Julia Faria
Research lead covering advertising and marketing
Publicis Groupe - statistics & facts
Depending on the metric, the advertising world has two top dogs. While Paris-based Publicis Groupe surpassed Omnicom Group to reach second place in global revenue — trailing only behind fellow Big Six giant WPP plc — CEO Arthur Sadoun announced in late 2024 that, based on net revenue, Publicis had surpassed its competitors to become the world’s leading agency group.
In conjunction with AI, Publicis has also been making moves in the digital retail media universe. In September 2024, it announced it was acquiring Mars United, one of the largest agencies specializing in retail media. According to Publicis, this acquisition would aid clients through every aspect of retail media, from planning to tracking campaign sales.
Publicis entered 2025 with sustained confidence, focusing on advancing in its targeted acquisition plans, particularly in tech and proprietary data. As industry peers Omnicom and IPG plan to unite into the leading global agency group, CEO Sadoun views the takeover as an opportunity to further strengthen his company’s position in a leaner competitive landscape.
Beating all competition in the market value game
Publicis’ global revenue surpassed 16 billion euros in 2024, marking an increase from the previous year and seeing the group exceed its growth targets, spurred by a series of strategic acquisitions and data-fueled targeted marketing. The company’s net income also achieved new heights, as its dividend payment rose to 3.6 euros per share. Publicis Groupe’s market capitalization more than doubled in the last five years, from 12 billion U.S. dollars to nearly 25 billion, making it the world’s number one agency group in terms of market value.Strategic investments leading to stronger business models
Roughly one-third of Publicis’ revenue in 2024 came from clients in the healthcare and automotive sectors, including brands such as Pfizer, Toyota, and Stellantis. That same year, North America ranked as the company's largest market, ahead of Europe. Latin America trumped other regions when it came to regional organic growth, followed by the Middle East and Africa. Over the last five years, Publicis finalized a sequence of tech-driven strategic acquisitions aiming to strengthen it in different business models: from email marketing and data company Epsilon in 2019 to the world’s top influencer marketing company, Influential, in 2024. Publicis’ 2024 was also marked by two significant client wins in Europe at the expense of competitor WPP: In May, L'Oréal UK and Ireland left WPP for Publicis, followed by Sky Media’s similar move in August.Advancing in AI and retail media
Publicis has been an early adopter of artificial intelligence (AI) in its workflow, debuting its AI-driven Marcel platform in 2018. Fast forward six years to 2024, and Publicis has pledged to invest 326 million dollars in AI over the next three years. In January 2024, the company also debuted CoreAI, a centralized tool that promises to transform its workflow by combining Publicis’ proprietary data with data and coding owned by Publicis Sapient. In early 2025, Publicis announced it was uniting creative networks Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett to form a new creative unit named Leo – with the aim of merging creative with data in the AI era.In conjunction with AI, Publicis has also been making moves in the digital retail media universe. In September 2024, it announced it was acquiring Mars United, one of the largest agencies specializing in retail media. According to Publicis, this acquisition would aid clients through every aspect of retail media, from planning to tracking campaign sales.
Publicis entered 2025 with sustained confidence, focusing on advancing in its targeted acquisition plans, particularly in tech and proprietary data. As industry peers Omnicom and IPG plan to unite into the leading global agency group, CEO Sadoun views the takeover as an opportunity to further strengthen his company’s position in a leaner competitive landscape.
