WPP (LON:WPP) shares took a hammering on Wednesday morning, dropping 17% after the advertising giant cut its full-year guidance on the back of weak first-half trading and a gloomier outlook for the rest of 2025.
The group now sees like-for-like revenue, excluding pass-through costs, falling 3% to 5% this year, a clear retreat from April’s “flat to -2%” range. Operating margins are also expected to shrink by up to 175 basis points, dragged down by weak client demand and one-off costs, including severance at its downsized media arm.
First-half revenue is now seen dropping around 4.5%, with Q2 faring even worse at up to -6%. Profit’s taking a hit too, with headline operating income forecast between £400 million and £425 million, well below last year’s £646 million.
WPP blamed “continued macro uncertainty weighing on client spend” and said June was particularly rough, enough to throw expectations for H2 off course as well.
CEO Mark Read said the company is walking a tightrope between cutting costs and keeping long-term investments on track. That balancing act hasn’t impressed investors, WPP was the FTSE 100’s biggest faller, while the index itself edged up 0.1%.