We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights Publicis Groupe, Omnicom and Quad/Graphics
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – May 14, 2026 – Today, Zacks Equity Research discussesPublicis Groupe S.A. (PUBGY - Free Report) , Omnicom Group (OMC - Free Report) and Quad/Graphics, Inc. (QUAD - Free Report) .
The rise in service activities, increased digital marketing services, and the success of the work-from-home trend enable the Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry to counter the prevailing revenue softness.
Customer-centric approaches, digital strategies, and technology investments are helping Publicis Groupe S.A.,Omnicom Group and Quad/Graphics, Inc. navigate the current testing times.
About the Industry
The Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry comprises companies that offer an extensive range of services, including advertising, branding, content marketing, digital/direct marketing, digital transformation, financial/corporate business-to-business advertising, graphic arts/digital imaging, healthcare marketing and communications, and in-store design services. Prominent industry players include Interpublic and Omnicom.
The pandemic significantly altered the way industry players conducted business and delivered services. Currently, the industry’s key focus is on channeling money and efforts toward media formats and devices. To position themselves well in the post-pandemic era, service providers are increasing their efforts to formulate strategic initiatives and identify sources of demand.
What's Shaping the Future of the Industry?
Economic Recovery: According to the advance estimate issued by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the economy stayed resilient, with GDP increasing 2% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to 0.5% growth in the fourth quarter of 2025. Non-manufacturing activity remained strong, as reflected by the Services PMI, which stayed above the 50% mark for the 22nd consecutive month in April. Manufacturing also remained in expansion territory for the fourth straight month in April.
Reviving Demand: The industry is mature, with demand for services remaining stable over time. Revenues, income, and cash flows are anticipated to gradually reach pre-pandemic levels, aiding most industry players in paying out stable dividends.
Digital Marketing Gathering Steam: Digital media consumption has increased, with consumers spending more time on various media platforms and video-streaming services. Thus, agencies offering digital marketing services stand to gain, as these firms are better positioned to address the rapid change in customer preferences.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Solid Near-Term Prospects
The Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry, housed within the broader Zacks Business Services sector, currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #46. This rank places it in the top 19% of 244 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates underperformance in the near term. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than two to one.
Before we present a few stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock market performance and current valuation:
Industry's Price Performance
Over the past year, the Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry has underperformed the S&P 500 composite but outperformed the broader sector. The industry has gained 7% compared to the S&P 500 composite’s growth of 30% and the broader sector’s decline of 22% in the same time frame.
Industry's Current Valuation
Based on the forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, which is commonly used for valuing advertising and marketing stocks, the industry is currently trading at 7.27X compared with the S&P 500’s 22.14X and the sector’s 18.01X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 14.26 and as low as 7.27X, with the median being 17.38X.
3 Advertising Stocks to Buy
Here, we have presented three stocks that are well-positioned for near-term growth:
Publicis: The company is a provider of marketing, communications, and digital business transformation services.
It delivered a strong start to the year, continuing its long streak of industry outperformance despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. The company reported healthy organic revenue growth across key markets, including the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, further widening the gap with competitors. Publicis also reaffirmed its industry-leading full-year organic growth outlook, supported by expectations for accelerating momentum in the coming quarters.
The company’s continued success is being driven by strong client demand, leadership in new business wins, and strategic investments in high-growth capabilities such as content measurement, sports marketing, and AI-powered solutions. Management also sees artificial intelligence as a major long-term growth driver that is strengthening partnerships and enhancing competitive positioning.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2026 bottom line has been revised 1.7% upward to $2.35 over the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Omnicom:The company is a provider of advertising, marketing, and corporate communications services.
Omnicom delivered a strong first-quarter performance, supported by its integrated capabilities, expanding media platform, and AI-powered Omni platform. The company continues to strengthen its position in an increasingly complex and fragmented marketing environment through advanced data, identity, and media solutions. Omnicom also reported solid revenue growth alongside double-digit growth in adjusted diluted EPS, reflecting healthy operational momentum.
Additionally, the company remains on track to achieve meaningful cost-reduction synergies while executing an aggressive share repurchase strategy under its $5 billion authorization. Management believes this combination of operational efficiency and disciplined capital allocation can support long-term profitability and earnings growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2026 bottom line has been revised 6.5% upward to $10.97 over the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Quad/Graphics: The company is a marketing solutions provider.
It reported first-quarter results that were largely in line with expectations and indicated that it remains on track to achieve its full-year 2026 guidance. Despite macroeconomic pressures, including higher postage rates and supply-chain cost challenges tied to geopolitical conflicts, the company continues to focus on long-term growth, margin expansion, and disciplined cost management.
Quad is also investing in innovative marketing solutions, AI-powered media capabilities, and strategic talent acquisition to deepen client relationships and enhance service offerings. Its audience strategy and omnichannel media services are gaining traction, while operational initiatives such as automation, AI-enabled tools, and advanced co-mailing solutions are helping improve efficiency, productivity, and client cost savings.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for QUAD’s 2026 EPS has been revised 1.7% upward to $1.2 over the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)
Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report
predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Shutterstock
Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights Publicis Groupe, Omnicom and Quad/Graphics
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – May 14, 2026 – Today, Zacks Equity Research discussesPublicis Groupe S.A. (PUBGY - Free Report) , Omnicom Group (OMC - Free Report) and Quad/Graphics, Inc. (QUAD - Free Report) .
Industry: Advertising & Marketing
Link: https://www.zacks.com/commentary/2920799/3-advertising-marketing-stocks-to-buy-from-a-thriving-industry
The rise in service activities, increased digital marketing services, and the success of the work-from-home trend enable the Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry to counter the prevailing revenue softness.
Customer-centric approaches, digital strategies, and technology investments are helping Publicis Groupe S.A.,Omnicom Group and Quad/Graphics, Inc. navigate the current testing times.
About the Industry
The Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry comprises companies that offer an extensive range of services, including advertising, branding, content marketing, digital/direct marketing, digital transformation, financial/corporate business-to-business advertising, graphic arts/digital imaging, healthcare marketing and communications, and in-store design services. Prominent industry players include Interpublic and Omnicom.
The pandemic significantly altered the way industry players conducted business and delivered services. Currently, the industry’s key focus is on channeling money and efforts toward media formats and devices. To position themselves well in the post-pandemic era, service providers are increasing their efforts to formulate strategic initiatives and identify sources of demand.
What's Shaping the Future of the Industry?
Economic Recovery: According to the advance estimate issued by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the economy stayed resilient, with GDP increasing 2% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to 0.5% growth in the fourth quarter of 2025. Non-manufacturing activity remained strong, as reflected by the Services PMI, which stayed above the 50% mark for the 22nd consecutive month in April. Manufacturing also remained in expansion territory for the fourth straight month in April.
Reviving Demand: The industry is mature, with demand for services remaining stable over time. Revenues, income, and cash flows are anticipated to gradually reach pre-pandemic levels, aiding most industry players in paying out stable dividends.
Digital Marketing Gathering Steam: Digital media consumption has increased, with consumers spending more time on various media platforms and video-streaming services. Thus, agencies offering digital marketing services stand to gain, as these firms are better positioned to address the rapid change in customer preferences.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Solid Near-Term Prospects
The Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry, housed within the broader Zacks Business Services sector, currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #46. This rank places it in the top 19% of 244 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates underperformance in the near term. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than two to one.
Before we present a few stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock market performance and current valuation:
Industry's Price Performance
Over the past year, the Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry has underperformed the S&P 500 composite but outperformed the broader sector. The industry has gained 7% compared to the S&P 500 composite’s growth of 30% and the broader sector’s decline of 22% in the same time frame.
Industry's Current Valuation
Based on the forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, which is commonly used for valuing advertising and marketing stocks, the industry is currently trading at 7.27X compared with the S&P 500’s 22.14X and the sector’s 18.01X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 14.26 and as low as 7.27X, with the median being 17.38X.
3 Advertising Stocks to Buy
Here, we have presented three stocks that are well-positioned for near-term growth:
Publicis: The company is a provider of marketing, communications, and digital business transformation services.
It delivered a strong start to the year, continuing its long streak of industry outperformance despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. The company reported healthy organic revenue growth across key markets, including the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, further widening the gap with competitors. Publicis also reaffirmed its industry-leading full-year organic growth outlook, supported by expectations for accelerating momentum in the coming quarters.
The company’s continued success is being driven by strong client demand, leadership in new business wins, and strategic investments in high-growth capabilities such as content measurement, sports marketing, and AI-powered solutions. Management also sees artificial intelligence as a major long-term growth driver that is strengthening partnerships and enhancing competitive positioning.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2026 bottom line has been revised 1.7% upward to $2.35 over the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank(Strong Buy) stocks here.
Omnicom:The company is a provider of advertising, marketing, and corporate communications services.
Omnicom delivered a strong first-quarter performance, supported by its integrated capabilities, expanding media platform, and AI-powered Omni platform. The company continues to strengthen its position in an increasingly complex and fragmented marketing environment through advanced data, identity, and media solutions. Omnicom also reported solid revenue growth alongside double-digit growth in adjusted diluted EPS, reflecting healthy operational momentum.
Additionally, the company remains on track to achieve meaningful cost-reduction synergies while executing an aggressive share repurchase strategy under its $5 billion authorization. Management believes this combination of operational efficiency and disciplined capital allocation can support long-term profitability and earnings growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2026 bottom line has been revised 6.5% upward to $10.97 over the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Quad/Graphics: The company is a marketing solutions provider.
It reported first-quarter results that were largely in line with expectations and indicated that it remains on track to achieve its full-year 2026 guidance. Despite macroeconomic pressures, including higher postage rates and supply-chain cost challenges tied to geopolitical conflicts, the company continues to focus on long-term growth, margin expansion, and disciplined cost management.
Quad is also investing in innovative marketing solutions, AI-powered media capabilities, and strategic talent acquisition to deepen client relationships and enhance service offerings. Its audience strategy and omnichannel media services are gaining traction, while operational initiatives such as automation, AI-enabled tools, and advanced co-mailing solutions are helping improve efficiency, productivity, and client cost savings.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for QUAD’s 2026 EPS has been revised 1.7% upward to $1.2 over the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Get all the details here >>
Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch/
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
https://www.zacks.com
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.