Omnicom expects $900 million in cost reduction synergies in 2026.
Stock repurchases reached $3.2 billion during the first nine months.
Organic revenue growth reached 7.2% in the third quarter.
On its third quarter of 2026 earnings call, held on Oct. 22, 2026, Omnicom (NYSE:OMC) announced full-year organic revenue growth, which measures revenue excluding acquisitions, dispositions, and currency shifts, of approximately 5%. The business is harvesting cost savings following its acquisition of Interpublic Group while returning billions to shareholders. Three things management said stand out.
Combining operations with Interpublic expanded adjusted EBITA, or earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization, margins by 2 percentage points to 18.2%. Management expects cost actions to deliver substantial gains across back-office operations, and it doesn't plan to slow reinvestments in technology.
We are extremely pleased with the progress in bringing Interpublic and Omnicom together. We are realizing the financial benefits of the combination and are on track to deliver $900 million in cost reduction synergies in 2026.
-- John Wren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Management is shedding non-core assets to focus resources on higher-margin services, expecting up to $3.6 billion in annualized revenue from businesses held for sale. Completing these dispositions lets it resume strategic acquisitions in digital marketing.
Regarding the businesses in held for sale at the end of the quarter, we expect to complete the remaining dispositions in the near future and by the end of Q4 2026, if possible.
-- Phil Angelastro, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Capital return efforts have already reduced outstanding shares by 12% since year-end 2025. Management continues to direct cash flow toward buying back shares, and it won't stop until it completes the $5 billion program.
We plan to repurchase additional shares during Q4 2026, and by April 2027, we plan to complete the $5 billion share repurchase program announced in February of 2026.
-- Phil Angelastro, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Operating momentum is accelerating across media and data offerings, yielding expanded earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and market share gains. Scaling proprietary artificial intelligence technology and media consulting capabilities positions Omnicom to capture incremental client spending.
In closing, our third quarter results show continued improvement in our performance, including revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA margins, and earnings per share.
-- Phil Angelastro, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Integration benefits and disciplined pricing continue to support financial performance across major global markets. Expanding integrated offerings that combine advertising, customer relationship management (CRM), and media execution remains central to driving long-term enterprise value.
Our connected capabilities, which include media, CRM, advertising, continue to be a very strong offering in the marketplace, and we fully expect that to continue into 2027 as we finish this year.
-- John Wren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.