A resurgent WPP Media led the new business global rankings in the first quarter of 2026, according to COMvergence's Global New Business Barometer.  

The company’s net new business (factoring in wins, retentions and losses) for the period was $1.98 billion, with key wins including Jaguar Land Rover, Estée Lauder, and SC Johnson. By comparison, for full-year 2025 WPP Media had a net new business decline of $1.78 billion, per the research firm.  

Omnicom Media Group (including the first full quarter of results and the acquired IPG agencies) was second, posting a net figure of $1.61 billion with Delta Airlines and Dyson assignments contributing. Publicis Media ranked third, followed by Havas and Dentsu, with the latter two losing a bit of ground on a net basis.  

Olivier Gauthier, founder and CEO of COMvergence, noted that 25% of the $7 billion in total reviewed spend was awarded to the Big 3 holding groups, a first, which he said reflected “the growing consolidation of media business within bespoke, centralized group solutions.”  

At the agency network level, WPP’s Wavemaker ranked first globally with a net gain of $382 million, driven primarily by the retentions of Huawei in China and Reckitt in India. Sibling agency EssenceMediacom ranked second, boosted by the retention of the Estée Lauder account in China. Omnicom’s Hearts & Science placed third, bolstered by the retention of Cox Automotive in the US and the win of Xiaomi in China.  

For the rankings, COMvergence assessed 600 media account moves and retentions across 49 countries, involving 390 advertisers. The $7 billion total was up 6% versus Q1 2025.   

The U.S. accounted for 33% of total spend, followed by China at 23%. The overall retention rate was 38%, on the high side for the past few years. Publicis Media recorded the highest overall retention rate among the Big 5, followed by Omnicom Media and WPP Media.  

Independent agencies — over 100 assessed in the report — captured $1.4 billion in net new business, representing 20% of the spend reviewed. Approximately one third of that business went to Horizon Media, including assignments from Discover and Weight Watchers.