Strong business momentum expected to continue into 2027

Research evidence excerpt

Strong business momentum expected to continue into 2027

Publicis UBS Research

earnings call summary

Confidence in achieving the upgraded FY26 guidance. Management raised

FY26 organic growth guidance to 4.5% to 5.0% (from 4.0-5.0% previously),

assuming broadly unchanged macro conditions. However, any improvement in the

macro backdrop would support delivery towards the top-end of the range.

Management also reiterated that underlying growth is expected to accelerate in

H2 versus H1, supported by new business wins, with both Q3 and Q4 expected to

be within the upgraded guidance range.

Momentum into 2027 underpinned by new business and client retention.

Publicis highlighted six big new account wins over the past six months, expected to

contribute c200bps of growth when fully ramped. Importantly, only around 50bps

is expected to benefit FY26, with c150bps flowing into FY27. Management also

noted that they have not lost any material clients over the past 12 months and the

group continues to benefit from a more concentrated competitive landscape, with

fewer scaled global competitors competing for large multinational accounts.

Unlikely to see meaningful recovery for Sapient, but the core business

remains solid. Management reiterated that they are not assuming any

meaningful recovery for Sapient at H2, with clients continuing to defer capex

spend. However, management stressed Sapient only accounts for 13% of group

revenue, and the remaining business excl Sapient continues to perform strongly,

delivering 6.5% organic growth in Q2. Whilst the Middle East conflict continues to

weigh on Sapient and broader IT services spending, management emphasised that

they are not seeing any meaningful deterioration in marketing demand or ad

budgets.