WPP profits dive 71% as clients cut ad spending amid Trump’s tariffs rollout

Advertising group halves interim dividend after pre-tax profit plunges to £98m in first half of its financial year

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Clients including carmakers and consumer goods companies are cutting their advertising spending amid Donald Trump’s tariffs rollout, WPP has said as it reported a 71% slump in profits and a strategic review.

The advertising agency, formerly the largest in the world, cut its global workforce from 111,000 last year to 104,000 as of the end of June as it struggles with weak spending and the rise of artificial intelligence.