STGW
The headline: sales are up, profits are... still a work in progress
Stagwell’s first-quarter numbers came in with a bit of swagger: revenue rose 8% year over year to $704 million, net revenue climbed 4%, and adjusted EBITDA hit $90 million. That’s not exactly “to the moon,” but it’s the kind of steady, boring progress investors usually like more than a flashy one-quarter pop that disappears next season.
The part you actually care about
The company also said adjusted EPS rose 31% to $0.17, even though reported EPS was still negative at $(0.05). Translation: the business is improving underneath the hood, but accounting and one-off costs are still leaving a dent. If you own the stock, the real question is whether that margin momentum keeps compounding or turns into one of those “nice quarter, then back to reality” situations.
Why this doesn’t read like a one-off
A few details make this more than just earnings wallpaper:
- Digital Transformation net revenue grew 9%, with a two-year stack of 26%
- Net new business hit a record $141 million in the quarter
- Cash flow from operations improved by $34 million year over year
- Management reiterated 2026 guidance for 8% to 12% total net revenue growth and $475 million to $525 million of adjusted EBITDA
That combo matters because agencies live and die by pipeline. New business is basically the oxygen tank here, and Stagwell’s got more of it than it did a year ago.
Big picture: the stock story is now about execution, not excuses
The market usually gives marketing firms a pretty simple exam: can you grow, can you protect margins, and can you turn wins into cash? Stagwell’s answer this quarter was a mostly confident “yes,” with a side of “don’t look too closely at the bottom line yet.” If the company keeps converting new business into revenue and cash, investors may start treating it less like a scrambled media holding company and more like a cleaner growth story.
Big picture: this wasn’t a fireworks quarter, but it was the kind of incremental progress that can quietly change a stock’s vibe.