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Chicago, IL – February 18, 2026 – Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses Publicis Groupe S.A. PUBGY, Omnicom Group OMC and Stagwell STGW.
Industry: Advertising & Marketing
Link: https://www.zacks.com/commentary/2870590/3-advertising-marketing-stocks-to-watch-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 Stagwell navigate the current testing times.
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 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 well in the post-pandemic era, service providers are increasing their efforts to formulate strategic initiatives and identify sources of demand.
Economic Recovery: According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the economy remained resilient, with GDP growing 4.4% in the third quarter of 2025 compared to 3.8% growth in the second quarter. Non-manufacturing activities remained robust, as evidenced by the Services PMI, which stayed above the 50% threshold for the 19th time in a row in January.
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.
The Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry, housed within the broader Zacks Business Services sector, currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #90. This rank places it in the top 37% of 243 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:
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 25.3% compared to the S&P 500 composite’s growth of 14% and the broader sector’s decline of 24.8% in the same time frame.
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 8.83X compared with the S&P 500’s 22.52X and the sector’s 18.01X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 14.26 and as low as 7.47X, with the median being 10.63X.
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 strong organic momentum in the last reported quarter, closing the year with solid expansion and outperforming peers in a challenging industry backdrop. Investments in AI capabilities and top-tier talent are already translating into higher revenue quality, margin strength, and resilient free cash flow. Notably, since the emergence of GenAI, Publicis has meaningfully expanded both organic net revenue and operating profit, widening its competitive lead. With sustained commercial wins and industry-leading execution, the group’s AI-powered model positions it for continued profitable growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2026 bottom line has been revised 3.1% 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.
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 2026 bottom line has been revised 2.5% upward to $9.58 over the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Stagwell: The company provides digital transformation, performance media and data, consumer insights and strategy, and creativity and communications services. It stands out for its digital-first marketing approach, strong client relationships, and data-driven solutions. Its focus on AI, analytics, and media innovation drives growth. Strategic acquisitions expand its capabilities, while cost efficiencies and global reach enhance profitability, positioning it as a competitive player in modern advertising and marketing.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Stagwell’s 2026 EPS has remained unchanged at $1.1 in the past 30 days. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.
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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.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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