Publicis biggest loser despite leading in new business

The six funds followed by Marketing Report again posted mostly negative figures between 22 and 29 September. Publicis Groupe fell 1.7 percent, making it the biggest decliner, in the same week that research firm COMvergence ranked the group’s media arm first in the global new business rankings. S4 Capital was the only gainer, rising 2.7 percent.

	22 Sep	29 Sep	Change
WPP (GBp)	384.00	383.60	-0.1%
Publicis Groupe (EUR)	97.48	95.78	-1.7%
S4 Capital (GBp)	45.00	46.20	+2.7%
Dentsu Group (JPY)	3591	3538	-1.5%
Omnicom Group (USD)	75.34	74.14	-1.6%
Havas (EUR)	18.00	17.85	-0.8%

Publicis Groupe

Publicis fell 1.7 percent to close at €95.78. In COMvergence’s Global New Business Barometer, Publicis Media topped the rankings for the first half of 2026 with $3.24 billion in new billings, including $903 million in retained business. At group level, wins included Adidas in Greater China, HP, Microsoft and Prada. COMvergence analysed 1,970 account changes and renewals across 49 countries, representing a combined $19.2 billion in media spending, up 9 percent year on year.

The share price is therefore below all analyst price targets. JPMorgan has a target of €133, Berenberg €119 and Citi €105.

WPP

WPP closed at 383.60 pence, remaining virtually unchanged for the second consecutive week. WPP Media has become the first global media partner of DoorDash, covering DoorDash, Deliveroo and Wolt across more than 40 markets. The agency has already worked with DoorDash for the past eight years in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the COMvergence rankings, WPP Media ranks third with $2.98 billion, including $2.04 billion in retained business.

WPP is also returning to the FTSE 100. According to PRWeek and Campaign, this follows CEO Cindy Rose’s Elevate28 strategy and the departure of two other funds from the index.

Omnicom Group

Omnicom fell 1.6 percent to close at $74.14. Research firm Gartner ranked the group first across all seven use cases assessed in its Critical Capabilities for Global Digital Marketing Agencies 2026 report and classified the company as a Leader in the accompanying Magic Quadrant. In the COMvergence rankings, Omnicom Media ranks second with $3.15 billion, comprising $1.68 billion in new clients and $1.48 billion in renewals.

Dentsu Group

Dentsu fell 1.5 percent to close at 3,538 yen. In Ireland, the agency topped the new business rankings for the first half of 2026, with approximately €14.7 million, driven by Heineken at €10.4 million and Netflix at €4.8 million. Globally, however, Dentsu recorded a negative $181 million in the COMvergence rankings, as losses outweighed wins and renewals.

Havas

Havas fell 0.8 percent to close at €17.85. The company bought back 5,000 of its own shares between 21 and 25 September at an average price of €17.93. Since the programme began on 13 May, Havas has repurchased 102,580 shares for approximately €17.78 million, out of a total €50 million programme. In the COMvergence rankings, Havas Media Network ended the first half with a negative $343 million.

S4 Capital

S4 Capital gained 2.7 percent to close at 46.20 pence, making it the only gainer among the six. There was no company news during the week that explained the increase.

Marketing Report Markets is an editorial analysis of share price movements within the marcom sector and does not constitute investment advice.

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