For the first half of 2026, Publicis Media was tops in new business with billings of $3.24 billion, according to agency research firm COMvergence. That’s a global net figure that factors in wins, losses and retentions. Group level wins included Adidas (Greater China), HP, Microsoft and Prada. 

Omnicom Media ranked a close second with $3.15 billion with wins including Delta, IBM and Subway.

WPP was not far behind in third place with $2.98 billion, anchored by the highest retained volume among the “Big 5” groups. Wins/retentions included Estée Lauder, Jaguar Land Rover, Wendy’s and more. 

Dentsu (−$181 million) and Havas Media Network (−$343 million) posted negative totals for the half year, as losses outweighed wins and retentions. 

(Publicis Media, WPP and Omnicom also placed first, second and third, respectively in the US).   

“What we are seeing is a clear shift towards the consolidation of media business within bespoke, centralized solutions operated directly by the Big 5 holding groups, outside their global agency brands,” noted Olivier Gauthier, founder and CEO COMvergence.  

In H1 2026, Gauthier added: “these solutions secured 26% — $5.0 billion — of the $19.2 billion in total reviewed media spend. WPP Media led this shift, assigning $2.24 billion, or 69% of its total new wins, to its standalone group unit. Publicis Media followed with $1.50 billion (47%), and Omnicom Media with $1.11 billion (34%).” 

At the agency level, Omnicom’s PHD ranked #1 globally with net new business totaling $750 million, driven by the $440 million global Adidas account (excluding Greater China) and the multi-country retention of Dyson ($164 million).  

Publicis Groupe’s Zenith ranked 2nd at $653 million, boosted by the retention of Reckitt in the US ($315 million) and its L'Oréal win in India.  WPP’s Wavemaker was 3rd with $566 million, driven by the $650 million retention of Huawei in China.  

Hearts United — the network newly formed from the merger of Omnicom's Hearts & Science and Mediahub — debuted in fourth position with $445 million.

OMD completed the top five at $374 million, aided by the win of Aviva Group in the U.K. 

COMvergence assessed 1,970 media-account moves and retentions across 49 countries, involving 1,070 advertisers and totaling $19.2 billion in reviewed media spend (+9% vs. H1 2025).  

The U.S. accounted for 39% of total spend reviewed globally, followed by China at 15%. Local, single-country pitches represented 58% of spend reviewed, while global and multi-country reviews totaled $8.1 billion.  

The overall retention rate reached 28%, representing $5.4 billion in retained billings.

Publicis Media recorded the highest retention rate among the Big 5 at 52%, followed by Omnicom Media and WPP Media (47% each), Dentsu (34%) and Havas Media Network (6%).

Independent agencies — more than 120 assessed in the report — captured $3.0 billion, representing 16% of total spend reviewed, led by Horizon Media ($540 million), PMG ($355 million) and Tinuiti ($300 million).