Omnicom tops revenue estimates, APAC posts 6.5% organic growth

Omnicom saw an organic growth of 3.0% for Q2. Asia Pacific outperformed major developed markets with a 6.5% organic lift, more than double the growth seen in the US.

Revenue for the quarter rose 4.2% to US$4.02 billion, helped by foreign exchange gains and steady organic performance across media and precision marketing. However, profitability took a hit due to restructuring costs and M&A-related expenses tied to the group’s planned mega-merger with Interpublic Group. Operating income fell 13.9% to US$439.2 million, dragged by US$66 million in acquisition costs and US$88.8 million in restructuring. 

“Our continued investment in our innovative operating platform, Omni, is driving superior business outcomes for our clients while enhancing operational efficiency across our organisation,” CEO and chairman John Wren shared on the call. “We also achieved a key milestone in our transformational acquisition of Interpublic, successfully clearing U.S. antitrust review and moving closer to an expected close later this year.”

However, net income continues its decline year over year, decreasing 21.5% from 2024.

Overall, revenue is up and profit is down. Wren and team cite macro environment changes, the IPG acquisition and the implementation of AI as key factors in the holding company’s performance and market advantage.

APAC punches above its weight

While global growth settled at 3.0%, APAC surged 6.5% — outperforming the US (+3%), Europe (+2.5%), and the UK (–2.5%). Only Latin America grew at a faster rate of +18%.

The boost was led by Omnicom’s core media and advertising businesses, which saw 8.2% growth globally. Precision marketing (+5.0%) and experiential (+2.9%) also contributed, offsetting steep drops in PR (–9.3%), healthcare (–4.9%), and branding & retail commerce (–16.9%).

The group did not break out APAC earnings, but the region’s above-market growth likely helped stabilise adjusted EBITA margins, which held flat at 15.3%.

Out of the five market approvals that remain for the IPG transaction, the EU is the largest. Omnicom declined to share the remaining markets.

The cost of IPG

Compared to Q2 of 2024, operating expenses increased 7.0% to $3,576.4 million in the second quarter of 2025. The Omnicom team attributed the uptick in operating costs to the pending acquisition of IPG, which includes repositioning costs and severance actions. 

Omnicom’s effective tax rate for the second quarter of 2025 increased to 30.2% compared to 26.4% in Q2 of 2024. The effective tax rate for 2025 increased primarily due to the non-deductibility of certain costs related to the 2025 acquisition.

Wren noted IPG has more relationships with CPG clients than Omnicom has had access to, and digital commerce business Flywheel Digital, acquired by Omnicom in 2023, will help with this initiative.

The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to regulatory approval, is projected to deliver $750 million in annual cost reductions, as stated by Omnicom during q4 earnings earlier this year.

'Aggressively investing' in AI

In addition to the acquisition, Omnicom is focusing on rolling out the next phase in its AI implementation to stay ahead of competitors. CTO Paolo Yuvienco shared that the holding company is “aggressively rolling out AI agents throughout workflows and now campaign lifecycles” after adopting generative AI back in 2022, primarily for productivity. 

The holding company intends to advance its AI capabilities and, according to Yuvienco, continue to inject intelligence into the company’s data set into the marketing workflow and put tools in the hands of employees. What remains to be determined is the cost of training the skill sets employees will need to ensure widespread adoption.

Omnicom’s relatively steady Q2 earnings are a stark contrast to the struggling WPP, which issued a shock profit warning for Q2. WPP blamed “tougher macro” economic conditions, “weaker new business performance”, and “one-off” factors, including “severance action at WPP Media”, because of a major restructuring of the division, previously known as Group M.

The original earnings report by Campaign US has been angled for Campaign Asia-Pacific's audience, highlighting regional performance in the context of global results.