"Speak to any holding company leader and they'll be the first to tell you they're misunderstood. They feel maligned by all the independent agencies looking to poach their smaller clients who may feel overlooked or under appreciated. They feel the downward pressure on pricing from client-side procurement and finance folk, who see media spend as just a cost center, not a means to successful marketing."
"Based on last week's stock performance of arguably the most successful holding company out there - Publicis Groupe, which issued strong 2025 earnings as well as pretty bullish projections for 2026 - it seems Wall Street may not understand the value of a holding company anymore. And the truth is, if Publicis' stock is going to get smacked around the way it did last week,"
Holding company leaders report being misunderstood, pressured by independent agencies poaching smaller clients and by client procurement treating media spend as a cost center. Publicis Groupe reported strong 2025 earnings, bullish 2026 projections, 5.9% organic growth, above-4% regional growth including Europe, an 18.2% operating margin, and 2 billion euros in free cash flow. Despite those fundamentals, Publicis' stock fell and trades well below its 52-week high. Comparable peers such as WPP, Omnicom, and Dentsu may face greater risk if market sentiment toward holding companies weakens further. The market reaction reads as a broader judgment on the holding company category.
Read at Digiday
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