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The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how advertising & marketing services stocks fared in Q4, starting with Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG).
The sector is on the precipice of both disruption and growth as AI, programmatic advertising, and data-driven marketing reshape how things are done. For example, the advent of the Internet broadly and programmatic advertising specifically means that brand building is not a relationship business anymore but instead one based on data and technology, which could hurt traditional ad agencies. On the other hand, the companies in the sector that beef up their tech chops by automating the buying of ad inventory or facilitating omnichannel marketing, for example, stand to benefit. With or without advances in digitization and AI, the sector is still highly levered to the macro, and economic uncertainty may lead to fluctuating ad spend, particularly in cyclical industries.
The 7 advertising & marketing services stocks we track reported a slower Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was above.
Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 17.5% since the latest earnings results.
Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG)
With a history dating back to 1902 and roots in the McCann-Erickson agency, Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG) is a marketing and communications holding company that owns agencies specializing in advertising, media buying, public relations, and digital marketing services.
Interpublic Group reported revenues of $2.43 billion, down 5.9% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 3.1%. Overall, it was a disappointing quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates and a miss of analysts’ organic revenue estimates.
Interpublic Group delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. The stock is down 3.2% since reporting and currently trades at $25.93.
Read our full report on Interpublic Group here, it’s free.
Best Q4: Liberty Broadband (NASDAQ:LBRDK)
Operating across the United States, Liberty Broadband (NASDAQ:LBRDK) is a provider of high-speed internet, cable television, and telecommunications services across various markets.
Liberty Broadband reported revenues of $263 million, up 5.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.2%. The business had a stunning quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.