One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$88.90 our estimate vs market $25.80
Wall Street consensus: $23.83 (-73.2% lower than our fair-value estimate)
71% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
WPP plc
WPP · NYQ · Communication Services · Advertising Agencies
Current price
$25.80
52-week range
$14.81 - $27.89
Market cap
$5.57B
Balance sheet
Stretched
1.09x Concerning
Net debt $6.42B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
2 Rewards
3 Risks
2 rewards · 3 risks
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
- Reward Dividend yield is 3.9% with 39-year payout history.
- Risk Return on equity was -6.6% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 9.4% to 4.1% over 3 years.
What this company does
WPP plc
WPP plc is a large advertising and marketing company that helps businesses across the globe create and deliver their messages to customers. Their main income comes from offering a wide range of services like advertising campaigns, public relations (managing how people see a company), and digital marketing, which matters because it shows how WPP is helping its clients navigate the complex world of reaching consumers today.
How the company got here
WPP started in 1985, initially as a manufacturer of shopping carts, before pivoting to advertising. This transformation, led by its founder Martin Sorrell, involved a series of strategic acquisitions of established advertising and marketing firms. Over the decades, WPP grew into one of the world's largest advertising and marketing conglomerates, known for its ability to offer a wide range of services to global clients. The company's history is marked by aggressive expansion and a focus on integrating acquired businesses to create a comprehensive service offering.
What it actually does
WPP is a company that helps other businesses connect with their customers through various forms of communication and marketing. Think of it as a behind-the-scenes partner for brands. They develop creative ideas for advertisements, manage how those ads are shown to people (like on TV, online, or social media), and help companies build and maintain their brand image. Essentially, WPP's job is to make sure that when people think about a product or service, they have a positive association with the brand.
Global Integrated Agencies
This is WPP's largest business segment, focusing on providing a full suite of marketing and advertising services. It's where WPP develops creative campaigns, produces advertisements, and manages media buying (deciding where and when ads are placed) for major global clients. This segment aims to offer an 'integrated' approach, meaning all aspects of a client's marketing needs are handled under one roof. It represents a significant portion of WPP's overall revenue, making it the core engine of the company's business.
Public Relations
This segment of WPP focuses on managing a company's reputation and its relationships with the public, media, and other stakeholders. Services include crafting public statements, managing crises when things go wrong, advising on public affairs (how a company interacts with government and policy), and handling social media presence. The goal is to build and protect a client's image and ensure positive public perception. While smaller than the integrated agencies, it's crucial for maintaining brand trust and navigating complex public landscapes.
Specialist Agencies
This segment encompasses a variety of WPP's more focused and specialized services that don't fit neatly into the larger categories. This can include areas like brand consulting (helping define what a brand stands for), product and service design (creating new offerings or improving existing ones), and specific areas of digital marketing or data analytics. These specialist services often cater to niche needs or provide deep expertise in particular areas, contributing a smaller but valuable part of WPP's diverse revenue streams.
What management is betting on now
WPP's current strategy revolves around 'creative transformation,' which means helping clients adapt to a rapidly changing marketing landscape, especially with the rise of digital technologies and data. Management is focused on integrating WPP's various services more effectively to provide seamless solutions for clients and leveraging data analytics to make marketing more targeted and efficient. They are also investing in technology and talent to stay ahead of industry trends, aiming to drive growth by helping clients navigate challenges like e-commerce and personalized customer experiences.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $88.90 vs current price $25.80
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $23.83 (-73.2% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $88.90 a share — about 244.6% above today's price of $25.80, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Stretched
Net debt $6.4B. Interest coverage 1.1x.
Net debt
$6.42B
Interest coverage
1.09x
WPP plc's profit covers its interest bill about 1.1 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here.
Stretched
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
WPP
BASELINE
WPP plc
Total debt $9.57B Interest coverage 1.09x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $11.36B Interest coverage 1.69x +56% vs WPP Carries about 1.6x more debt cushion than WPP.
Total debt $6.08B Interest coverage 12.87x +1,086% vs WPP Carries about 11.9x more debt cushion than WPP.
Total debt $1.71B Interest coverage 1.65x +52% vs WPP Carries about 1.5x more debt cushion than WPP.
Total debt $434.11M Interest coverage 8.58x +690% vs WPP Carries about 7.9x more debt cushion than WPP.
What you should know
The case for and against WPP
2 Rewards
3 Risks
Rewards
-
Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
-
Dividend yield is 3.9% with 39-year payout history.
Risks
-
Return on equity was -6.6% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
-
Operating margin compressed from 9.4% to 4.1% over 3 years.
-
Insider ownership is only 0.0% (peer median: 1.8%).
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
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Forward P/E
6.83x
P/B
7.97x
P/S
0.42x
EV/EBITDA
56.54x
PEG ratio
4.23x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
15.9%
Operating margin
4.1%
Net margin
-1.8%
ROE
-6.6%
ROA
1.1%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
2.58x
Current ratio
0.87x
Quick ratio
0.87x
Total debt
$9.57B
Total cash
$3.15B
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$17.67B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-2.1%
EPS TTM
-1.50
EPS 5Y CAGR
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Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$964.90M
Free CF TTM
$717.01M
FCF margin
4.1%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
3.9%
Payout ratio
117.5%
Last ex-div date
2026-10-09