8.1) 13,550 14,741 (8.1)
Revenue less pass-through costs 10,176 11,359 (10.4) 10,176 11,359 (10.4)
Operating profit 1,321 1,707 (22.6) 382 1,325 (71.2)
Operating profit margin (%)(2) 13.0% 15.0% (2.0)pt 2.8% 9.0% (6.2)pt
Earnings from associates 39 40 (2.5) 39 36 8.3
Profit before interest & tax 1,360 1,747 (22.2) 421 1,361 (69.1)
Net finance costs (274) (280) (2.1) (290) (330) (12.1)
Profit before taxation 1,086 1,467 (26.0) 131 1,031 (87.3)
Tax (348) (411) 15.3 (303) (402) (24.6)
Profit after taxation 738 1,056 (30.1) (172) 629 (127.3)
Non-controlling interests (43) (87) 50.6 (43) (87) (50.6)
Profit attributable to shareholders 695 969 (28.3) (215) 542 (139.7)
Diluted EPS (p) 63.2p 88.3p (28.4) (20.0)p 49.4p (140.5)
(1.) Non-GAAP measures in this table are reconciled in Appendix 4.
(2.) Headline operating profit margin is headline operating profit divided by
revenue less pass-through costs and reported operating profit margin is
reported operating profit divided by revenue, with the % change expressed in
margin points.
Operating profit
Headline operating profit was £1,321m (2024: £1,707m) at a headline
operating profit margin of 13.0% (2024: 15.0%), 2.0 points lower than prior
year and 1.8 points lower LFL. This year-on-year decline reflects lower
revenue less pass-through costs and increased severance activity compared to
the prior period, in particular at WPP Media, partially offset by lower staff
incentives.
Total headline operating costs were down 8.3%, to £8,855m (2024: £9,652m).
Staff costs of £7,083m were down 8.7% compared to the prior year (2024:
£7,761m), reflecting lower headcount as a result of the actions we have taken
to mitigate the top-line decline this year. This has offset wage inflation and
higher severance costs of £141m (2024: £61m). Staff incentives of £181m
were down 50.1% compared to the prior year (2024: £363m) due to business
performance against annual incentive targets and the disposal of FGS Global.
The average number of people in the Group in 2025 was 103,277 compared to
111,281 in 2024. The total number of people as at 31 December 2025 was 98,655
compared to 108,044 as at 31 December 2024.
Establishment costs of £420m were down 11.0% compared to the prior year
(2024: £472m) driven by benefits from the ongoing campus programme and
consolidation of leases, the benefit from the FGS disposal in 2024 and a
favourable FX impact. Technology spend of £642m (2024: £684m) was down 6.1%,
reflecting our ongoing focus on driving efficiencies to mitigate inflation,
offset by our continuing investment in WPP Open, AI and data. Personal costs
of £177m (2024: £209m) were down 15.3% driven by savings in travel and
entertainment, while other operating expenses of £533m (2024: £526m)
slightly increased by 1.3% due to cost inflation, slightly offset by
efficiency savings.
Headline EBITDA (including IFRS 16 depreciation) for the period was down by
20.2% to £1,545m (2024: £1,935m).
Operating profit (continued)
Reported operating profit was £382m (2024: £1,325m) at a reported operating
profit margin of 2.8% (2024: 9.0%) with the decrease due to the same factors
as headline operating profit above and higher total adjusting items of £939m
(2024: £382m). Reported operating profit includes goodwill impairment charges
of £641m (2024: £237m), primarily relating to Ogilvy and AKQA, property
impairments of £114m (2024: £3m), amortisation and impairment of acquired
intangible assets of £61m (2024: £93m) and restructuring and transformation
costs of £68m (2024: £251m). The prior year included gains on disposals of
investments and subsidiaries of £322m, predominantly related to the disposal
of FGS Global.
The restructuring and transformation costs of £68m (2024: £251m) represent a
decrease of £183m from the prior year, consistent with the expected ramp down
of historical transformation programmes.
Net finance costs
Headline net finance costs of £274m were down 2.1% compared to the prior year
(2024: £280m), primarily due to lower average adjusted net debt and lower
interest rates in 2025 compared to 2024.
Reported net finance costs were £290m (2024: £330m), including net charges
of £16m (2024: £50m) relating to the revaluation and retranslation of
financial instruments.
Tax
The headline effective tax rate (based on headline profit before tax) was
32.0% (2024: 28.0%).
The higher headline tax rate resulted from the effect of lower headline profit
before tax in 2025 on fixed elements of our headline tax change compared to
prior year.
The reported effective tax rate was 231.3% (2024: 39.0%). The reported
effective tax rate is higher than the headline effective tax rate due to
non-deductible goodwill charges.
Earnings per share ("EPS") and dividend
Headline diluted EPS was 63.2p (2024: 88.3p), a decrease of 28.4%
predominantly due to lower headline operating profit and higher effective tax
rate, slightly offset by lower headline net finance costs and lower
non-controlling interests.
Reported diluted EPS was (20.0)p (2024: 49.4p), a decrease of 140.5% due to a
net loss in 2025 compared to net income in 2024.
The Board is proposing a final dividend for 2025 of 7.5 pence per share, which
together with the interim dividend paid in November 2025 gives a full-year
dividend of 15.0 pence per share. The record date for the final dividend is
5 June 2026, and the dividend will be payable on 3 July 2026. The dividend
has been reduced, balancing consistent returns to shareholders with investment
for growth.
Cash flow highlights
Unaudited headline cash flow statement(1):
Year ended (£ million) 31 December 2025 31 December 2024
Headline operating profit 1,321 1,707
Headline earnings from associates 39 40
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 142 156
Amortisation of other intangibles 43 32
Depreciation of right-of-use assets 201 213
Headline EBITDA 1,746 2,148
Less: headline earnings from associates (39) (40)
Repayment of lease liabilities and related interest (337) (377)
Non-cash compensation 73 109
Non-headline cash items (including restructuring costs) (68) (261)
Capex (186) (236)
Adjusted operating cash flow before working capital 1,189 1,343
Working capital (334) 117
Adjusted operating cash flow 855 1,460
% conversion of Headline operating profit 65% 86%
Net dividends (to minorities)/from associates (5) (36)
Contingent consideration liability payments (65) (97)
Net interest (185) (197)
Cash tax(2) (398) (392)
Adjusted free cash flow 202 738
Disposal proceeds 22 667
Net initial acquisition payments (147) (153)
Dividends (343) (425)
Share purchases (97) (82)
Adjusted net cash flow (363) 745
Reported:
Net cash inflow from operating activities 724 1,408
(1.) A summary of the Group's unaudited cash flow statement and notes for the
year ended 31 December 2025 is provided in Appendix 1 and any non-GAAP
measures in this table are reconciled in Appendix 4.
(2.) Cash tax in 2025 includes £43m related to tax payments for the FGS
Global disposal.
Adjusted operating cash outflow before working capital was £1,189m (2024:
£1,343m). The main driver of the lower cash inflow was the decrease in
headline operating profit, partially offset by lower non-headline cash items,
capex and lease repayments. Included within non-headline cash items is £82m
of cash restructuring costs (2024: £275m). Working capital was an outflow of
£334m compared with an inflow of £117m in the prior year, partly due to the
impact of lower staff incentives.
Adjusted free cash flow was £202m (2024: £738m), lower than prior year due
to a decrease in adjusted operating cash flow and higher cash taxes, partially
offset by lower contingent consideration liability payments, net interest and
dividends to minorities/from associates.
Adjusted net cash outflow was £363m, compared to an adjusted net cash inflow
in the prior year (2024: £745m inflow), primarily due to higher disposal
proceeds, predominantly from the FGS Global disposal in 2024, partially offset
by lower dividends paid.
Reported net cash inflow from operating activities decreased to £724m (2024:
£1,408m inflow) due a reported operating profit decline and a large working
capital outflow compared to an inflow in 2024.
Balance sheet highlights
Unaudited balance sheet
Non-current assets of £10,905m decreased by £943m (31 December 2024:
£11,848m), primarily driven by lower goodwill due to impairment charges of
£641m and lower property, plant and equipment due to property impairments of
£114m recognised in the year. The remainder of the decrease primarily relates
to depreciation, amortisation and foreign exchange.
Current assets of £13,170m decreased by £491m (31 December 2024: £13,661m).
The decrease is principally driven by lower trade and other receivables, which
reduced by £443m.
Current liabilities of £14,835m decreased by £681m (31 December 2024:
£15,516m). The decrease primarily relates to trade and other payables which
decreased by £807m and corporate income tax payable which decreased by
£112m, partially offset by a net increase in current borrowings of £238m.
The increase in current borrowings is due to the €750m of 2.25% bonds
maturing in September 2026 becoming current, mostly offset by the repayment of
€500m of 1.375% bonds, further detailed in the section below. The decrease
in corporate income tax payable is due to the lower tax charge compared to
prior year.
The decrease in both current trade and other receivables and trade and other
payables is primarily due to client activity and timing of payments.
Non-current liabilities of £6,468m increased by £209m (31 December 2024:
£6,259m). The increase is primarily due to the issuance of €1,000m of
3.625% bonds, offset by the €750m of 2.25% bonds becoming current in the
year. Further details on bond activity is in the section below.
Recognised within total equity, other comprehensive loss of £220m (2024:
£62m loss) includes a £205m loss (2024: £72m loss) for foreign exchange
differences on translation of foreign operations, a £58m loss (2024: £58m
gain) for cash flow hedge amounts reclassified to profit or loss and a £54m
decline (2024: £7m) of the fair value of equity investments, partially offset
by a £68m gain (2024: £3m loss) on the Group's net investment hedges.
A summary of the Group's unaudited balance sheet and selected notes as at 31
December 2025 is provided in Appendix 1.
Adjusted net debt
As at 31 December 2025, the Group had cash and cash equivalents of £2.7bn (31
December 2024: £2.6bn) and borrowings of £4.9bn (31 December 2024: £4.3bn).
The Group has current liquidity of £4.4bn (31 December 2024: £4.5bn),
comprising of cash and cash equivalents, bank overdrafts and undrawn credit
facilities.
As at 31 December 2025, adjusted net debt was £2.2bn (31 December 2024:
£1.7bn), up £0.5bn. Average adjusted net debt in 2025 was £3.4bn, compared
to £3.5bn in 2024. The average adjusted net debt to headline EBITDA ratio in
the 12 months ended 31 December 2025 was 2.2x (12 months ended 31 December
2024: 1.8x).
The Group has a five-year Revolving Credit Facility of $2.5bn which matures in
February 2031 following the final one-year extension option that was executed
in February 2026. The Revolving Credit Facility has no financial covenants and
remained undrawn at 31 December 2025.
In March 2025, we repaid €500m of 1.375% bonds which matured and in December
2025, we issued €1,000m of 3.625% bonds, maturing 2031, in a successful bond
raising which was oversubscribed.
As at 31 December 2025, our bond portfolio had an average maturity of 5.8
years (31 December 2024: 6.3 years) and a weighted average coupon rate of 3.5%
(31 December 2024: 3.5%).
Financial outlook
Our guidance for 2026 is as follows:
Like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs decline in the mid to
high-single digits in the first half of 2026 with an improving trajectory in
the second half
Headline operating margin expected to be 12% to 13%
Adjusted operating cash flow before working capital of £800m to £900m
Other 2026 modelling assumptions:
• Mergers and acquisitions will not significantly impact revenue less
pass-through costs
• FX impact: current rates (at 27 January 2026, with USD/GBP rate of
1.38) imply a c.1.6% drag on FY 2026 revenue less pass-through costs
• In keeping with our revenue less pass-through cost and headline
operating margin guidance, we now expect the following:
• Headline earnings from associates of around £30m
• Non-controlling interests of around £45m
• Headline net finance costs of around £290m
• Headline effective tax rate(1) between 33% to 34%
• The following items impact adjusted operating cash flow before
working capital:
• Capex broadly flat year-on-year at around £190m
• Total cash restructuring costs of around £250m, consisting of
c.£190m from Elevate28 and c.£60m from historical programs
This announcement contains information that qualifies or may qualify as inside
information. The person responsible for arranging the release of this
announcement on behalf of WPP plc is Balbir Kelly-Bisla, Company Secretary.
(1. ) Headline tax as a % of headline profit before tax.
Q4 2025 highlights
Below we highlight key developments from Q4 across the Group:
1. Clients
• WPP new business momentum - During the fourth quarter WPP's new
business improved significantly with a number of new client assignments. Our
integrated offering has secured global consolidated wins in December, with
Kenvue for creative and production and Jaguar Land Rover for global integrated
marketing activities including media and creative. In November, WPP Media also
secured the wins of both Reckitt and Henkel in Europe and the win of the UK
Government in December. Other wins include: Pizza Hut creative in the US,
Major League Soccer creative in the US, BMW creative in India, Warburtons PR
in the UK and Burger King PR in France.
• WPP Production launched, uniting WPP's production capabilities into a
single operating unit - In February 2026, Hogarth has come together with
content producers from across the WPP network and created a single, globally
connected operating unit (see link (https://www.wpp.com/en/wpp-production) ).
All teams will now operate on a single platform, harnessing WPP Open's
production technology and AI-powered workflows to deliver higher quality, more
impactful content. The new offering reflects our broader strategy to provide a
more integrated service and empowers our clients to tap into our holistic
ecosystem of creative, media and production expertise.
• WPP Media's Business Intelligence releases latest 'This Year, Next
Year' report - In December, WPP Media's Business Intelligence published its
End-of-Year Global Advertising Forecast for 2025, projecting global ad revenue
to reach $1.14 trillion with 8.8% growth (see link
(https://www.wppmedia.com/news/report-this-year-next-year-december-2025) ).
The report underscores the advertising industry's resilience amidst economic
and technological shifts, projecting robust growth. This momentum is set to
continue into 2026 with an anticipated 7.1% growth. The report highlights a
period of significant transformation within the industry, as streaming video
continues to gain ground on linear television, retail media captures budget
from traditional digital channels, and AI-powered answer engines are beginning
to reshape search behaviour.
• Industry recognition of our work for clients - In November, WPP was
named a Leader in three IDC 2025 MarketScape assessments, Worldwide Influencer
Market Platforms for Large Enterprises, Worldwide Experience Design Services
and Worldwide Experience Build Services. In December, WPP Media was named
MediaPost's Holding Company of the Year (see link
(https://www.wppmedia.com/news/MediaPost-holding-company-2025-wpp-media) ).
For the fifth consecutive year, Ogilvy earned Global Network of the Year at
the 2025 London International Awards (see link
(https://www.ogilvy.com/ideas/ogilvy-earns-global-network-year-london-international-awards-fifth-consecutive-year)
), and at the Drum Awards Festival 2025, VML was honoured with 18 accolades
(see li (https://www.vml.com/news/the-drum-awards-2025) nk
(https://www.vml.com/news/the-drum-awards-2025) ) including for our
'Glassphemy (https://www.vml.com/work/glassphemy) ' work for Diageo. In
January 2026, our global marketing effectiveness and foresight consultancy,
Gain Theory, was named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Marketing
Measurement And Optimization Services (see link
(https://www.wpp.com/en/news/2026/01/gain-theory-a-wpp-company-named-a-leader-in-marketing-measurement)
).
2. Technology
• Launch of Agent Hub - In January 2026 (see link
(https://www.wpp.com/en/news/2026/01/wpp-launches-agent-hub-on-wpp-open-providing-clients-with-access-to-advanced-agentic-ai)
) we announced the launch of Agent Hub on WPP Open, which provides clients
with access to a suite of advanced AI agents with decades of WPP's collective
world-class expertise of proprietary data, strategic capabilities and deep
institutional best practice. The initial agents include the Brand Analytics
Agent, the Behavioural Science Agent, the Analogies Agent and the Creative
Brain. Each agent within Agent Hub adheres to rigorous standards including
validation by experts and verification of knowledge sources, while ensuring
data remains confidential and secure, and tested for accuracy.
• InfoSum introduces Beacons for cross-cloud data collaboration - Beacons
is a new technology from InfoSum (see link
(https://www.infosum.com/blog/infosum-introduces-beacons-for-cross-cloud-data-collaboration)
), WPP's leading data collaboration platform. Beacons enables secure, AI-ready
collaboration directly within clients' own cloud environments, across Amazon
Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Integrated into WPP
Open, Beacons allows clients to train custom Open Intelligence models,
unlocking predictive insights and collaborative intelligence, while
maintaining full control and trust as this is all done within their own
environments. Open Intelligence is our foundational intelligence layer
underpinning WPP Open, securely connecting live data from clients, partners
and WPP in a privacy-first way.
• From adoption of WPP Open to everyday usage - In 2025 we prioritised
investment in WPP Open, our pioneering agentic marketing platform, focusing on
deployment across our business as part of our £300m investment in 2025 on
AI-driven technology. A key metric for us is internal adoption and we have
seen continued progress with over 70,000 of our people (equivalent to around
90% of client-facing staff) using the platform actively on a monthly basis
during the course of December (December 2024: 33,000/c.40% client-facing
staff). As adoption targets in 2025 have been achieved, increasing everyday
usage across all our agencies is our key priority.
3. People
• WPP's first Chief Innovation Officer - In November, WPP appointed Elav
Horwitz (see link
(https://www.wpp.com/en/news/2025/11/wpp-appoints-elav-horwitz-as-first-chief-innovation-officer)
) to the Chief Innovation Officer position, a new role created to solidify
WPP's leadership in applied AI and deliver groundbreaking technology-driven
solutions for clients. Elav is responsible for connecting WPP's partners with
our unparalleled creative and strategic talent to drive applied AI and client
transformation, and to redefine how clients engage with commerce, create
compelling content and shape culture.
• WPP launches Client Solution Architects Group - In January 2026, WPP
created the Client Solution Architects Group which is an end-to-end strategic
function unifying WPP's capabilities, including technology, media, data and
marketing, to deliver tailored solutions for clients and will focus on driving
growth amongst our top clients. Alex Hesz has joined WPP as President,
Strategy and Solutions as part of this new group, and will co-lead the team
alongside Antonis Kocheilas, global Chief Transformation Officer at Ogilvy,
and Ben Kay, WPP's Head of Planning. The Client Solution Architects Group
reports to Devika Bulchandani, WPP's Chief Operating Officer.
Business segment and regional analysis
Business segments - revenue analysis(1)
Q4 2025 2025
£ million +/(-) % reported +/(-) % LFL £ million +/(-) % reported +/(-) % LFL
Global Integrated Agencies 3,218 (7.0) (6.2) 11,956 (5.6) (3.7)
Public Relations 180 (31.6) (4.9) 705 (39.0) (6.7)
Specialist Agencies 230 (1.3) 4.0 889 (3.8) 1.0
Total Group 3,628 (8.3) (5.5) 13,550 (8.1) (3.6)
Business segments - revenue less pass-through costs analysis(1)
Q4 2025 2025
£ million +/(-) % reported +/(-) % LFL £ million +/(-) % reported +/(-) % LFL
Global Integrated Agencies 2,328 (8.4) (7.6) 8,740 (7.5) (5.7)
Public Relations 168 (32.3) (3.4) 667 (38.8) (6.0)
Specialist Agencies 195 (4.9) (0.1) 769 (6.0) (0.7)
Total Group 2,691 (10.1) (6.9) 10,176 (10.4) (5.4)
Business segments - headline operating profit analysis(1)
£ million 2025 % margin(2) 2024 % margin(2)
Global Integrated Agencies 1,165 13.3 1,491 15.8
Public Relations 102 15.3 166 15.2
Specialist Agencies 54 7.0 50 6.1
Total Group 1,321 13.0 1,707 15.0
(1.) Prior year figures have been restated to reflect the reallocation of a
number of businesses between Global Integrated Agencies and Specialist
Agencies.
(2.) Headline operating profit as a percentage of revenue less pass-through
costs.
Business segment and regional analysis
Regional - revenue analysis
Q4 2025 2025
£ million +/(-) % reported +/(-) % LFL £ million +/(-) % reported +/(-) % LFL
N. America 1,250 (11.4) (5.1) 4,966 (10.8) (3.4)
United Kingdom 530 (8.0) (9.5) 2,055 (5.9) (7.6)
W Cont. Europe 848 (1.6) (1.8) 2,891 (4.0) (0.1)
AP, LA, AME, CEE(1) 1,000 (9.7) (6.8) 3,638 (8.5) (4.0)
Total Group 3,628 (8.3) (5.5) 13,550 (8.1) (3.6)
Regional - revenue less pass-through costs analysis
Q4 2025 2025
£ million +/(-) % reported +/(-) % LFL £ million +/(-) % reported +/(-) % LFL
N. America 940 (14.2) (7.3) 3,837 (12.7) (4.6)
United Kingdom 389 (7.2) (9.2) 1,503 (5.4) (7.6)
W Cont. Europe 619 (5.6) (3.5) 2,143 (9.8) (4.7)
AP, LA, AME, CEE 743 (9.8) (7.5) 2,693 (10.3) (5.9)
Total Group 2,691 (10.1) (6.9) 10,176 (10.4) (5.4)
Regional - headline operating profit analysis
£ million 2025 % margin(2) 2024 % margin(2)
N. America 663 17.3 825 18.8
United Kingdom 164 10.9 237 14.9
W Cont. Europe 212 9.9 259 10.9
AP, LA, AME, CEE 282 10.5 386 12.9
Total Group 1,321 13.0 1,707 15.0
(1.) Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa & Middle East and Central &
Eastern Europe.
(2.) Headline operating profit as a percentage of revenue less pass-through
costs.
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