Sir Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital revenues fall amid a ‘challenging’ economy

Sir Martin Sorrell has announced his marketing firm S4 Capital’s revenues tumbled in the first quarter amid cutbacks in tech and a “challenging” economy.

S4 Capital reported in the three months to 31 March there was a 11.4% drop in pro forma net revenues seeing shares fall 4%, however the marketing firm said their guidance for the full year remains unchanged.

S4 Capital is hoping there will be a recovery in the second half of the year.

Executive chairman Sir Martin said, “Trading in the first quarter reflects the continuing impact of, to say the least, volatile global macroeconomic conditions.

“As a result, clients remain generally cautious, with technology clients, which account for almost half our revenue, in particular, continuing to prioritise capital expenditure on AI over operating expenditure, such as marketing.”

Sir Martin warned that the “global macroeconomic environment has become even more challenging in 2025” due to Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs and growing conflicts around the world.

He added, “However, once the levels of tariffs are negotiated and impacts assessed, we believe clients will become more selective about the geographies in which they operate in order to find growth, and focused on implementing technologies, such as, but not only AI, to drive efficiency in a slower growth, higher inflation and higher interest rate environment.”