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WPP underestimates pinch from corporate austerity

23 Aug 2017

The ad group cut its 2017 net sales guidance, blaming lower spending by consumer-goods giants which make up about a third of revenue. Boss Martin Sorrell reckons this will reverse. The danger is that zero-based budgeting and shareholder activism make frugality the new normal.

Viewsroom: Citi lays out path to mediocrity

27 Jul 2017

CEO Mike Corbat pledged a huge earnings boost at the bank’s first investor confab in nine years. But Citi’s enduring crisis hangover will still leave it trailing most rivals. In China, HNA’s shadowy ownership may be a big problem for U.S. M&A. Plus: Google keeps clicking.

Facebook quest beyond ads should top itinerary

26 Jul 2017

The social network beat profit estimates as more brands sought to reach its 2 bln users. Yet revenue growth is easing and mobile’s dominant share of advertising has limited upside. For a company near the top of its game, it’s a good time to explore alternatives to Madison Avenue.

New York Times could risk all-digital bet

26 Jul 2017

Online subs surged with Trump’s rise. But print-ad revenue is down a quarter in two years, adding to job-cut angst. Ending printing would be radical but not absurd. Breakingviews estimates the company would need 1.4 mln, or 50 pct, more paying digital users to end up even.

Alphabet opacity hinders Google’s antitrust fight

24 Jul 2017

Despite huge efforts outside online search the $685 bln juggernaut still looks like a one-trick pony dependent on ad sales. Shedding more light on its autonomous vehicle, YouTube, biotech and other ventures might comfort investors about the looming risks of antitrust regulation.

WebMD gets second opinion on rollup strategy

24 Jul 2017

Back in 1999, the online health-information publisher united with another fledgling rival in a deal backed by Microsoft and Intel. KKR is now buying WebMD for $2.8 bln, far less than the earlier stock-swap valuation. This fresh merger with other websites may work out better.

Publicis pleasant surprise flags ad world’s plight

20 Jul 2017

The French ad group’s top line grew 0.8 percent. But even that looks good: in the previous two quarters Publicis’ organic revenue shrank, and analysts were expecting it to do so again. The challenges to media buying make the industry’s low valuation look justified.

Newspapers push wrong solution to online duopoly

10 Jul 2017

The Wall Street Journal and others want the right to bargain collectively with Facebook and Google. The titans’ dominance of the $83 bln U.S. digital ad market is a concern, but not just for print media. Combating it requires antitrust enforcement, not an industry carve-out.

Bolloré clan’s deal sums don’t add up

23 Jun 2017

Vincent Bolloré’s Vivendi is buying ad group Havas, run by his son Yannick. The younger Bolloré says it may create at least 390 mln euros of value, justifying the premium. That’s dubious: the premium is arguably bigger than he claims, and the return on investment still looks low.

Publicis broadcasts ad world’s shortcomings

19 Jun 2017

A shareholder group says the French media agency flattered its operating margin by including a one-off compensation payment. The company defends its accounting but the case is a dose of unhelpful publicity for an industry facing a bid-rigging probe and claims of opaque pricing.

Viewsroom: Donald Trump can’t melt Paris accord

1 Jun 2017

The president is pulling America out of the climate pact signed by 195 countries in 2015. But the continued commitment from cities, companies, investors and other states will limit the damage. Meanwhile Goldman Sachs steps into a Venezuelan mess. Plus: advertisers as activists.

Publicis pay hike shows where real power lies

1 Jun 2017

Long-time boss Maurice Lévy will receive 2.8 mln euros as chairman – more than he was paid as CEO. After 30 years in charge of the advertising group he has much to teach his successor. But his presence on the board inhibits fresh thinking at a firm that has struggled for growth.

Vivendi’s Havas deal hangs on new media logic

16 May 2017

The French media group reckons the convergence of advertising, distribution and content justifies its 3.9 bln euro offer for the ad firm. Yet the numbers don’t add up without heroic assumptions, and Havas customers may not take kindly to the new arrangement.

Alphabet ad autopilot heads for profit and bother

27 Apr 2017

The $610 bln Google parent racked up another strong quarter with a 22 pct increase in revenue. Its deepening digital-advertising duopoly with Facebook helps make growth more predictable – but may also bring the companies closer to a face-off with antitrust watchdogs.

Publicis revenue reprieve could prove fleeting

20 Apr 2017

The French ad group suffered a smaller-than-expected hit to its top line in the first quarter, as growth in Europe offset account losses and weaker spending in the U.S. The risk is a greater backlash to murky industry pricing practices that spreads beyond America.

Google boycotts expose flaws of digital ads

23 Mar 2017

Verizon and AT&T joined other advertisers in pulling spending from Google over questionable content. A bigger issue is the opacity of the search giant and its fellow online duopolist, Facebook. By withholding money, companies are voicing doubts about digital ads’ effectiveness.

Google and Facebook tipping balance of power

20 Mar 2017

The web-search giant lost Havas as a client in Britain and is being squeezed by the UK government over ad placements and policies. Similarly, Mark Zuckerberg’s social network faces outcries over fake news. Pressure is slowly but steadily mounting for this $1 trln digital duopoly.

WPP growth machine creaks

3 Mar 2017

The advertising group, despite being in more than 100 countries, expects revenue to increase less than global GDP in 2017. Losing a couple of big accounts like AT&T and VW help explain it. But the media business faces structural threats, and WPP’s margin growth has a ceiling.

Publicis’ Levy pulls plug on heir’s kitchen sink

9 Feb 2017

The French ad giant announced a 1.4 bln euro digital writedown and shrinking fourth-quarter organic growth. New boss Arthur Sadoun thus has less scope to open his tenure with a big dump of bad news. Current CEO Maurice Levy remaining as chair won’t make that any easier, anyway.