(Reuters) -Advertising firm Interpublic Group beat third-quarter revenue and profit estimates on Monday, helped by resilient spending from media and health care clients.
Surging use of AI tools that let businesses create ads more cheaply and quickly has squeezed traditional agencies, prompting them to build similar in-house tools to retain clients.
As a result, IPG has integrated AI and data platforms such as "Interact," an AI-powered system that unifies data, creative and media for personalized marketing,
into its workflows.
The company said it cut headcount by 800 people in the third quarter. In early 2025, it began a restructuring to cut costs and expects total charges of $450 million to $475 million, partly non-cash, with completion by end-2025.
In December, ad giant Omnicom agreed a $13.5 billion deal to acquire IPG, which is expected to close by the fourth quarter, the company said.
The deal would create the world's largest advertising agency as legacy firms adapt to compete with Big Tech and rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
It reported revenue of $2.49 billion for the third quarter, beating Wall Street estimates of $2.20 billion.
Profit for the quarter came in at 34 per share, higher than the 5 cents per share it reported, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Anhata Rooprai and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
