STGW vs WPP: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
WPP is the larger of the two ($5.88B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (7.23x forward earnings, beta 0.74). STGW is the smaller challenger ($2.22B), priced similarly on forward earnings (7.22x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
STGW vs WPP: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | STGW | WPP | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $2.22B | $5.88B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 7.22 | 7.23 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Beta | 1.30 | 0.74 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 90% of range | 95% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 3.32 | 8.53 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Before you buy: how STGW and WPP affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. STGW and WPP share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined STGW and WPP exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Stagwell Inc. (STGW) do?
Stagwell Inc. is a marketing services holding company formed in 2021 when Mark Penn's Stagwell Group combined with MDC Partners. It owns a portfolio of creative, digital, research and communications agencies, including 72andSunny, Anomaly, Code and Theory, Assembly, Allison Worldwide, SKDK and The Harris Poll, and reports through five segments: Digital Transformation, Media and Commerce, Communications, Marketing Services and The Marketing Cloud, its in-house software unit. The pitch is that Stagwell is built for where ad budgets are going (digital, data, commerce and AI-driven work) rather than around legacy TV buying. It keeps expanding through small tuck-in deals, recently including ADK Global in Asia and a Colombian technology consultancy.
What does WPP plc (WPP) do?
WPP plc is one of the world's largest advertising, media and marketing services groups, providing creative, media buying, public relations, data and technology services to many of the biggest global brands. Historically structured as a holding company of famous agency networks (including Ogilvy, GroupM/WPP Media, and various creative and PR shops), it operates across North America, Latin America, EMEA and APAC. US investors typically own it through the NYSE-listed ADR under the ticker WPP, while the primary listing trades in London as WPP.L.
STGW vs WPP: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- STGW drivers: Digital Transformation rebound; The 2026 political super-cycle.
- WPP drivers: Elevate28 restructuring; Cost savings and simplification.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The largest structural risk is generative AI. For WPP, wPP is in a genuine turnaround with a shrinking top line: FY2025 revenue fell and the group swung to a net loss, and Q1 2026 revenue declined again on a like-for-like basis.
STGW or WPP: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick STGW if you believe its drivers more; WPP if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the STGW and WPP guides.
STGW vs WPP: the full fundamentals
STGW. At ~$8.40 a share, Stagwell trades at roughly 7.5x the midpoint of its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance and about 7x enterprise value to guided adjusted EBITDA, once ~$1.4 billion of net debt is added to the ~$2.1 billion equity value. That is a discount to larger peers such as Publicis. On GAAP earnings the picture is very different, because 2025 GAAP EPS was only ~$0.08. The gap between adjusted and reported profit, together with leverage, is the main reason the market applies a low multiple. Third quarter 2026 results are expected in early November.
WPP. As of October 2026 WPP's valuation has recovered from the trough: the ADR rose about 50% in three months, lifting market value from roughly $3.5 billion in mid-2026 to about $5.9 billion. It still screens cheaply on scale (price to sales near 0.45) and on forward earnings (about 7 times), but that discount reflects a top line that is still shrinking, a trailing net loss, elevated leverage, and heavy execution risk on the Elevate28 turnaround. Only three analysts in Yahoo Finance's data publish a target, averaging about $23.83, below the current ADR price.
Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): STGW shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.0 billion, net revenue (2025) ~$2.43 billion, adjusted ebitda guidance (2026) ~$475M to $525M, adjusted eps guidance (2026) ~$1.03 to $1.17; WPP shows revenue (ttm) ~GBP 13.3B (FY2025 ~GBP 13.55B, ~$18B); latest quarter down ~4.4% YoY, headline pbit (fy2025) ~$1.8B, net result (ttm) ~-GBP 240M (loss); operating margin ~4%, p/e Trailing not meaningful (loss); ~7x forward on ~$3.77 expected 2027 EPS per ADR.
The bottom line: STGW vs WPP
STGW and WPP are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined STGW and WPP exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how STGW or WPP fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Stagwell Inc. with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how STGW fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between STGW and WPP?
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Stagwell Inc. WPP plc is one of the world's largest advertising, media and marketing services groups, providing creative, media buying, public relations, data and technology services to many of the biggest global brands. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is STGW or WPP the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. WPP is the larger incumbent; STGW is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, STGW or WPP?
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On forward P/E (as of October 2026), STGW trades at 7.22x and WPP at 7.23x, so STGW is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both STGW and WPP?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of STGW vs WPP?
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STGW: The largest structural risk is generative AI. Agencies sell creative and production labor, and tools that write copy, generate images and plan media could compress fees or shift work in-house to clients; Stagwell argues it benefits from this, but it is unproven at scale. Leverage is meaningful: long-term debt was ~$1.45 billion at June 30, 2026, net leverage ~3.0x, and higher rates or an ad recession would pressure both cash flow and the multiple. Earnings quality is another concern. GAAP net income has been a small fraction of adjusted figures because of amortization, stock compensation, deferred acquisition payments and one-time charges, and in February 2024 Stagwell disclosed that 2022 net income had been materially overstated, prompting law-firm investigations. Political revenue will fall sharply in 2027. Mark Penn holds outsized voting control through the Stagwell Group, which limits outside shareholder influence. Competition from far larger holding companies, especially the combined Omnicom and Interpublic, could squeeze pricing on big accounts. Finally, frequent acquisitions add integration and earnout risk. WPP: WPP is in a genuine turnaround with a shrinking top line: FY2025 revenue fell and the group swung to a net loss, and Q1 2026 revenue declined again on a like-for-like basis. It faces intense competition from a resurgent Publicis and a newly enlarged Omnicom (post-IPG merger), plus structural pressure from AI, in-housing by clients, and the shift of ad budgets to Google, Meta and other platforms. Carrying adjusted net debt of roughly ~$2.9 billion (about GBP 2.17 billion) limits flexibility, and the 62 percent dividend cut signals the strain. If Elevate28 fails to stabilise revenue on schedule, the value case weakens materially. The roughly 50% rally in the three months to October 16, 2026 also changes the risk profile: much of the deep-value discount has closed while revenue is still falling (about 4.4% lower year over year in the latest quarter), so a slower-than-promised stabilisation could reverse part of that move. The dividend payout ratio on trailing earnings is above 100% because of the net loss.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell STGW or WPP; figures are approximate and dated (as of October 2026). Verify current data before investing.