WPP has recorded a sharp 26% rise in its London-listed shares after the global advertising group reported sequential improvement in its first-half performance and signalled that its turnaround strategy is beginning to gain traction.

The company posted net revenue of £4.7 billion, about $6.4 billion, for the first half of the year, representing a 3.2% organic decline. In the second quarter alone, net revenue reached £2.5 billion, or approximately $3.3 billion, while organic revenue fell 2.8%.

Although the figures remained negative, WPP pointed to a gradual improvement between the first and second quarters, strengthening expectations that the business could deliver a better performance in the second half.

The improvement cut across several parts of the business, although performance varied significantly by operating unit.

WPP Media remained the biggest drag on the group, recording a 5.4% organic decline in the first half and a 2.8% contraction in the second quarter. WPP Creative also remained under pressure, falling 4.9% in the first half and 3.5% in the second quarter.

WPP Production, however, moved in the opposite direction. The unit increased organic revenue by 1.6% during the first half and followed that with a 1.3% gain in the second quarter.

Regionally, North America recorded the steepest first-half decline at 6%, although the contraction eased to 4.3% in the second quarter. EMEA declined 4.3% for the half and 3% in Q2.

Meanwhile, Asia Pacific showed one of the strongest signs of recovery, moving from a 3.8% decline in the first half to 0.3% organic growth in the second quarter. Latin America also improved, narrowing its first-half decline of 1.2% to post 0.9% growth in Q2.

Against that backdrop, investors responded positively to evidence that the advertising giant may be turning a corner. WPP shares climbed 26% during Tuesday afternoon trading on the London Stock Exchange.

The company has not issued a specific full-year organic growth target. Nevertheless, management said it expects the improvement to continue during the second half, with organic net revenue expected to decline in the low to mid-single-digit range.

WPP also maintained its full-year pre-tax profit margin expectation at between 12% and 13%.

Chief Executive Officer Cindy Rose described the first-half results as consistent with expectations and said the sequential improvement indicated that the company’s turnaround programme, known as “Elevate 28,” was beginning to deliver.

Rose said WPP has now completed the initial stage of its organisational overhaul, moving away from a complex holding-company structure toward a more integrated operating model.

The new structure brings four global business units under one system: WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions, the group’s technology and business transformation division.

At the centre of the new model sits WPP Open, the company’s agentic marketing platform, which WPP says connects its capabilities and supports the integration of its operations.

The group has also reorganised its activities across four broad geographic regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Beyond restructuring, WPP is also relying on new business wins and stronger client retention to support its recovery. The company highlighted major account gains involving The Estée Lauder Companies, Jaguar Land Rover, Wendy’s and Henkel, among others.

Rose said organic growth remains the company’s primary measure of progress, while cost reduction initiatives and portfolio changes are expected to strengthen the group’s competitive position.

For WPP, therefore, the latest results represent less a return to full growth than an early indication that its restructuring programme is beginning to stabilise the business.

With revenue still contracting across several major divisions, the real test now shifts to the second half of the year, when the company will need to convert improved client retention, new business wins, operational simplification and technology investment into sustained organic growth.