Strategy Update and 2025 Preliminary Results

26 Feb 2026

WPP publicizes multi-year strategic plan to simplify and combine shopper proposition, restore development and drive long-term worth for purchasers, expertise and shareholders

“My first six months as CEO have solely bolstered my conviction that WPP is a rare firm. As our purchasers navigate uncertainty, AI disruption and macro-volatility, we’re trying forward with a transparent and targeted mission: to be the trusted development associate for the world’s main manufacturers within the period of AI.

“Today we’re unveiling a daring plan for a less complicated, extra built-in WPP. Our intention is to stabilise the enterprise, return to natural development, create capability to speculate sooner or later and ship engaging returns for our shareholders. WPP will turn into a single firm, streamlined into 4 working items throughout 4 areas, all unified by our pioneering agentic advertising platform, WPP Open.

“Our current underperformance has been pushed by extreme organisational complexity, a scarcity of an built-in working mannequin and inconsistent strategic execution. While disappointing, I see large potential as these points are all inside our energy to repair and we’re already making nice progress.

“We have everything we need to succeed: exceptional talent, world-class capabilities, trusted data and technology solutions and groundbreaking partnerships, as well as the scale and reach to service the most complex multi-national, multi-brand clients in the world. The momentum we are seeing from the decisive action we’ve already taken gives me the confidence that we’re on the right path to creating a WPP that is fit for the future and built to win.”

Cindy Rose OBE, Chief Executive Officer of WPP

Strategy Update: Elevate28

WPP right now publicizes ‘Elevate28’, a multi-year strategic plan to simplify and combine our shopper proposition, restore development and drive long-term worth for purchasers, expertise and shareholders. Transitioning from a holding firm construction to a single firm, WPP will simplify its enterprise to ship absolutely built-in, AI-enabled options by means of 4 core working items: WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions throughout 4 areas, North America, Latin America, EMEA and APAC.

Central to this technique is a brand new mission: to be the trusted development associate for the world’s main manufacturers, serving to them navigate change, seize alternative and ship development, whereas reworking their enterprise in a dynamic, advanced setting. The plan focuses on stabilising the enterprise in 2026, constructing momentum in 2027, and delivering accelerated, high-quality development from 2028, supported by £500m of gross annualised value financial savings and portfolio rationalisation to unlock worth.

ELEVATE28: OUR STRATEGY TO STABILISE WPP SHORT-TERM, BUILD A NEW PLATFORM FOR GROWTH AND ACCELERATE FUTURE PERFORMANCE

Deliver superior development for purchasers

• Lead with Media on the coronary heart of an built-in proposition
• Establish next-generation Creative and Production capabilities
• Elevate Enterprise Solutions to associate with purchasers on AI transformation

Become a less complicated, built-in firm

• Simplify the working mannequin
• Strengthen execution and remodel our go-to-market
• Drive a high-performance tradition and appeal to and retain the world’s greatest expertise

Unlock the benefit of WPP Open

• Connect capabilities by means of WPP Open
• Differentiate with trusted knowledge options by means of Open Intelligence
• Expand strategic expertise and knowledge partnerships

Create agency monetary foundations for the longer term

• Unlock £500m of annual value financial savings, enabling a reallocation of funding
• Focus the portfolio to scale back leverage and create additional capability to spend money on development
• Disciplined capital allocation with a deal with sustaining an investment-grade stability sheet whereas delivering engaging returns for shareholders

OUTLOOK & PHASES OF DELIVERY

The plan is designed to ship sustained development by means of three distinct phases:

• Phase 1 – Stabilise (2026): The rapid precedence is to stabilise web new enterprise efficiency. We will execute value financial savings initiatives and rationalise the portfolio.
• Phase 2 – Build (2027): Our remodeled go-to-market technique supported by a simpler working mannequin will probably be embedded and will assist ship a completely built-in provide spanning media, artistic, manufacturing and enterprise options. We are focusing on a return to natural development through the course of 2027.
• Phase 3 – Accelerate (2028 and past): We goal to be a less complicated, lower-cost, AI-enabled enterprise, recognised by purchasers as a trusted development associate, displaying accelerated development, improved margin and robust money conversion.

To obtain this transformation and ship £500m of gross financial savings by 2028, we anticipate whole money prices of roughly £400m phased over two years. We will reinvest a good portion of financial savings into high-growth areas. See under for extra particulars.

2025 Preliminary Results

* together with proposed closing dividend.

WPP reviews 2025 income of £13,550m, down 8.1% on a reported foundation and down 3.6% like-for-like (LFL), with income much less pass-through prices of £10,176m down 5.4% LFL, forward of newest steerage. This autumn LFL income much less pass-through prices of £2,691m was down 10.1% reported and 6.9% LFL. 2025 reported working revenue margin was 2.8% and headline working revenue margin was 13.0%, representing a LFL lower of 1.8pt. Adjusted working money movement earlier than working capital was £1,189m, consistent with newest steerage and year-end common adjusted web debt was £3.4bn, with a median web debt to EBITDA ratio of two.2x.

FY and This autumn 2025 efficiency

• Revenue – 2025 reported income of £13,550m was down 8.1%, with a LFL decline of three.6%. 2025 income much less pass-through prices of £10,176m was down 10.4% reported and down 5.4% LFL. This autumn income of £3,628m was down 8.3%, a LFL decline of 5.5%. This autumn income much less pass-through prices of £2,691m was down 10.1% reported and 6.9% LFL.
• Business section and areas – Global Integrated Agencies 2025 LFL income much less pass-through prices fell 5.7% (This autumn: -7.6%) with WPP Media declining 5.9% (This autumn: -10.8%) and different built-in artistic businesses declining 5.6% (This autumn: -4.3%). By geography, North America declined 4.6% (This autumn: -7.3%), UK -7.6% (This autumn: -9.2%), Western Continental Europe -4.7% (This autumn: -3.5%) and Rest of World -5.9% (This autumn: -7.5%), with India rising 3.8% (This autumn: +8.6%) offset by a decline in China of -14.3% (This autumn: -13.6%).
• Clients – WPP’s prime 25 purchasers declined 4.1% LFL in 2025, together with shopper project losses from the primary half of the 12 months. While the Healthcare and Pharma shopper sector improved in 2025, all different shopper sectors noticed decreased spend year-on-year.
• Operating revenue – 2025 headline working revenue was £1,321m, a margin of 13.0% (2024: 15.0%), down 1.8pt LFL. The decrease margin displays the decline in income much less pass-through prices with larger severance prices contributing to a drag of 0.9pt YoY (particularly at WPP Media), and continued funding in tech and knowledge, partially offset by decrease employees incentives which contributed a 1.4pt profit YoY (1.2pt LFL, which excludes FGS). Reported working revenue was £382m, down 71.2%, together with goodwill impairment of £641m and property impairments of £114m.
• Cashflow and common adjusted web debt – 2025 adjusted working money movement excluding working capital was £1,189m (2024: £1,343m) consistent with steerage. 2025 reported web money influx from working actions was £724m (2024: £1,408m). Average adjusted web debt at 31 December 2025 of £3.4bn was down £0.1bn in comparison with 31 December 2024.
• Dividend – The Board has proposed a closing dividend of seven.5p (2024: 24.4p) giving a full 12 months dividend of 15.0p (2024: 39.4p).

Financial outlook for 2026

• LFL income much less pass-through prices – We are inspired by the advance in new enterprise within the fourth quarter and early 2026. Organic development, nevertheless, is a lagging metric and as such we anticipate LFL income much less pass-through prices to say no within the mid to high-single digits within the first half of 2026 with an enhancing trajectory within the second half.
• Headline working revenue margin – While we are going to profit from the total 12 months impression of value saving actions taken final 12 months and a component 12 months impression from Elevate28 value actions, we are going to make investments to help a return to development and rebuild incentives. Accordingly, for the total 12 months we anticipate headline working revenue margin within the vary of 12% to 13%.
• Adjusted working money movement earlier than working capital – Including each the anticipated prices related to historic plans in addition to the restructuring prices linked to the Elevate28 technique replace, we anticipate adjusted working cashflow earlier than working capital of £800m to £900m. Excluding these fees, we’d anticipate adjusted working cashflow earlier than working capital of £1.0bn to £1.1bn.
• Financial leverage – With the implementation of the brand new technique, our focus over the subsequent 12 months will probably be to stabilise the enterprise whereas releasing up capital to supply additional monetary flexibility. We are dedicated to sustaining an funding grade stability sheet, a place supported by Fitch Ratings right now assigning WPP a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating of ‘BBB’ with a Stable Outlook.

Elevate28 – Detailed plan

Market context and strategic rationale

The international whole addressable market (TAM) for company advertising, artistic, digital and transformation providers is rising at c.5% and anticipated to exceed $500bn by 2028⁶. However, the industrial ecosystem is seeing basic change, pushed by the fast diffusion of AI, altering client behaviour, aggressive disruption and macro-volatility. Clients want a trusted development associate able to orchestrating media, creativity, manufacturing and expertise to navigate this complexity.

While WPP possesses industry-leading capabilities, current efficiency has been impacted by extreme organisational complexity, lack of an built-in working mannequin and inconsistent strategic execution. Elevate28 addresses these challenges by reorienting the corporate across the evolving wants of purchasers, leveraging WPP’s scale and WPP Open, our pioneering agentic advertising platform, to ship transformation and development for our purchasers.

WPP’s aggressive benefit

WPP is properly positioned to capitalise on this market evolution. Our confidence is grounded in three structural benefits that create a powerful aggressive edge for WPP:

• Trusted knowledge and intelligence: Open Intelligence is our foundational intelligence layer, securely connecting stay knowledge from purchasers, companions and WPP in a privacy-first approach. Built on InfoSum’s knowledge collaboration expertise, it unlocks distinctive insights with out knowledge ever being shared – turning real-world behaviour into predictive intelligence whereas preserving privateness, management and belief. Clients see precisely the place, how and why their advertising funding is working.
• Integration of media, knowledge, artistic and expertise: In an AI-driven world, the self-discipline of brand name constructing is being completely rewired. In this panorama, human creativity and craft, judgment, style and empathy are what earn consideration, construct belief and differentiate manufacturers. We mix cutting-edge media intelligence, world-class creativity, {industry} main manufacturing and transformative enterprise options – all powered by distinctive expertise and WPP Open.
• Global scale and deep shopper relationships: As a longtime associate to numerous the world’s main advertisers, we possess a large put in base of alternative. By simplifying our working mannequin, we unlock the flexibility to cross-sell high-growth capabilities – similar to Enterprise Solutions – instantly into our current shopper relationships.

Elevate28: A unified development technique

The Elevate28 strategic plan is anchored in 4 aims: delivering superior development for purchasers, changing into a less complicated, built-in firm, unlocking the benefit of WPP Open and creating agency monetary foundations for the longer term.

Deliver superior development for purchasers

• Leading with Media on the coronary heart of an built-in proposition: Re-orient our go-to-market round a extra built-in shopper proposition with media and knowledge on the core to speed up shopper development.
• Establish next-generation Creative and Production capabilities: Build unified, next-generation artistic and manufacturing capabilities every powered by a single working mannequin to drive insight-led content material supply and operational effectivity.
• Elevate Enterprise Solutions to associate with purchasers on AI transformation: Establish a standalone working unit bringing collectively WPP’s buyer expertise, commerce, CRM, content material transformation and expertise & knowledge platform capabilities to seize high-growth demand for enterprise AI transformation providers.

Become a less complicated, built-in firm

• Simplify the working mannequin: Move to a simplified construction comprising 4 working items (Media, Creative, Production, Enterprise Solutions) throughout 4 areas (North America, Latin America, EMEA, APAC).
• Strengthen execution and remodel our go-to-market: Transform how we have interaction with purchasers, empowering Global Client Leaders and leveraging our new staff of ‘Client Solution Architects’ to orchestrate built-in, outcome-based development methods.
• Drive a high-performance tradition, appeal to and retain the world’s greatest expertise: Overhaul the efficiency framework to align aims and incentives globally to shopper outcomes and total WPP success.

Unlock the benefit of WPP Open

• Connect capabilities by means of WPP Open: Connect all 4 working items by means of WPP Open, our pioneering agentic advertising platform. Powered by Open Intelligence, our foundational intelligence layer, enabling privacy-first knowledge collaboration and agentic workflows.
• Differentiate with trusted knowledge options by means of Open Intelligence: Leverage InfoSum’s knowledge collaboration expertise to attach stay knowledge from purchasers, companions and WPP, unlocking distinctive, predictive insights and optimising advertising funding in actual time whereas preserving privateness, management and belief.
• Expand strategic partnerships: Deepen integration with strategic companions to co-innovate AI, knowledge and expertise options that help shopper development.

Create agency monetary foundations for the longer term

• Structural simplification: Unlock £500m in annualised gross financial savings by 2028 from working mannequin adjustments, deduplication of help capabilities and real-estate/long-tail efficiencies.
• Focus the portfolio: Rationalise portfolio, scale back leverage and create capability to spend money on development.
• Disciplined capital allocation: Maintain an investment-grade stability sheet whereas prioritising natural funding in high-growth areas and delivering engaging returns for shareholders.

Our execution plan

We are transferring with urgency to implement this framework. Actions taken thus far embrace:

• Go-to-market: Created central ‘Client Solution Architects’ and Growth groups to cross-sell providers extra successfully and combine new enterprise capabilities.
• Technology: Full integration and deployment of Open Intelligence into WPP Open driving an enchancment in web new media enterprise. Expansion of our Google partnership for AI and cloud expertise and Adobe partnership for built-in options for international manufacturers; launch of WPP Open Pro (self-service) and Agent Hub (inner app retailer for AI brokers).
• Organisational construction: Launch of WPP Production, bringing collectively WPP’s in depth manufacturing capabilities into one unified organisation to centralise experience and allow a extra built-in providing for purchasers.

Actions introduced right now:

• WPP Creative: Formation of a unified working mannequin for our iconic company manufacturers throughout Creative, PR and Design. This preserves distinct company cultures whereas implementing a shared working system to facilitate frictionless collaboration and useful resource sharing and permitting purchasers to profit from entry to the total breadth of WPP’s capabilities and distinctive artistic expertise.
• WPP Enterprise Solutions: Establishment of a brand new working unit consolidating WPP’s buyer expertise, commerce, CRM, content material transformation and expertise & knowledge capabilities to seize high-growth demand for enterprise AI transformation. Clients will profit from entry to AI transformation and advertising modernisation providers.
• Cost effectivity: Initiation of a brand new £500m financial savings plan to fund funding in development drivers and rebuild margins.
• Talent framework: Implement new framework to embed a high-performance tradition and align aims and incentives globally to shopper outcomes and total WPP success.
• Focus the portfolio: Action selections from our portfolio assessment to unlock capital which will probably be used to scale back leverage and additional construct higher monetary flexibility. Processes are underway and we are going to replace sooner or later.

Three phases of supply

The plan is designed to ship sustained worth by means of three distinct phases:

Phase 1: Stabilise (2026) The rapid precedence is to stabilise web new enterprise efficiency. We are inspired by an improved new enterprise efficiency in This autumn 2025 (see This autumn 2025 highlights under for element) and will construct on actions at WPP Media to enhance competitiveness (particularly within the US and UK). We may also execute value saving initiatives, and take portfolio actions to enhance stability sheet flexibility.

• Financial purpose: Deliver constructive web new enterprise, obtain gross run-rate financial savings of £250m by year-end (equal to round £100m in-year gross financial savings) and progress portfolio actions.

Phase 2: Build (2027) We will absolutely implement and begin to profit from our revised go-to-market technique and proceed to ship advantages of the brand new working mannequin through improved execution and additional reductions in prices.

• Financial purpose: Return to natural development throughout 2027, rebuild margins and scale back leverage.

Phase 3: Accelerate (2028 and past) WPP will emerge as a less complicated, lower-cost, AI-enabled enterprise. Revenue development will probably be pushed by the total integration of media, artistic, manufacturing and enterprise options, in addition to the worldwide scaling of agentic workflows.

• Financial purpose: Accelerate natural development, broaden margins, ship robust money conversion.

Across all three phases a precedence will probably be to take care of an investment-grade stability sheet.

Financial framework

To obtain this transformation and help the supply of £500m of gross value financial savings, we anticipate whole money prices related to the Elevate28 programme to be roughly £400m, phased over two years.

We anticipate separating out restructuring spend from our headline P&L earnings metrics, nevertheless all money restructuring spend will probably be included in our adjusted working money movement pre working capital.

WPP will reinvest a good portion of those financial savings into high-growth areas together with media, commerce, excessive velocity manufacturing and enterprise options, in addition to strengthening our go-to-market capabilities, rebuilding incentives and sustaining funding in WPP Open. The stability will help a rebuild of our margins, alongside improved working leverage as we return to development.

Balance sheet and capital allocation

Reflecting this funding trajectory, we anticipate monetary leverage (common web debt to Headline EBITDA) to rise in 2026 earlier than decreasing from 2027 onwards as the corporate advantages from improved working efficiency, alongside actions already in progress to grasp worth from our portfolio.

In mild of the transformation programme, we now have reassessed our strategy to capital allocation and money returns. Our priorities, so as, are as follows:

• Maintain an funding grade stability sheet: our major focus is to retain robust liquidity, scale back gross debt the place doable and enhance leverage ratios over time.
• Fund natural development: we are going to ruthlessly prioritise funding within the quickest rising areas of our enterprise funded with our value initiatives, enabling a reallocation of funding to these capabilities that help group-wide development prospects.
• Share the proceeds of development: we are going to stability sustainable returns to our shareholders with inorganic funding however can have a laser deal with solely deploying capital when acquisition is extra environment friendly than constructing inner capabilities. Excess capital will probably be returned to shareholders.

Reflecting confidence within the plan, having declared a 7.5p closing dividend for 2025, the Board intends to take care of the annual dividend at 15.0p per share in 2026.

Meeting to cowl the Strategy Update and 2025 Results at 9.30am GMT/4.30am EST:

• In-person assembly: Please contact WPP Investor Relations at [email protected] for extra particulars and to register
• Webcast: Live webcast will probably be out there here

WPP 2025 Preliminary Results and Strategy Update PDF 454 KB

For additional info:

Media
Niken Wresniwiro, WPP +44 20 7282 4600

[email protected]

Investors and analysts

Thomas Singlehurst, CFA  +44 7876 431922
Anthony Hamilton    +44 7464 532 903
Melissa Fung  +44 7353 107064

[email protected]

wpp.com/investors