AD Agencies
Havas hits the accelerator as AI strategy bears fruit
PARIS: Havas is charging into the final quarter of 2025 with a spring in its step. The advertising group posted organic net revenue growth of 3.8 per cent in the third quarter, smashing expectations and vindicating its strategic pivot towards artificial intelligence and data-driven marketing. The surge in top-line performance prompted management to sharpen full-year guidance decisively upwards, signalling confidence that the worst of the economic headwinds facing the sector have passed.
The results reveal a business in motion. North America blazed a trail with organic growth of 7.4 per cent, driven chiefly by Havas Health’s double-digit expansion and its ability to wring higher budgets out of existing clients—a rare feat in an industry where money typically flows only to new business wins. The Asia-Pacific region bounced back smartly from a tepid second quarter with 8.2 per cent growth, whilst the United Kingdom performed solidly. France, dragged down by a tough comparison with last year’s Olympic Games boost, and Latin America, battered by unfavourable currency moves, were the laggards.
Havas now expects full-year net revenue organic growth of between 2.5 and 3.0 per cent, up from previous guidance of above 2.0 per cent. More significantly, the group reckons on an adjusted EBIT margin improvement of around 50 basis points to approximately 12.9 per cent—a meaningful lift that suggests operational leverage is kicking in. The nine-month figures show organic growth of 2.8 per cent, buoyed by cross-selling wins amongst the top 30 clients.
The financial picture is straightforward: Havas is extracting better returns from its existing client base whilst simultaneously expanding its footprint. Operating margin expansion of this magnitude rarely happens by accident. The group has plainly succeeded in persuading clients to spend more on higher-margin services and shifted work into more profitable lines—precisely what a well-functioning agency should accomplish.
Two strategic moves underscore management’s ambition. The majority acquisition of Tidart, a Spanish digital performance specialist, plugs gaps in Havas’ capabilities across e-commerce and performance marketing. More consequential is the formation of Horizon Global, a joint venture with Horizon Media Holdings worth a combined $20 billion in global billings. Styled as an “AI-native solution,” the venture signals that Havas’ Converged.AI strategy—the group’s bet on helping clients harness artificial intelligence across their marketing ecosystems—is moving from rhetoric into revenue-generating reality.
Chief executive vYannick Bolloré spoke of “impressive commercial momentum” and “notable new business wins.” Translation: the market is buying what Havas is selling.
None of this occurs in a vacuum. Foreign exchange movements clipped 3.9 per cent from reported revenue growth, with the dollar’s recent weakness particularly stinging. Geopolitical tensions, trade pressures and political uncertainties lurk in the background. The group remains cautious about the year ahead, even as it tightens guidance.
The broader picture for Havas: a global advertising industry grinding through modest growth and relentless margin pressure is being challenged—and beaten—by a group that has successfully positioned itself as a challenger taking share through genuine commercial innovation. Whether that momentum persists through 2026 is the question investors are asking now. For the moment, the trajectory looks encouraging.
AD Agencies
Omnicom to divest $2.5 billion businesses in 12 months: CEO John Wren
Group doubles synergy target to $1.5bn as jobs, brands and markets go
NEW YORK: Omnicom Group is preparing to divest or exit businesses generating about $2.5 billion in annual revenue, stepping up a sweeping portfolio overhaul after its $13.25 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group.
Speaking on the group’s fourth-quarter earnings call, chairman and chief executive officer John Wren said Omnicom had already sold or exited units worth more than $800 million in annual revenue and expects to complete the remaining disposals within 12 months.
The company is also scaling back in smaller markets, shifting from majority to minority ownership in businesses accounting for roughly $700 million in revenue. These markets, Wren said, are no longer central to Omnicom’s long-term strategy.
Following the IPG merger, Omnicom has doubled its targeted annual run-rate synergies to $1.5 billion over the next 30 months, from an earlier estimate of $750 million. Management expects to capture $900 million of those savings in 2026 alone, with around $1 billion coming from labour cost reductions as overlapping corporate, network and operational roles are eliminated.
Further efficiencies will flow from simplified regional and brand structures, consolidated resources, and faster outsourcing and offshoring under a unified operating model. In December 2025, the group said it would cut more than 4,000 jobs and fold several agency brands into larger networks.
Wren also underlined stepped-up investment in automation and artificial intelligence to lift margins and sharpen client servicing amid intensifying competition.
The board has authorised a $5 billion share buyback, including a $2.5 billion accelerated repurchase programme, while committing continued investment in media, commerce, consulting and data capabilities.
Omnicom reported a 27.9 per cent rise in fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue to $5.53 billion, reflecting organic growth and one month’s contribution from IPG, compared with $4.32 billion a year earlier. Wren said the IPG combination strengthened the client roster, citing new or expanded mandates from American Express, Bayer, BBVA, BNY, Mercedes-Benz and NatWest Group.
