WPP cuts profit forecast amid reduced client spending and fewer new business wins

Amid its search for a new CEO, WPP has lowered its profit forecast for the remainder of the year. 

The agency group said that like-for-like revenue in 2025, excluding pass-through costs (fees paid to third-party vendors or suppliers), is expected to decline by 3 to 5 per cent due to a “challenging economic backdrop” that has dampened client spending. It also noted that new business wins have been fewer than anticipated.

Outgoing CEO Mark Read said: “Since the start of the year, we have faced a challenging trading environment, with macroeconomic pressures intensifying and lower net new business. While we expected the second quarter to be similar to the first, performance in June was worse than anticipated, and we expect this pattern to continue into the second half of the year.”

The year 2025 has been difficult for the British agency holding group. In June, it lost Mars’s 1.7 billion US dollar global media account to French rival Publicis. Earlier, WPP lost Coca-Cola’s 700 million US dollar North American media account and saw Paramount end its 20-year relationship with the company.