MW The world's largest advertising company says revenue may fall. The stock is getting hammered.

By Steve Goldstein

WPP says sales may fall this year when Wall Street expected growth

WPP, the world's largest advertising company, saw its shares plunge on Wednesday after it forecast that sales may drop this year.

WPP shares (UK:WPP) $(WPP)$ skidded 19% to reach a new 52-week low.

WPP said like-for-like revenue will be flat to 2% down, with the performance improving in the second half, leading to flat operating margins for the year. That's after a 2024 in which like-for-like revenue eased 1% while its adjusted operating margin edged up 0.4 points to 15%.

In the fourth quarter, like-for-like revenue fell by 2.3%, with a sharp 21.2% fall in China but also a 5.1% decline in the U.K. and a 1.4% decline in North America.

According to JPMorgan, expectations were for a fourth-quarter organic sales decline of 0.5% and a 2% rise in sales for 2025. They added that strategic progress shown in expanding artificial-intelligence solutions and picking up new business from companies including Amazon and Kimberly-Clark has been offset by weak trading.

WPP shares are now lower than they started the century, having risen to a record high near 2,000p in 2017, and falling below 500p during the COVID crisis.

-Steve Goldstein

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February 27, 2025 04:08 ET (09:08 GMT)

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