Publicis Group CEO says advertisers are pacing, not panicking
In the measured language of quarterly earnings calls few phrases say more with less than “cautious but competitive”. That’s how Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun described the mood among advertisers as tariffs cast a long shadow over the global economy and subsequently ad spending.
As President Trump administration’s tariffs keep the world guessing, marketers are starting to weigh the consequences: thinner margins, shakier pricing and the return of financial scrutiny across every marketing line item. No one’s pulling out. But no one’s doubled down either.
“To be clear, our clients are going to wait to see if there is more visibility before starting to invest,” Sadoun said on the group’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday.
And yet for now, they’re still spending, he added. Because even in uncertainty, marketers are under pressure to sustain and grow market share.
That paradox — investing in the face of volatility — isn’t new. But it’s becoming more pronounced. CMOs are walking a fine line between short-term caution and long-term competitiveness. The result: tighter creative timelines, more pressure on performance media and rising demand for sharper measurement.
The numbers reflect that balancing act: Publicis reported on Tuesday revenue growth of 4.9% over the quarter with North America and APAC both delivering 4.8%. Europe railed slightly at 2.7% while LATAM and other regions saw double-digit gains, suggesting that, for now, ad dollars are still in motion even if CMOs are steering them with more care.
“When you look at the quarter, our best month was actually March,” said Sadoun. “We saw that there’s still momentum.”
Whether that momentum carries through the rest of the year remains to be seen. Global trade tensions, inflation and the possibility of recession continue to cloud the forecast. Still, Publicis hasn’t revised its outlook: Original revenue is expected to grow between 4% and 5% this year.
“Our clients, as well as ourselves, are used to managing uncertainty — we went through Covid, war and inflation,” said Sadoun. “They know that at the moment if you stop investing you lose market share which can be very difficult to take back. So what I would say about the mood is that our clients are definitely cautious, but they are also very competitive.”
In other words, they’re still looking for opportunities — even if the road ahead remains unpredictable. They see advertising not as a cost but as intangible capital expenditure: an investment in growth that can’t be deferred for long.
That’s also why Sadoun remained calm about the slowdown at Publics Sapient this quarter. The hit was expected. Clints may be pausing their digital transformation efforts in the short-term but the long-term drivers haven’t changed. As AI and automation reshape business models, he feels investment will come back.
“What is important is that when our clients start to resume capex they will want to do business transformation in a cheaper and faster way thanks to AI agents,” said Sadoun. “That’s going to play to Sapient’s strengths because they are leaner more agile and organized in way that’s different from the labor intensive approach of their IT consulting rivals.”
New business helps insulate the downside
Even if there were to be an acute slowdown in ad spending, Sadoun believes Publicis’ momentum in winning new business would help soften the impact. And so far, in 2025, that theory holds. Publicis has been on a tear. Earlier this yearn it secured the coveted Coca-Cola media account in North America. That win builds on a strong 2024 in which its media agencies Starcom and Senith outpaced rivals in securing net new business (excluding retentions), winning $1.4 billion and $1.2 billion respectively, according to COMvergence.
“Thanks to the [Coca-Cola] win we just had, we are largely on track to deliver the total basis point of contribution to organic growth of 2025,” said Sadoun.
In a market marked by hesitation that kind of decisive movement stands out. Publicis isn’t immune to macro pressures but its showing that in this climate, competitive is as much about stability as it is about growth.
“New business is what makes us very confident to offset potential cuts that we could not have seen at the beginning of the year,” said Sadoun.
Despite the broader uncertainty, marketers are still scanning the field for agency partners. In fact, Sadoun said “there are lot of pitches going on” right now without naming names. Instead, CMOs are increasingly hiring Publicis without a formal review process. These aren’t full-scale account moves but rather trial engagements meant to “kick the tires” as Sadoun put it — to test what Publicis can do before committing to something larger.
It’s a shift in how new business gets done: less about RFPs and more about proving value early and often. And in this economy that might be the most competitive play of all.
M&A activity: opportunistic, not aggressive
Publicis has long been one of the more acquisitive players among the holdcos and 2025 has been no exception — at least so far. Last month, it announced plans to acquire ad tech firm Lotame, bolstering its global identity and data management capabilities as third-party cookie deprecation draws closer.
But anyone expecting a flurry of additional deals, especially amid speculation of a Trump-fueled M&A boom — may be in for a wait. Publicis, like many others, is keeping one eye on the deal table and another on the macroeconomic risk dashboard.
The return of market volatility, driven in part by Trump’s proposed policy changes, has sent U.S stock markets in a tizzy and reignited inflation concerns. The turbulence has caused some companies to pause or pull planned deals, forcing even the most active firms to tread carefully.
“We’ve invested roughly €500 million since the beginning of the year, and if you take a further step back, €1.7 billion since the beginning of 2024,” said Publicis Groupe’s CFO Loris Nold. “What is important is to also understand where we stand if we have a good pipeline, but we remain very cautious when it comes to our acquisition.”
Translation: Publicis isn’t out of the market but it’s not rushing into it either. Any future deals will need to meet a high bar — immediate accretion, strategic fit, smooth integration and a valuation that makes sense in today’s jittery market.
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