Investors are constantly hunting for the best stocks to buy. And 2025 has so far proved to be a great year for some of Britain’s largest businesses, such as Fresnillo (up 58%) and Airtel Africa (up 52%). Sadly, not every company in the FTSE 100 has been so fortunate. And three of the weakest performers include:
- WPP (LSE:WPP) – down 28%
- Glencore – down 27%
- Ashtead Group – down 13%
While frustrating, it’s not uncommon for top-notch stocks to go through periods of lacklustre performance. And for long-term investors who dig deeper, examining the biggest short-term losers can sometimes reveal massive long-term winners. With that in mind, let’s explore the worst-performing business of this batch – WPP.
What happened?
WPP’s lacklustre performance isn’t particularly new for existing shareholders, given the stock has been on a downward trajectory since hitting highs of around 1,200p in 2022. Not all of this can be blamed on the management team. As a firm that specialises in advertising and public relations, market conditions have been quite unfavourable following the rise of inflation in 2023.
However, the firm has seemingly been slow to respond to the shifting landscape of AI-driven tools. And it seems that the group’s corporate culture is also diminishing. Anonymous employee reviews on Glassdoor don’t paint a rosy picture. And earlier this year, CEO Mark Read faced significant backlash after introducing a mandatory return-to-office policy that didn’t go down well with employees. In fact, over 20,000 workers signed a petition to try and overturn this decision.
Needless to say, in an industry where top-tier talent is crucial, having a large part of the workforce seemingly unhappy doesn’t bode well for attracting and retaining the best staff.
A secret buying opportunity?
Despite the seemingly gloomy state of the business, there’s room for cautious optimism. The firm’s multi-year restructuring plan is finally nearing completion. As such, shareholders may soon be reaping rewards from some long-awaited efficiency gains.
At the same time, investments in AI tools, while late, have started accelerating with systems like WPP Open. Such moves are anticipated to improve client retention. And with the wider economic landscape improving and advertising spend on the rise, WPP could soon enjoy recovery tailwinds that get its financials back on track.
With the shares trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just 6.6, investors have seemingly set the bar quite low. So, if WPP can get things back on track, the share price could bounce back significantly, enabling contrarian investors to benefit.
Having said that, continued weak performance paired with a fiercer competitive environment could equally result in further share price losses. In other words, there’s an element of risk that investors need to investigate further before jumping in.
