WPP has returned its media business to modest growth, giving chief executive Cindy Rose an early sign that the advertising group’s restructuring is gaining traction. Yet the improvement has not spread evenly across the company. Its creative operation, which accounts for a larger share of the business, continued to contract in the third quarter.
In its October 29, 2026 trading update, WPP reported that revenue less pass-through costs fell 2.1% on a like-for-like basis. The distinction matters: headline reported revenue rose 0.5%, but the measure that strips out certain externally supplied costs remained negative. The group reiterated its target of returning to organic growth during 2027.
Key Takeaways
- WPP Media returned to modest like-for-like growth in Q3 2026, its first positive quarter in roughly two years.
- WPP Creative contracted further, leaving the group’s recovery uneven despite gains in media and production.
- Advertisers should evaluate the operating performance and accountability of the specific WPP teams serving their accounts rather than treating group-level momentum as uniform.
Table of contents
Jump to each section:
- Media growth is an early signal, not a full recovery
- Creative remains a larger drag on WPP
- Major client wins raise the execution bar
- What agency buyers should watch next
Media growth is an early signal, not a full recovery
WPP Media grew 0.3% on a like-for-like basis in the third quarter, following declines of 8.3% in the first quarter and 2.8% in the second. The return to positive territory breaks a long losing streak, but it does not yet establish that revenue growth can be sustained.
0.3% like-for-like growth marked WPP Media’s return to positive territory in Q3 2026, according to WPP’s October 29 trading update.
Rose described the group results as further sequential improvement and said the company remained on course with its Elevate28 restructuring plan. The chief executive said, “Our third quarter results show further sequential improvement in LFL growth, in line with our expectations.”
The comparison with earlier quarters is meaningful, but it comes with a qualification. Management is seeking evidence that newer client assignments and a simpler operating structure can translate into repeatable growth, rather than a single quarter aided by easier comparisons or the timing of client activity.
Creative remains a larger drag on WPP
The creative business illustrates why the wider turnaround remains unfinished. WPP Creative declined 5.1% on a like-for-like basis in Q3, compared with a 3.5% decline in the second quarter. Production, by contrast, grew 2.5%.
| WPP operating unit | Q3 2026 like-for-like growth | Share of revenue less pass-through costs |
|---|---|---|
| WPP Media | +0.3% | 45% |
| WPP Creative | -5.1% | 48% |
| WPP Production | +2.5% | 7% |
Source: WPP third-quarter 2026 trading update.
Because creative represents the largest of these operating units by revenue less pass-through costs, weakness there carries more weight than the headline improvement in media. WPP attributed pressure in creative to softer client spending and the timing of new-business contributions.
The geographic picture was also negative across every region. Asia-Pacific declined 4.3% on a like-for-like basis in the quarter, compared with a 1.8% decline in North America, limiting the case for calling the recovery broad-based.
4.3% decline was WPP’s Q3 like-for-like result in Asia-Pacific, according to WPP’s October 29 trading update.
There was a more encouraging detail for communications specialists. In the investor earnings-call discussion, WPP management said its public relations operations had returned to growth, even as the broader creative division struggled. The available earnings-call transcript did not provide a separate percentage for PR, so the scale of that improvement remains unclear.
Major client wins raise the execution bar
WPP pointed to major client wins and retentions as evidence that advertisers continue to buy into its integrated offer. The group retained much of The Coca-Cola Company’s global media remit, excluding North America, Japan and South Korea, and expanded its work with DoorDash. The company also named Nestlé, Uber and Waymo among its Q3 client assignments and retentions.
That is a stronger commercial signal than a restructuring announcement alone. It shows the network is still securing substantial mandates during a period of pressure on its existing business. However, the value and timing of those assignments are not fully broken out in the quarterly statement, so they cannot yet be treated as proof of revenue recovery.
The broader competitive test remains demanding. WPP operates alongside holding-company rivals including Publicis Groupe and Omnicom, both of which are competing to offer more connected media, data and creative services. WPP’s promise of closer coordination needs to be judged by how accounts are delivered, not only by the size of mandates secured.
What agency buyers should watch next
For marketing and communications leaders choosing an agency partner, WPP’s third-quarter figures are a reason to ask more precise questions rather than draw a simple positive or negative conclusion.
Account leaders should clarify ownership across disciplines. A brand buying media, creative and PR from different parts of WPP should know who is responsible for shared campaign outcomes, how budgets move between teams and who resolves disagreements across markets. That is especially relevant for global contracts such as Coca-Cola’s, where some markets sit outside the retained remit.
Procurement teams should ask for operating evidence. A network-wide cost-saving or integration target does not by itself show that a local account team is more effective. Clients can ask for concrete examples of faster production, clearer reporting or fewer handoffs from comparable recent work, together with the person accountable for delivery.
Communications heads should separate divisional trends from PR execution. Management’s statement that PR returned to growth is encouraging, but the larger creative division remains under pressure. A buyer assessing a PR engagement should focus on the capabilities, staffing and regional coverage of the actual communications team.
The direction of WPP’s turnaround has improved, particularly in media. Its next test is whether a more integrated operating model can stabilize creative work and sustain client growth across regions. Until then, the quarter is better read as an early sign of progress than as a completed recovery.