Wpp Plc (WPP)
NYSE:WPP
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WPP
(NYSE:WPP)
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Rating:49Neutral
Price Target:
$15.50
▼(-29.86% Downside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:03/13/26
The score is held back primarily by weakening financial performance (loss and margin compression) and higher leverage, reinforced by bearish technicals. Support comes from continued positive cash generation, a high dividend yield (with sustainability risk), and earnings-call actions/guidance that suggest a potential H2 improvement but with meaningful near-term headwinds and execution risk.
Positive Factors
Cash generation & liquidity
WPP’s positive operating cash flow (~$724M) and free cash flow (~$633M) despite a reported loss show durable cash conversion. That cash coverage supports ongoing restructuring costs, funds reinvestment into growth areas and preserves optionality on dividends and debt service over the next 2–6 months.
Negative Factors
Elevated leverage
Higher absolute debt and a ~2.7x debt-to-equity ratio materially reduce financial flexibility. Elevated leverage limits capacity for opportunistic M&A or sustained reinvestment, raises refinancing and covenant sensitivity risk, and makes earnings/margin volatility more threatening to capital returns and credit metrics.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Cash generation & liquidity
WPP’s positive operating cash flow (~$724M) and free cash flow (~$633M) despite a reported loss show durable cash conversion. That cash coverage supports ongoing restructuring costs, funds reinvestment into growth areas and preserves optionality on dividends and debt service over the next 2–6 months.
Read all positive factors
WPP (WPP) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$3.63B
Dividend Yield9.15%
Average Volume (3M)693.99K
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)0.81
Revenue Growth-1.89%
EPS Growth90.72%
CountryUS
Employees108,044
SectorCommunication Services
Sector Strength97
IndustryAdvertising Agencies
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)2.90
Shares Outstanding215,760,470
10 Day Avg. Volume673,648
30 Day Avg. Volume693,992
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.12
Price to Book (P/B)1.41
Price to Sales (P/S)0.26
P/FCF Ratio5.66
Enterprise Value/Market Cap2.34
Enterprise Value/Revenue0.63
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit3.97
Enterprise Value/Ebitda13.32
Forecast
1Y Price TargetN/A
Price Target UpsideN/A
Rating ConsensusN/A
Number of Analyst Covering0
EPS Forecast (FY)3.32
Revenue Forecast (FY)$12.75B
WPP Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
WPP plc, a creative transformation company, provides communications, experience, commerce, and technology services in North America, the United Kingdom, Western Continental Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Cent...
How the Company Makes Money
WPP generates revenue primarily through its diverse range of services offered to clients in various sectors. The company's revenue model is largely based on fees for services, which can include project-based fees, retainers, and commissions. Key r...
WPP Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue by Segment
Shows how revenue is distributed across different business segments, highlighting which areas are driving growth and which might need strategic adjustments.
Shows how revenue is distributed across different business segments, highlighting which areas are driving growth and which might need strategic adjustments.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyWPP Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 26, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 31, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Neutral
The call presented a balanced picture: clear near-term challenges including revenue decline (like-for-like -5.4% FY2025), margin compression (operating margin down 180 bps to 13%), EPS decline (-28.4%) and higher leverage (avg net debt/EBITDA 2.2x). Offsetting these are meaningful operational responses: strong new business momentum since Q4 2025 into 2026, an articulated Elevate28 strategy (targeting GBP 500m gross cost savings by 2028 and up to USD 900m white-space opportunity), major platform and partnership progress (WPP Open, InfoSum, Adobe partnership), an upgraded organizational model (4 operating units) and an investment-grade Fitch BBB rating with strong liquidity (GBP 4.4bn). Management acknowledges performance gaps and has laid out tangible cost, structural and growth actions; the plan will take time to move through phased delivery. Given the substantial near-term headwinds but credible remediation steps and some early upside from new business and platform differentiation, the overall tone is cautiously constructive but realistic about execution risk and timing.Positive Updates
Strong New Business Momentum
WPP was #1 in JPMorgan's net new business rankings in Q4 2025 (first time since 2020) with major wins across media, creative and integrated offers including the U.K. government lead media, Reckitt, Henkel, Kenvue, Haleon, TruGreen, Norwegian Cruise Line and Suncor; momentum continued into 2026 with Jaguar Land Rover (Global Media and Integrated Services). Management stated that the impact of 2026 new business already exceeds the impact of all 2025 wins as of February 2026.
Negative Updates
Revenue Decline and Deteriorating Trends
Like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs fell 5.4% for FY2025 (Q4 like-for-like decline of 6.9%, worsening from Q3 decline of 5.9%). Reported revenue less pass-through costs was GBP 10.2 billion, down 10.4% year-on-year on a reported basis.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong New Business Momentum
WPP was #1 in JPMorgan's net new business rankings in Q4 2025 (first time since 2020) with major wins across media, creative and integrated offers including the U.K. government lead media, Reckitt, Henkel, Kenvue, Haleon, TruGreen, Norwegian Cruise Line and Suncor; momentum continued into 2026 with Jaguar Land Rover (Global Media and Integrated Services). Management stated that the impact of 2026 new business already exceeds the impact of all 2025 wins as of February 2026.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Guidance for 2026: WPP expects like‑for‑like net revenue less pass‑through costs to be down mid‑ to high‑single digits in H1 with a progressively improving trajectory in H2 (Q1 the weakest), with gross client losses dragging ~500–600bp (up from 300–400bp in 2025) even as gross client wins already exceed full‑year 2025; headline operating margin is guided to 12–13%. Cash guidance is adjusted operating cash flow before working capital of GBP 800–900m (including total anticipated cash restructuring charges of ~GBP 250m, ~GBP 190m of which relate to Elevate28) — excluding those charges AOCF would be c. GBP 1.0–1.1bn. Management targets at least GBP 100m of in‑year P&L savings in 2026, GBP 250m of annualized savings in 2026, and GBP 500m of gross annual cost savings by 2028 (restructuring cash costs c. GBP 400m across 2026–27); they expect average net debt to remain broadly stable but average leverage to rise in 2026 from 2025’s 2.2x average adjusted net debt/EBITDA (average adjusted net debt £3.4bn; year‑end net debt £2.2bn), with £4.4bn liquidity and a Fitch BBB (stable) rating.WPP Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
44
Neutral
Balance Sheet
46
Neutral
Cash Flow
62
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 13.55B | 14.74B | 14.84B | 14.43B | 12.80B |
| Gross Profit | 2.15B | 2.45B | 2.52B | 2.54B | 2.20B |
| EBITDA | 628.00M | 1.90B | 1.91B | 2.03B | 1.78B |
| Net Income | -215.00M | 542.00M | 110.40M | 682.70M | 637.70M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 24.07B | 25.51B | 26.62B | 28.82B | 27.87B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 2.69B | 2.64B | 2.22B | 2.49B | 3.88B |
| Total Debt | 6.83B | 6.35B | 6.88B | 7.18B | 6.83B |
| Total Liabilities | 21.30B | 21.77B | 22.79B | 24.66B | 23.80B |
| Stockholders Equity | 2.54B | 3.48B | 3.38B | 3.68B | 3.62B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 633.00M | 1.17B | 1.02B | 477.60M | 1.74B |
| Operating Cash Flow | 724.00M | 1.41B | 1.24B | 700.90M | 2.03B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -347.00M | 278.00M | -380.40M | -408.90M | -638.40M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -319.00M | -989.00M | -904.70M | -1.91B | -2.06B |
WPP Technical Analysis
Neutral
22.10
Price Trends
17.26
Negative
19.30
Negative
22.41
Negative
Market Momentum
-0.19
Negative
53.24
Neutral
67.21
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For WPP, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 22.1 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 15.78, above the 50-day MA of 17.26, and below the 200-day MA of 22.41, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -0.19 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 53.24 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 67.21 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for WPP.
WPP Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (60)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
67 Neutral | $1.73B | 16.00 | 17.85% | ― | 6.27% | 226.16% | |
65 Neutral | $21.31B | -299.07 | -0.85% | 3.68% | 4.13% | -7.84% | |
63 Neutral | $1.65B | 30.42 | 2.62% | ― | 5.70% | 97.88% | |
62 Neutral | $1.59B | 37.07 | 4.42% | ― | 6.76% | 1841.46% | |
60 Neutral | $48.67B | 4.58 | -11.27% | 4.14% | 2.83% | -41.78% | |
49 Neutral | $3.63B | ― | -7.54% | 9.15% | -1.89% | 90.72% |
* Communication Services Sector Average
WPP
WPP
16.74
-17.37
-50.92%
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43.72
11.73
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6.27
0.99
18.75%
OMC
Omnicom Group
74.77
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MGNI
Magnite
11.98
2.30
23.76%
WPP Corporate Events
WPP Discloses March 2026 Vesting of Executive Share Awards
Mar 11, 2026
On 10 March 2026, WPP plc reported the vesting of executive share awards granted under its 2022 Executive Performance Share Plan and the WPP Stock Plan 2018 for senior leadership. Chief Executive Officer Cindy Rose received 88,271 ordinary shares ...
WPP Discloses Updated BlackRock Stake After Major Holding Threshold Change
Mar 10, 2026
On 9 March 2026, asset manager BlackRock, Inc. crossed a major shareholding threshold in WPP, triggering a regulatory disclosure filed on 10 March 2026. BlackRock reported a combined holding of 9.84% of WPP’s voting rights through shares and...
WPP Launches ‘Elevate28’ Strategy and Structural Overhaul with 2025 Preliminary Results
Feb 26, 2026
On 26 February 2026, WPP unveiled a multi-year strategic plan branded ‘Elevate28’ alongside its 2025 preliminary results, outlining a major reorganisation intended to simplify its structure and improve growth. Under new CEO Cindy Rose,...
WPP Leaders Boost Equity Stakes With February 2026 Share Purchases
Feb 26, 2026
WPP disclosed insider share purchases by senior leadership in a regulatory filing for February 2026, highlighting transactions by chair and non-executive director Philip Jansen and chief executive officer Cindy Rose. On 26 February 2026, Jansen bo...
WPP Discloses BlackRock’s Stake Rise to 10% in Major Holdings Notice
Feb 25, 2026
On 24 February 2026, institutional investor BlackRock, Inc. crossed a regulatory disclosure threshold in WPP plc, prompting a notification of major holdings filed to the market on 25 February 2026. The filing shows BlackRock now controls 10.0% of ...
WPP Discloses Updated BlackRock Stake After February Threshold Crossing
Feb 25, 2026
On 25 February 2026, WPP disclosed a regulatory notification that BlackRock, Inc. had adjusted its holding in the company, triggering a major shareholding disclosure under UK rules. The move underscores the continued presence of large U.S. institu...
WPP Discloses BlackRock’s Voting Stake Reaching 10% on 18 February 2026
Feb 20, 2026
On 18 February 2026, BlackRock, Inc. crossed a regulatory disclosure threshold in WPP plc, prompting a notification of major holdings filed with regulators and reported by WPP on 20 February 2026. The change reflects BlackRock holding 10.0% of WPP...
WPP Discloses Hotchkis & Wiley Crossing 5% Voting Rights Threshold
Feb 17, 2026
On 11 February 2026, investment manager Hotchkis Wiley Capital Management, LLC crossed a major shareholding threshold in WPP plc, triggering a regulatory disclosure under UK rules. The firm reported a total of 5.04% of WPP’s voting rights, ...
WPP Discloses BlackRock’s Voting Stake Reaches 10% After Early January Transactions
Jan 6, 2026
On 6 January 2026, WPP disclosed a notification of major holdings showing that BlackRock, Inc. had crossed a reporting threshold in the company’s shares on 2 January 2026, following an acquisition or disposal of voting rights and related fin...
WPP Discloses Significant Reduction in BlackRock Stake After Crossing Major Shareholding Threshold
Dec 22, 2025
On 22 December 2025, WPP plc reported a change in major shareholdings after BlackRock, Inc. notified the company that, as of 19 December 2025, its total interest in WPP had fallen below a key threshold. BlackRock’s combined holding of WPP vo...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.