At its Investors Day last week, Stagwell announced a reorganization and several ambitious financial goals, including reaching $5 billion in annual revenue by 2029 (up from the 2024 total of $2.8 billion). 

But at least one analyst—Madison & Wall’s Brian Wieser—is skeptical, saying in a note that “The numbers conveyed here appear more than a little bit optimistic.” 

Analyzing the numbers more granularly, Wieser concluded that each of the firm’s business units is likely to perform less well than Stagwell’s implied performances. 

“More broadly,” stated Wieser, “there is clearly some willful optimism underpinning the company’s perspectives.” 

He said CEO Mark Penn’s comments “were notable” when he stated at the Investor Day event that he doesn’t know why there’s been such an “exaggerated reaction” by Wall Street to Trump’s tariff program.  

Wieser’s take: Penn is “underestimating the importance of global trade to the American economy by focusing on the share of GDP that imports represent rather than the integrated nature of businesses within the economy and its participants with the rest of the world, which are more likely to be cut off or severely hampered following this week’s news.” 

But as Penn also noted during the event, “Three years ago, many doubted we would be at this nearly $3 billion level. We proved them wrong. “ 

Whether the company proves the skeptics wrong again, time will tell.