By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking (fielded May 19-21):

WORRIES ABOUT ECONOMY MIXED

Today, 87% of Americans are concerned about the economy and inflation – up 2 points from last week and higher than December’s 82% rate.

• 83% about a potential U.S. recession (up 3 points)
• 70% about affording my living expenses (down 2 points)
• 75% about political divisiveness (no change)
• 80% worry about U.S. crime rates (no change from last week)
• 63% about the War on Ukraine (down 7 points)
• 48% about a new COVID-19 variant (down 2 points)
• 48% about losing their jobs (down 3 points)

MOOD OF THE COUNTRY REMAINS NEGATIVE

Today, less than a third of Americans say the country is on the “right track,” and two thirds believe the economy is headed in the wrong direction. These are among the insights in our latest poll with the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University.

• Americans want debt ceiling negotiations – with 70%, up 6 points from last month, saying a default would be a huge issue.
• Stricter immigration policies also are favored by a majority on both sides of the political aisle: 54%– including 67% of Democrats and 46% of Republicans – support the repeal of Title 42.

BEST COMPANY REPUTATIONS

The Harris Poll’s annual Reputation Quotient (RQ) study of corporate reputation is out. The study of 16,310 Americans ranks companies with the best and worst reputations on vision, growth, products and services, trust, culture, ethics and citizenship.

• TOP 10: Patagonia (83.5 RQ score/excellent), Costco (82.1/excellent), John Deere (82.0/excellent), Trader Joe’s (81.7/excellent), Chick-Fil-A (81.4/excellent), Toyota (81.0/excellent), Samsung (81.0/excellent), Amazon (80.7/excellent), USAA (80.6/excellent) and Apple (80.6/excellent).
• BOTTON 10: Trump Organization (52.9 RQ score/very poor), FTX (58.6/poor), Fox (59.3/poor), Twitter (59.3/poor), Facebook (59.7/poor), Spirit Airlines (60.1/poor), TikTok (61.1/poor), Bitcoin (61.1/poor), BP (63.5/poor) and Balenciaga (65.5/fair).
• BIGGEST GAINERS: Uber (+6.3%), Nike (+5.2%), Costco (+5.0%), American Express (+4.3%), Chick-fil-A (+4.3%), Volkswagen (+3.8%), McDonald’s (+3.7%), Chipotle (+3.5%), Kohl’s (+3.4%) and JC Penney (+2.9%).
• BIGGER DECLINERS: BP (-6.6%), Tesla (-6.4%), Spirit Airlines (-5.0%), Dollar Tree (-5.0%), Taco Bell (-4.8%), Fox (-4.7%), TikTok (-4.1%), PayPal (-3.9%), Stellantis (-3.9%) and Disney (-3.5%).
• POLITICAL DAMAGE: One of the most significant lessons in this year’s study is that, when you divide, you subtract – meaning customers. Disney continued to decline (now at 77 of 100, from 65 last year) amid partisan politics. Disney also was ranked the fifth most divisive company in the study.
• FALLEN STARS: A pivot against renegade solo leaders is clear this year: FTX and Sam Bankman Fried made the list for the first time this year – ranking 99th of 100 for reputation. Tesla also saw one of the most significant reputation drops of the past year, from 12th place in 2022 to 62nd this year, as Twitter (ranked near last at 97) created business and reputational issues for Elon Musk.
• INTERACTIVE RANKINGS: See this link for an interactive ranking of all companies on the list this year.

SCHOOL’S OUT, YET PARENTS ARE STRESSED

Parents of school-age children are stressed trying to lock in a safe, smart summer option for their kids, according to our Harris Poll survey with KinderCare.

• 46% of parents report being stressed about finding child care this summer.
• 78% of parents say they are very or somewhat confident on parenting on a typical day – down 4 points from a year ago.
• When it comes to choosing child care, parents look for: safety (49% today versus 31% a year ago), reliability (48% today versus 52% a year ago), health protocols (39% today versus 31% a year ago), emotional curriculum (36% today versus 32% a year ago), functional curriculum (34% today versus 38% a year ago) and inclusion (30% today versus 31% a year ago).

ICYMI

In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:

• 2023 Consumer Credit Card Report
• Polls show worker burnout taking heavy toll
• Media Ranks Among Americans’ Least Trusted Institutions

By

Mark Penn, Chairman and CEO, Stagwell

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

ARound is partnering with its first NBA team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on a shared AR experience called “Cavs ARcade,” which kicked off during the 2023 playoffs in the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. ARound’s customized shared AR experiences for each team allow fans to digitally interact with the court or field, witness real-time effects, and take their fan experience to the next level. This partnership officially brings ARound to three American professional sports leagues: the MLB (via partnerships with Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins), the NFL (via partnership with the Los Angeles Rams), and the NBA. 

The media is taking notice. Read Fast Company’s new profile of ARound, which dives into how the world’s first stadium-scale shared AR platform promises to change how fans engage with sports events and, eventually, all live events.  

Unlocking the Power of AI with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and LexisNexis

Stagwell companies announced several exciting technology partnerships across AI this quarter.

As brands look to embed artificial intelligence across their entire business over the next five years, Code and Theory announced it is building new AI capabilities with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. This collaboration combines OCI’s computing power and secure infrastructure with Code and Theory’s award winning digital-first creative thinking to unlock AI-powered innovation at scale. Ultimately, this will enable Code and Theory to implement custom AI interfaces in four areas – engineering, business intelligence, generative, and cloud services – to help fuel growth and transformation across automotive, hospitality, retail, and financial services. 

And Stagwell Marketing Cloud’s PRophet announced an alliance with LexisNexis to power PRophet’s industry leading AI platform, which collectively boasts access to over 200,000 global news sources from high authority outlets and journalists, including hyperlocal media, newsletters, trade publications, and blogs. The partnership is another step in helping PR pros become more performative, predictive, and productive Communications Engineers and follows the launch of “Taylor”, our generative AI tool. You can access a freemium trial of Taylor by visiting www.prprophet.ai. 

ARound, discussed above, began as a pitch in 2020 during Stagwell Marketing Cloud’s yearly internal “Shark Tank” Innovation Competition. Just over two years later, SMC’s “Shark Tank” continues to generate product innovation from within the network. This quarter, we publicly unveiled the 2022 winner: SmartAssets, an AI-powered SaaS ad platform focused on AI-powered asset management, performance analytics, and instant creative adjustments. The team behind Smart Assets from Locaria will receive up to $1 million in funding to bring the product to market. Read the Digiday story for more details and check out this Q+A with the team behind the pitch.  

Dispatch from Web Summit Rio: Marketers Need to Have Their Heads in the Cloud in 2023

FINTECH.TV: The Transformation of the Marketing Sector 

What does Stagwell look like today and where is it headed? I joined FINTECH.TV on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after our quarterly earnings report last week to talk about the ways our organization is leading the transformation of the marketing sector. Please view the clip here. 

Originally Released On

PR Newswire

CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo

pr@stagwellglobal.com 

Originally Released On

PR Newswire

CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo
Pr@stagwellglobal.com

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking (fielded May 12-14):

WORRIES ABOUT ECONOMY MODERATE; JOB CONCERNS RISE

Today, 85% of Americans are concerned about the economy and inflation – down 1 point from last week and higher than December’s 82% rate.

• 80% worry about U.S. crime rates (down 2 points from last week)
• 80% about a potential U.S. recession (down 1 point)
• 75% about political divisiveness (down 2 points)
• 72% about affording my living expenses (up 5 points)
• 70% about the War on Ukraine (up 1 point)
• 50% about a new COVID-19 variant (down 4 points)
• 51% about losing their jobs (up 5 points)

PARENTS SEE DRAWBACKS OF WORK-FROM-HOME

Many parents are rebelling against remote work, finding serious drawbacks, according to our survey with Bright Horizons.

• 41% of parents say that, when they work from home, they often go days without leaving their house.
• 33% “feel very isolated” when working remotely.
• 8 in 10 parents who work at least part-time remotely juggle jobs with their family responsibilities during the workday – 47% running kids to activities and 44% helping with homework.
• 35% of work-from-home parents also believe their hybrid schedule negatively affects their careers.
• 40% would like their managers to advise them on how much time they should be in the office.

SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS AND HIGH COSTS WEIGH DOWN HEALTHCARE REPORT CARD

Most Americans only give the U.S. healthcare system a C grade, and many do not believe the system is meeting their needs, according to our study with the American Academy of Physician Associates.

• A quarter of adults feel that, at a high level, the system is “broken” – with 26% giving the U.S. healthcare system a D (18%) or an F (8%) grade, and only 10% giving it an A grade.
• Those who are on Medicare (17%) or Medicaid (12%) are most likely to give an A grade versus those with private insurance (7%).
• Reasons for the dissatisfaction include: takes too long to schedule an appointment (31%); high costs (26%); insurance does not fully cover costs (23%); lack of focus on preventative care (19%); and not enough local providers (13%).
• 56% say they wait more than a week for an appointment.
• All of this has resulted in 44% skipping or delaying healthcare services in the past two years – most problematic among adults 35-49 (54%), adults 18-34 (53%) and Latino Americans (53%).
• The top reasons for delaying or skipping visits include: costs (40%); lack of time (30%); not feeling the health issue is severe enough (27%); and too long to book an appointment (25%).

SOCIAL MEDIA IMPORTANCE EXPECTED TO GROW

Four in 10 business leaders expect their social media budget to increase at least 50% in the next three years – particularly for reputation building, connecting better with customers and predicting future trends. Key insights from our study with Sprout Social of marketing, customer care and communications professionals in the U.S. and UK include:

• The highest impact of social media on business priorities include building reputation (55%), connecting with customers (51%), competitive positioning (46%), predicting future trends (45%) and moving the business forward with reduced budgets (34%).
• 30% expect a significant increase in social media use in their business during the next three years, and 58% expect a moderate increase. Fewer than 2% expect a decline.
• 69% say social media data and insights currently are underutilized at their company.
• Challenges preventing companies from more effectively using social media data and insights to inform business decision-making include: limited access to social data tools (42%), lack of integration with other technology solutions (42%) and lack of qualified team members who know how to use the tools (39%).
• Business leaders overwhelmingly agree that AI will enable companies to better analyze social media data and insights. Greatest benefits of AI and social media together are expected to be behavioral segmentation (49%), predictive analytics (45%) and dynamic pricing (45%).
• The top three departments with the greatest influence on a company’s social media strategy are marketing (79%), customer care (57%) and communications (51%).

ICYMI

In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:

• New data on the writers’ strike and use of AI in Hollywood
• Americans born between 1965 and 1980 are concerned that Social Security won’t be there to support them in retirement.
• I used ChatGPT to write a cover letter and pretty much fooled 3 experts
• A New Antitrust Era is Coming. Here’s How You Weather the Storm.

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking (fielded May 5-7):

WORRIES ABOUT ECONOMY MODERATE

Today, 86% of Americans are concerned about the economy and inflation – down 2 points from last week and higher than December’s 82% rate.

• 82% worry about U.S. crime rates (down 1 point from last week)
• 81% about a potential U.S. recession (down 1 point)
• 77% about political divisiveness (up 1 point)
• 67% about affording my living expenses (down 8 points)
• 69% about the War on Ukraine (down 1 point)
• 54% about a new COVID-19 variant (down 4 points)
• 46% about losing their jobs (down 7 points)

GROCERIES, GAS REMAIN TOP INFLATION CONCERNS

When it comes to inflation, gas and groceries continue to be the biggest concerns among Americans.

• 74% say groceries represent the biggest inflation impact today (consistent with 73% a year ago), followed by gas (65% today, 75% a year ago), utilities (43% today, 36% a year ago), eating out (41% today, 38% a year ago) and healthcare (30% today, 20% a year ago).
• Americans are split on whether inflation will improve this year – with 51% saying it’s unlikely, which is 6 points higher than December.
• Women (55%) are the most skeptical about inflation remaining a problem at least through year-end, along with Gen X (59%), Gen Z (55%) and Boomers (53%). Millennials are the most optimistic, with only 40% saying inflation will remain an issue through year-end.

WILL AI PLAN YOUR NEXT VACATION?

AI-powered travel tools could take the hassle out of vacation planning – with advice previously available only to those who could afford a personal travel planner. Yet are travelers ready? Stagwell’s National Research Group’s “Will conversational AI revolutionize the travel experience?” survey finds out.

• 61% of consumers say that they’d be willing to use conversational AI to help plan a future trip.
• 46% expect AI to have a positive impact on the travel experience.
• Among consumers who already have used AI to help plan a trip, 49% found it to be a “very effective” tool.
• At the same time, 51% of travelers are worried AI-powered travel tools will fail to protect personal data.
• 81% say that, if using AI to help plan a trip, they would double check the accuracy of the information before making any decisions.

MOST AMERICANS HAVE NOT SAVED FOR A CRISIS

Only 45% of Americans would be able to cover a $1,000 emergency expense without turning to a credit card or loan, according to our survey with NerdWallet.

• 89% of Americans save on a regular basis, yet 60% don’t have a retirement-specific account.
• 53% regularly save for emergencies, 43% for retirement and 42% for vacations.
• 25% have used money from savings or a retirement account to pay their bills within the last 12 months.
• Americans who regularly save typically set aside $985 every month. Gen Z ($1,164 a month) and Millennials ($1,205) save the most – compared with Gen X ($891) and Boomers ($781).

AGEING REFRAMED

Outdated narratives surrounding ageing are changing – with older people becoming more vocal about who they are and how they should be represented in culture. A new report, “Reframing Ageing,” from Stagwell’s 72andSunny and Crowd DNA identifies three developing themes:

• Rejecting Ageing: Ageing traditionally has been associated with diminishing qualities and attractiveness. Instead, rejecting ageing is about maintaining youthful traits, qualities and abilities.
• Reclaiming Ageing: Ageing narratives are evolving into a space where people are tired of trying to fit into ‘ageing ideals’. Instead, people are embracing who they are as they age, choosing how they want to look and behave, without the need for validation.
• Reassessing Ageing: Ageing is seen as an outlet for continual growth and self-fulfillment. Older people are positively reflecting on life in a way that can only occur by embracing the ageing process and redefining what it means to grow older.

ICYMI

In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:

• Return to the office is shoving moms out of the workforce – again
• Looking for a Job? If You’re Not Using Social Media, You Should Be
• Americans want to see their favorite brands in movies, research finds

Originally Released On

PR Newswire

CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo

pr@stagwellglobal.com 

Originally released on

Revenue of $622 Million

Adjusted EBITDA of $72 million

First Quarter Results in line with Management Expectations

Reaffirms 2023 Full Year Guidance

Announces Share Repurchase Agreement for over 23.3 million Class A Shares in Stagwell Inc.

Aggregate Class A and Class C Shares reduced 8% to 267 million

New York, NY, May 9, 2023 (NASDAQ: STGW) – Stagwell Inc. (“Stagwell”) today announced financial results in line with internal expectations for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

FIRST QUARTER RESULTS:

• Revenue and EBITDA in line with management expectations
• Revenue of $622 million, a decrease of 3% versus the prior year period.
• First quarter net revenue of $522 million, a decrease of 1% versus the prior period.
• Organic net revenue decline of 3%, and excluding advocacy of 1%, versus the prior year period.
• On a two-year growth stack basis, organic net revenue growth of 21%
• First quarter net income attributable to Stagwell Inc. Common Shareholders of $0.4 million versus $13 million in the prior year period.
• First quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $72 million, a decrease of 29% versus the prior year period.
• First quarter Adjusted Earnings Per Share for Stagwell Inc. Common Shareholders of $0.13 versus $0.22 in the prior year period.
• Net new business wins of $53 million in the quarter and $212 million for the trailing twelve months. 

“Stagwell is stronger than ever today with the removal of an overhang on the stock and Q1 results in line with management’s expectations, allowing us to reaffirm guidance for another year of significant growth,” said Mark Penn, Chairman and CEO of Stagwell Inc. “This quarter is compared to Q1 2022 which had 24% of organic growth compared to 14% for the year. We expect to return to double-digit growth in the later quarters, especially given strong new business wins within the quarter and after the close. We are moving forward with the Stagwell Marketing Cloud and all investors are invited to try our generative A.I. product at www.PRProphet.ai.”

“We have additionally announced entry into a definitive agreement, approved unanimously by Stagwell’s independent and disinterested directors who were advised by outside counsel and advisers, to repurchase approximately 23.3 million shares of Stagwell Inc. Class A Stock from AlpInvest,” Penn added. “I believe this purchase will help create value for shareholders in the marketplace given our undervalued stock.”

Frank Lanuto, Chief Financial Officer, commented: “Coming off a record Q1 performance in 2022, the Company posted first quarter results in a challenging environment that were in line with management expectations. We are beginning to see positive signs, including strong new business wins, and improving client conditions, which give us confidence about the outlook for the remainder of the year.”

Financial Outlook

2023 financial guidance is as follows:

• Organic Net Revenue growth of 7.5% – 10%
• Organic Net Revenue growth ex-Advocacy of 10% – 14%
• Adjusted EBITDA of $450 million – $490 million
• Free Cash Flow Conversion of 50% – 60%
• Adjusted EPS of $0.90 – $1.05
• Guidance assumes no impact from foreign exchange, acquisitions or dispositions.

Stock Repurchase Program

In the first quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 2.6 million shares of Class A Common Stock at an average price of $6.91 per share for an aggregate value of approximately $18 million. The remaining value of shares permitted to be repurchased was approximately $180 million as of March 31, 2023.

Stock Repurchase Transaction

On May 9, 2023, Stagwell Inc. agreed to repurchase approximately 23.3 million shares from AlpInvest Partners at a share price of $6.43 which is a total value of approximately $150 million. As announced separately, Stagwell Media LP, a shareholder in Stagwell Inc., and AlpInvest are engaged in advanced negotiations to redeem AlpInvest’s remaining interests in Stagwell Media LP., subject to final documentation. Upon completion of these transactions, AlpInvest Partners will no longer be an investor in Stagwell Inc.

Conference Call

Management will host a video webcast and conference call on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. (ET) to discuss results for Stagwell Inc. for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The video webcast will be accessible at https://stgw.io/Q12023Earnings. An investor presentation has been posted on our website at www.stagwellglobal.com and may be referred to during the conference call.

A recording of the conference call will be accessible one hour after the call and available for ninety days at www.stagwellglobal.com.

Stagwell Inc.

Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing.  Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com.

Contacts

For Investors:

Ben Allanson

Ir@stagwellglobal.com

For Press:

Beth Sidhu

Pr@stagwellglobal.com

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to its reported results, Stagwell Inc. has included in this earnings release certain financial results that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines as “non-GAAP Financial Measures.” Management believes that such non-GAAP financial measures, when read in conjunction with the Company’s reported results, can provide useful supplemental information for investors analyzing period to period comparisons of the Company’s results. Such non-GAAP financial measures include the following:

(1) Organic Revenue: “Organic revenue growth” and “organic revenue decline” refer to the positive or negative results, respectively, of subtracting both the foreign exchange and acquisition (disposition) components from total revenue growth. The acquisition (disposition) component is calculated by aggregating prior period revenue for any acquired businesses, less the prior period revenue of any businesses that were disposed of during the current period. The organic revenue growth (decline) component reflects the constant currency impact of (a) the change in revenue of the partner firms that the Company has held throughout each of the comparable periods presented, and (b) “non-GAAP acquisitions (dispositions), net”. Non-GAAP acquisitions (dispositions), net consists of (i) for acquisitions during the current year, the revenue effect from such acquisition as if the acquisition had been owned during the equivalent period in the prior year and (ii) for acquisitions during the previous year, the revenue effect from such acquisitions as if they had been owned during that entire year (or same period as the current reportable period), taking into account their respective pre-acquisition revenues for the applicable periods, and (iii) for dispositions, the revenue effect from such disposition as if they had been disposed of during the equivalent period in the prior year.

(2) Net New Business: Estimate of annualized revenue for new wins less annualized revenue for losses incurred in the period.

(3) Adjusted EBITDA: defined as Net income excluding non-operating income or expense to achieve operating income, plus depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, deferred acquisition consideration adjustments, and other items. Other items include restructuring costs, acquisition-related expenses, and non-recurring items.

(4) Adjusted Diluted EPS is defined as (i) Net income (loss) attributable to Stagwell Inc. common shareholders, plus net income attributable to Class C shareholders, excluding amortization expense, impairment and other losses, stock-based compensation, deferred acquisition consideration adjustments, discrete tax items, and other items, divided by (ii) (a) the per weighted average number of common shares outstanding plus (b) the weighted average number of Class C shares outstanding, (if dilutive). Other items includes restructuring costs, acquisition-related expenses, and non-recurring items, and subject to the anti-dilution rules.

(5) Free Cash Flow: defined as Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures, change in net working capital, cash taxes, interest, and distributions to minority interests, but excludes contingent M&A payments.

(6) Financial Guidance: The Company provides guidance on a non-GAAP basis as it cannot predict certain elements which are included in reported GAAP results.

Included in this earnings release are tables reconciling reported Stagwell Inc. results to arrive at certain of these non-GAAP financial measures.

This document contains forward-looking statements. within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The Company’s representatives may also make forward-looking statements orally or in writing from time to time. Statements in this document that are not historical facts, including, statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, future financial performance and future prospects, business and economic trends, potential acquisitions, and estimates of amounts for redeemable noncontrolling interests and deferred acquisition consideration, constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, which are generally denoted by words such as “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “create,” “estimate,” “expect,” “focus,” “forecast,” “foresee,” “future,” “guidance,” “intend,” “look,” “may,” “opportunity,” “outlook,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” or the negative of such terms or other variations thereof and terms of similar substance used in connection with any discussion of current plans, estimates and projections are subject to change based on a number of factors, including those outlined in this section.

Forward-looking statements in this document are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company. Although the management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. The material assumptions upon which such forward-looking statements are based include, among others, assumptions with respect to general business, economic and market conditions, the competitive environment, anticipated and unanticipated tax consequences and anticipated and unanticipated costs. These forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections, and are subject to change based on a number of factors, including those outlined in this section. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside the Company’s control. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any of them in light of new information or future events, if any.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

• risks associated with international, national and regional unfavorable economic conditions that could affect the Company or its clients;
• the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”), and evolving strains of COVID-19 on the economy and demand for the Company’s services, which may precipitate or exacerbate other risks and uncertainties;
• inflation and actions taken by central banks to counter inflation;
• the Company’s ability to attract new clients and retain existing clients;
• the impact of a reduction in client spending and changes in client advertising, marketing and corporate communications requirements;
• financial failure of the Company’s clients;
• the Company’s ability to retain and attract key employees;
• the Company’s ability to compete in the markets in which it operates;
• the Company’s ability to achieve its cost saving initiatives;
• the Company’s implementation of strategic initiatives;
• the Company’s ability to remain in compliance with its debt agreements and the Company’s ability to finance its contingent payment obligations when due and payable, including but not limited to those relating to redeemable noncontrolling interests and deferred acquisition consideration;
• the Company’s ability to manage its growth effectively, including the successful completion and integration of acquisitions that complement and expand the Company’s business capabilities;
• the Company’s ability to develop products incorporating new technologies, including augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, and realize benefits from such products;
• an inability to realize expected benefits of the combination of the Company’s business with the business of MDC;
• adverse tax consequences in connection with the Transactions for the Company, its operations and its shareholders, that may differ from the expectations of the Company, including that future changes in tax law, potential increases to corporate tax rates in the United States and disagreements with the tax authorities on the Company’s determination of value and computations of its attributes may result in increased tax costs;
• the occurrence of material Canadian federal income tax (including material “emigration tax”) as a result of the Transactions;
• the Company’s unremediated material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting and its ability to establish and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting;
• the Company’s ability to protect client data from security incidents or cyberattacks;
• economic disruptions resulting from war and other geopolitical tensions (such as the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine), terrorist activities and natural disasters;
• stock price volatility; and
• foreign currency fluctuations.

Investors should carefully consider these risk factors, other risk factors described herein, and the additional risk factors outlined in more detail in our 2022 Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 6, 2023, and accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, under the caption “Risk Factors,” and in the Company’s other SEC filings.

Originally Released On

PR Newswire

CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo

pr@stagwellglobal.com 

CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo

pr@stagwellglobal.com