Fact based stock research
WPP (LSE:WPP)

JE00B8KF9B49

How to read the free ranks

For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

WPP stock research in summary

wpp.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 25 (worse than 75% compared with investment alternatives), WPP (Advertising, United Kingdom) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of WPP are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 73 (better than 73% of alternatives) but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 47), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 10), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 25, is a hold recommendation based on WPP's financial characteristics. As the company WPP's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 73) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 47) and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 10), it may be a risky investment, because debt in times of crises can make things worse. The good value, better than 73% of comparable companies, may indicate the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	73
Growth Rank	47
Safety Rank	10
Combined Rank	25

Country	United Kingdom
Industry	Advertising
Index	FTSE All Shares, FTSE 100, FTSE 350, Dividends Europe, Diversity Europe, Multimedia
Size class	XX-Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

19-Dec-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

Multiple opinions. One number.

Analysts rarely agree on a stock’s future. So, who do you believe? Obermatt translates those collective views into a single Sentiment Rank. That plus the financial ranks give you the ultimate 360° View. Sign up to access them.

Why popular stocks have low ratings

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: WPP

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	38	79	88	73
GROWTH
GROWTH	80	19	17	47
SAFETY
SAFETY	7	19	10	10
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	80	10	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	53	12	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 19-Dec-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Jun-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better WPP is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	38	79	88	73
GROWTH
GROWTH	80	19	17	47
SAFETY
SAFETY	7	19	10	10
COMBINED
COMBINED	2	25	14	25

Last update of combined financial performance: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of WPP the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 73 (better than 73% compared with alternatives), WPP shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators that are all above average for WPP. Price-to-Sales is 69 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 69% of comparable companies, indicating a good value for WPP's revenue size. The same is valid for expected Price-to-Profits, more favorable than for 65% of alternatives, and this is also true for the Price-to-Book capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 51. Compared with other companies in the same industry, dividend yields of WPP are expected to be higher than for 80% of all competitors (a Dividend Yield rank of 80). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 73, is a buy recommendation based on WPP's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since all value metrics are above the industry average, there is no objection to investing in WPP based on its detailed value metrics. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	55	75	81	69
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	12	73	81	65
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	29	60	57	51
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	76	84	86	80
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	38	79	88	73

Last update of Value Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of WPP; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 47 (better than 47% compared with alternatives), WPP shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for WPP. Capital Growth has a rank of 68, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital more than 37% of its competitors. Investors welcomed this, visible in the Stock Returns rank of 69 (above 69% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has only a rank of 4, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 96% of its competitors, and Profit Growth is also low at a rank of 37. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 47, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. This is an ambiguous picture. Revenue growth and capital growth are strong, but the growth in profit, which seems good, can also be an indication that growth momentum may be negative. The fact that stock returns have been above average doesn't help much, as stock returns are less reliable in showing a company’s future growth potential. Prices may perform well for the simple reason that investors were too pessimistic in the past and are now correcting their opinions and moving the stock price to a more reasonable level. As the growth picture is mixed for WPP, investors may want to look at value and sentiment indicators for a well-rounded picture of this stock. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is mixed here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	38	10	10	4
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	74	46	36	37
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	12	34	68
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	86	81	37	69
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	80	19	17	47

Last update of Growth Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of WPP.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 10 (better than 10% compared with alternatives), the company WPP has much riskier financing practices than comparable other companies, which means that their overall debt burden is significantly above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of WPP is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with all three metrics below average for WPP. Liquidity is at 22, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 78% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side when it comes to debt service. Even worse, Leverage is at a rank of 19, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 81% of its competitors. Finally, Refinancing is at a rank of 16 which means that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 84% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 10 (worse than 90% compared with alternatives), WPP has a financing structure that is significantly riskier than that of its competitors. This combination is rather dangerous in most situations. Only very promising companies with bright future outlooks and stellar reputations can operate with such risky financing. Investors should look at Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks to confirm a very positive outlook or be careful with investing in stocks of WPP because it may suffer significantly in case of future difficulties. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	10	13	17	19
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	14	24	8	16
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	13	31	30	22
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	7	19	10	10

Last update of Safety Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of WPP and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	34	15	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	53	20	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	77	34	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	80	36	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	80	10	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for WPP.
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