Here’s what some of the world’s top brands and agencies had to say about their performance and outlook during the third quarter of the 2025 calendar year.
P&G (24.10.25):
What’s the top line? The corporation reported a 3% growth in net sales and a 2% rise in organic sales. The latest earnings mark ‘40 consecutive quarters of organic sales growth,’ according to the company, and also keeps P&G ‘on track for the tenth consecutive fiscal year of core EPS growth’
Any interesting insights? CFO Andre Schulten called agentic shopping ‘an opportunity’ that brands need to be prepared for [MediaCat has mixed feelings about this], adding that he feels P&G is well positioned for it: ‘I feel our data infrastructure, our consumer understanding, our collaboration with retail partners is very good, and so again, for me, this is all opportunity.’
Unilever (23.10.2025):
What’s the top line? The company reported a 4% increase in underlying sales growth and confirmed that it’s on track to meet its full year outlook. CEO Fernando Fernadez also said that he expects growth in the second half of the fiscal year to be ahead of the first half.
Any interesting insights? Apart from Fernandez expressing his commitment to turn Unilever into ‘a true marketing and sales machine’ multiple times? Unilever will increase its absolute marketing spend, with CFO Srinivas Phatak adding that marketing spend as a proportion of revenue will be 15-16%. Also, digital commerce now makes up 17% of Unilever’s revenue, and it’s growing on Amazon at 15%, Walmart.com at 25%, Flipkart at 30%, and TikTok at 70%.
AT&T (22.10.2025):
What’s the top line? Total Q3 revenue came in at $30.7bn, just missing its estimate of $30.87 billion.
Any interesting insights? CEO John Stankey said that AT&T is spending a little bit less on mass media when promoting its Internet Air service because, ‘given our targeted approach to how we want to converge customers [ie, get them to use AT&T for both wireless and home internet services], we can get a lot more out of digital marketing based on knowing where the customer is and what the right best offer is to put in front of them.’
Netflix (21.10.2025):
What’s the top line? The streaming platform reported 17% year-over-year revenue growth, thanks to expanding membership and price hikes.
And interesting insights? Q3 marked Netflix’s best ever quarter for ad sales, and according to the company’s letter to shareholders, it will use AI in Q4 to ‘test new ad formats, to generate the most relevant ad creative and placement for members, and for faster development of media plans’.
Coca-Cola (21.10.2025):
What’s the top line? Organic revenue was up 6% in Q3, and Coca-Cola is on track to deliver on its 2025 guidance of 5-6%.
Any interesting insights? The company is collecting data on how GLP-1s are affecting consumer behaviour. Chairman and CEO James Quincey said people using the weight-loss drugs drink less full sugar soft drinks but more diet soft drinks, coffee, and protein drinks.
He added that Coca-Cola’s protein drinks, Fairlife and Core Power, had been ‘a standout success’ in recent years and continued to grow in Q3. Protein, he said, will also ‘be a growth area for sure in 2026’.
Although there was no mention of whether GLP-1 drugs boosted Diet Coke sales, Quincey said that the product had ‘stabilised’ after more than a decade of decline in English-speaking countries, and was now even beginning to grow again.
Omnicom (21/10/25):
What’s the top line? Organic revenue increased 2.6% globally in Q3, growing 4.6% in the US but declining 3.1% in Europe. Media and advertising drove revenue growth at the hold co, increasing 9% over the quarter, while CEO John Wren described its creative agencies as ‘stable’.
Any interesting insights? Omnicom spent $60.8m in Q3 on costs related to its scheduled merger with Interpublic Group. Asked what he thinks will be the three biggest revenue synergies arising from the merger, Wren said Omnicom’s media business will get 50% to 60% bigger after it swallows IPG, and also pointed to healthcare and precision marketing.
Nestle (16.10.2025):
What’s the top line? The company reported a 3.3% organic sales growth, up from 2% this time last year. It also said that it is on track to hit its full-year guidance.
Any interesting insights? CEO Philipp Navratil said he will assess Nestle’s brands on four questions — is this a growth category? Is the returns profile attractive? Are we positioned to win? And are we actually winning? — and then decide if laggards need ‘fixing, partnering, or selling’. The brands with the best returns, on the other hand, will receive ‘significant’ increases in resources.
‘In terms of marketing spend, what we have said is that we want to invest more behind the biggest opportunity to drive sustained growth,’ Navratil said. ‘But when I say investing more, it’s not only marketing spend per se. When I see a growth opportunity, I think we have to think about investing behind those more broadly as well.’
Publicis (15.10.2025):
What’s the top line? Publicis Group exceeded expectations in Q3, reporting a 5.7% rise in organic growth.
Any interesting insights? The strong results were driven by Publicis’ AI-powered ‘connected media’ model, which integrates media, data, commerce, CRM and influencer marketing and is now responsible for roughly 60% of the group’s revenue.
‘If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this morning’s call, it’s that we are winning today thanks to AI,’ Arthur Sadoun, chairman and CEO, said last week. ‘One area where we are growing, and more importantly making our clients grow, is our ability thanks to AI to connect paid media with commerce and influencers. You need AI to connect those capabilities.’
Havas Group (14.10.2025):
What’s the top line? Havas reported a 3.8% increase in organic growth in Q3, following decent results in Q1 (+2.1%) and Q3 (+2.6%). The hold co has now revised its 2025 guidance, projecting net revenue between 2.5% and 3%, up from 2%.
Any interesting insights? The biggest development at Havas during the last quarter was its new joint venture with Horizon Media, a new agency called Horizon Global which will have $20 billion in combined billings and profit from any vacuum left by the upcoming Omnicom-IPG merger.
Featured image: created using Google Gemini