WPP reiterates 2026 guidance as Q3 revenue returns to growth

WPP plc (LON:WPP) has announced its Third Quarter 2026 Trading Update

Disciplined execution of the Elevate28 plan delivers continued progress and momentum in Q3; FY guidance reiterated

Q3 revenue of £3,274m was up 0.5% YoY on both a reported basis and like-for-like (LFL), while revenue less pass-through costs of £2,411m was down 2.1% LFL. YTD reported revenue was down 2.8% YoY and 1.9% LFL. YTD revenue less pass-through costs was down 4.4% YoY and 3.9% LFL. Performance in the quarter is in line with our expectations. We continue to expect LFL revenue less pass-through costs down low to mid-single digits in H2, with Q4 towards the better end of this range, and expect FY headline operating margin to be in the range of 12% to 13%.

Cindy Rose OBE, Chief Executive Officer of WPP, said:

“We are on track to deliver phase one of Elevate28: stabilising our business performance and laying the foundations for a simpler, more unified WPP. Our integrated client proposition and modern data solutions are gaining traction with both new and existing clients.

“Client demand remains healthy for our AI-enabled media, creative, production and enterprise solutions, powered by our agentic marketing platform WPP Open. Winning competitive pitches to renew long-standing partnerships with clients like The Coca-Cola Company and DoorDash provides further evidence of commercial momentum and client confidence in WPP’s ability to drive brand differentiation and business growth at a global scale.

“Our third quarter results show further sequential improvement in LFL growth, in line with our expectations. This reinforces my confidence in our strategy and our ability to deliver our plan. We remain focused on disciplined execution as we prepare for the ‘Build’ phase of Elevate28 and position WPP for a return to growth during 2027.

“Once again, I would like to thank our clients and partners for their continued trust, our shareholders for their support and our people for their commitment and hard work as we deliver the next phase of our plan.”

^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.

Q3 2026 performance

•      Q3 revenue – Q3 2026 revenue of £3,274m was up 0.5% reported and LFL. Revenue less pass-through costs of £2,411m was down 2.0% reported and 2.1% LFL. YTD revenue of £9,647m was down 2.8%, a LFL decline of 1.9%. YTD revenue less pass-through costs of £7,156m was down 4.4% reported and down 3.9% LFL.

•      Business segment and regions – Global Integrated Agencies Q3 LFL revenue less pass-through costs fell 2.1%, with WPP Media returning to growth of 0.3% and WPP Production growing 2.5%, offset by WPP Creative declining 5.1%. All regions declined, with North America down by 1.8%, EMEA by 1.7%, APAC by 4.3% and LATAM by 1.2%.

•      Clients – WPP’s top 25 clients LFL revenue less pass-through costs was down 2.7% in the quarter, with an improving trajectory compared to Q2 (-3.2%). The Q3 performance reflects client assignment losses from the prior year. By client sector, CPG, Tech & Digital Services and Retail continued to see LFL declines in the third quarter, however Automotive and Healthcare continued to grow.

•      Elevate28 progress – During the third quarter, WPP secured a number of new client assignments and significant retentions, including The Coca-Cola Company – as its global media partner (excluding North America, Japan and South Korea which were not part of the review) – DoorDash, Nestlé, Uber and Waymo. We continued to invest in future growth, including the opening of a new state-of-the-art production facility in East London, the addition of 48 new data partners to Open Intelligence, the announcement of an expanded strategic technology partnership with Kyndryl and the appointment of key talent including Tyler Turnbull as CEO of WPP Creative and Adam Gerhart as WPP’s Global Chief Client Officer. We maintained progress on delivering our targeted cost savings, as well as potential asset disposals and will provide updates in due course, as appropriate. Please see the full Q3 2026 highlights below.

Financial outlook for 2026

•      Reiterating 2026 guidance – We continue to expect LFL revenue less pass-through costs to decline low to mid-single digits in the second half of 2026, with Q4 towards the better end of this range. We maintain our full year margin expectation of 12% to 13%. This is consistent with second half margins decreasing by up to c.200 bps year-on-year, reflecting the phasing of our investment plans, including investment in growth initiatives, the ramp up of new business wins and the rebuilding of our incentives.

•      Adjusted operating cash flow before working capital – We continue to anticipate adjusted operating cash flow before working capital of £800m to £900m. Excluding anticipated restructuring costs associated with historical plans and the Elevate28 strategy, we would anticipate adjusted operating cash flow before working capital of £1.0bn to £1.1bn.