MW Ad giant WPP issues second profit warning this year. The stock is plunging.

By Steve Goldstein

WPP shares sank Wednesday on the advertising giant's second profit warning of the year, as it said clients were spending less and it was attracting fewer new clients than hoped.

WPP now sees comparable revenue falling 3% to 5% for the year, versus February's guidance that it would be flat to down 2%, after a second quarter in which sales slumped as much as 6%. WPP said its first-half operating margin will drop between 2.8 and 3.3 percentage points year-over-year.

"Against a challenging economic backdrop, we have seen a deterioration in performance as [the second quarter] has progressed," said the company in a statement.

WPP shares (UK:WPP) $(WPP)$ fell as much as 15%, to the lowest level since the global financial crisis ended in 2009.

Shares of Havas (NL:HAVAS) and Publicis (FR:PUB) each slipped 2%.

Although headquartered in the U.K., WPP's largest market by revenue is the U.S., with 35% of sales, according to FactSet data.

-Steve Goldstein

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July 09, 2025 03:45 ET (07:45 GMT)

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