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 Omnicom Group OMC, The Interpublic Group of Companies IPG and Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings CCO 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 players from the industry include Interpublic and Omnicom. The pandemic has significantly altered the way industry players conduct business and deliver services. Currently, the industry’s key focus is on channeling money and efforts toward media formats and devices. To position themselves suitably in the post-pandemic era, service providers are increasing their efforts toward formulating strategic initiatives and identifying sources of demand.
What’s Shaping the Future of the Industry?
Economic Recovery: According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the economy remained resilient, with GDP growing 3% in the second quarter of 2025 against a 0.5% decline in the first quarter. Non-manufacturing activities remained robust, as evidenced by the Services PMI, which stayed above the 50% threshold for the 12th time in 13 months.
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 #71. This rank places it in the top 29% of 246 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 and the broader sector. The industry has declined 32% compared to the S&P 500 composite’s growth of 16% and the broader sector’s rally of 8% in the said 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 9X compared with the S&P 500’s 22.85X and the sector’s 21.73X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 18.39X and as low as 7.65X, with the median being 11.02X, as the charts below show.
3 Advertising Stocks to Consider
Here, we have presented two stocks that are well-positioned for near-term growth:
Interpublic: The advertising and marketing services provider’s increasingly diverse workforce gives the company a key competitive edge. The company continues to attract, acquire, and develop strategic, creative, and digital talent from diverse backgrounds to increase organic growth and strengthen its foothold in international markets.
Commitment to shareholder returns makes Interpublic stock a reliable investment to compound wealth over the long term. In 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021, Interpublic paid $479.1 million, $479.1 million, $457.3 million and $427.7 million in dividends, respectively. Such moves indicate the company’s commitment to creating value for shareholders and underline its confidence in its business.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IPG’s 2025 EPS has increased 9.5% in the past 60 days to $2.88. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Omnicom: The company is a provider of advertising, marketing, and corporate communications services.
OMC’s presence across various segments of the advertising and marketing industry and the breadth of its offerings across traditional advertising, digital marketing, public relations, brand consulting and precision marketing ensure that the company can cater to varied needs and can capture business from a range of organizations, small, medium, and large, whether they’re traditional players or new-age. By focusing on consumer-centric strategic business solutions, the company aligns more closely with clients’ evolving needs, fostering stronger partnerships. This would help it drive volumes. This, along with Omnicom’s size and reach, indicates that revenues would be very stable and growing.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2025 bottom line has been revised 2% upwards to $8.48 over the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Clear Channel Outdoor:This out-of-home advertising company is showing impressive momentum in 2025, with a strong focus on digital transformation and strategic growth in its core U.S. markets. The company posted a 7% year-over-year revenue increase in its latest quarter, with digital advertising leading the way and airport segment revenues surging over 15%. CCO’s commitment to restructuring its balance sheet, extending debt maturities, and investing in advanced advertising technologies positions it as an innovative leader in out-of-home media. With nearly 90% of upcoming revenues already under contract, CCO looks well-poised for continued financial strength and value creation.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2025 bottom line has been revised more than 100% upward to 11 cents over the past 60 days. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
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