Advertising Firms Finally Have Good News to Sell

Paris-based agency group Publicis grew 2.2% in the fourth quarter, raising recovery hopes for the digitally-challenged ad industry

The embattled advertising industry has found some much-needed cheer. Expectations are low enough that even slight improvements can give shareholders a nice boost.

Paris-based agency group Publicis on Thursday became the first of the “big five” ad groups to publish this earnings season, reporting underlying growth of 2.2% for the final quarter. The U.S., which accounts for roughly half of Publicis sales, was particularly strong, up 4.5%.

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