WPP CEO Cindy Rose argues for a more active future.

WPP is staring at a hard truth: as their new CEO, Cindy Rose, put it, their recent performance has been “unacceptable.”

WPP might still be a global media and advertising monolith, but increasingly it seems like its empire-state is crumbling from within.

Let’s start with the numbers. Q3 saw a like-for-like revenue decline of 5.9 % year-on-year. For 2025, they’re forecasting a full-year decline of 5.5%-6 %. Those are not the figures you plaster on a “turnaround underway” banner.

They’re red flags.

Rose is trying to shift the culture and structure: “less holdco, more co” is her mantra. Translation: WPP wants to stop acting like a giant parent company that collects agencies and start acting like a single lean operator. Clients reportedly found WPP’s end-to-end proposition confusing. That’s costly feedback for a “world-class” agency group.

And yet, here’s the twist: while the fundamentals are dire, WPP bets heavily on the future by leaning into AI and data-driven services. Rose highlights that WPP’s acquisition of InfoSum, the launch of its “Open Pro” self-serve AI platform, and a substantial partnership with Google LLC are meant to set them up for the next wave. But, and this is the crux, the question isn’t whether they say the right things. It’s whether they can do them, when execution has been, well, lacking (Rose admitted as much).

So what gives? The advertising world is changing fast: client budgets are tightening (thanks to macro risks and tariff spats) and tech is giving marketers more DIY tools. WPP is both under pressure and perhaps late to pivot. With major client exits and fierce competition (especially from nimble players) on one side, and an ambitious strategy pivot on the other, the firm is walking a tightrope.

Here’s how I’d frame your thesis: WPP isn’t just in financial trouble but a structural conundrum. It’s not enough to proclaim “AI golden age” when the clients are rattled, the message is muddy, and the operational guts haven’t kept pace.

The actual shift will come when WPP becomes the “Co,” it says, rather than the “holdco” it’s been.

And only then will those strategic bets pay off.

IREN’s Shares Surge After Announcing $9.7 Billion Microsoft Deal

IREN is setting the pace as the Microsoft deal could propel its position as a leading AI cloud service provider. Given that the Australian company is successful in expanding its planned GPU deployments.

Microsoft is IREN, the Australian AI cloud provider’s biggest customer yet.

It’s known in the market that the tech powerhouse wants to accelerate its innovative roadmap, especially to build more intuitive, faster, and responsive AI models. It’s all part of the game- which company will really come out on top?

Competition across AI is sturdy, and honestly, without the right resources, it is impenetrable. It’s why the tech giants (America’s Big Seven) are scrambling to-and-fro for infrastructure that truly powers their AI models.

How will they drive the AI roadmap without the right fuel? That is the conundrum they’re facing right now. Billions are invested in data centers and such deals. And if looked at closely, there’s no stopping.

It’s the AI boom. Think of CoreWeave, Oracle Cloud, and NVIDIA with multiple partnerships and deals up their sleeves. IREN is just the newcomer.

This $9.7 billion agreement is a multi-year one, spanning 5 years with a 20% prepayment clause. Now imagine Microsoft’s urgency. At least that’s what can be grasped from such deals.

IREN will open the tech powerhouse’s access to NVIDIA’s GB300 GPUs, which it plans to purchase from Dell Technologies for over $5.8 billion. It plans to deploy these GPUs across 2026 at its 750MW facility located in Childress, Texas, while also building new liquid-cooled data centers that support 200MW worth of critical IT load.

This will materialize in four different phases.

To fund all of these endeavors, IREN plans to use its existing cash flow, existing cash, and customer prepayments for additional financial initiatives.

This alliance is not merely positioning IREN as a credible and trusted AI cloud service provider. It’s also opening its doors to new customer segments and global hyperscalers.

This is the turn of the needle. The market is changing rapidly. As a result of the announcement, IREN’s stocks in pre-trading hours on Monday surged 20%.

“We’re proud to announce this milestone partnership with Microsoft, highlighting the strength and scalability of our vertically integrated AI Cloud platform,” said IREN’s co-founder and co-CEO, Daniel Roberts, in response.