Advertising conglomerate Havas sees strong first-quarter gains, powered by AI investments and expansion in the U.S. market.
Havas Thrives as an AI-Driven Organization in First Half of 2025
Havas, the advertising and communications group, has continued to expand its business with existing clients such as Sanofi and GSK, while also making significant strides in its transformation into an AI-driven organization. This transformation, spearheaded by the Converged.AI strategy, has played a crucial role in Havas' financial performance and growth in the first half (H1) of 2025.
The Converged.AI platform, which has received a €400 million investment through 2027, integrates AI across Havas' operations including media planning, analytics, and creative workflows. This integration has enhanced client innovation and cost control, driving operational efficiency, margin expansion, and organic revenue growth. As a result, Havas achieved a 50-basis-point improvement in EBIT margin to 10.7% and posted 2.3% organic revenue growth overall, accelerating to 2.6% in Q2.
North America was a standout market, delivering 3.9% organic growth in the period, supported strongly by the rollout of AI-led tools and operational improvements under Converged.AI. The net revenue rose to €1.35 billion, up 2.9% compared with H1 2024.
The strategy has also facilitated successful strategic acquisitions (five agencies acquired in H1 2025) and market expansions, especially in North America and emerging markets like India, contributing to geographic and service diversification. Investors view Havas’ AI-first approach as a durable competitive advantage, with targets to reach a 14-15% EBIT margin by 2028.
Following its spin-off from Vivendi in December 2024, Havas reported its first half-year earnings as an independent, publicly traded company. The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance of organic growth above 2% and an adjusted EBIT margin between 12.5% and 13.5%.
Havas has won numerous integrated business projects, including those with Olive Garden, Azid, and Under Armour, and has experienced dynamic new business momentum, particularly in North America. Havas is investing heavily in AI, aiming to have 100% of its workforce trained to harness AI's full potential.
The strong margin trend at Havas is primarily due to staff cost management, with a 1.6% increase in staff cost compared to a 2.9% increase in net revenue.
In summary, Converged.AI is both a technological backbone and strategic growth engine for Havas, enabling better operational efficiency, accelerating organic revenue, improving profitability, and supporting geographic expansion in H1 2025. Havas' transformation into an AI-driven organization with a focus on human intensity marks the next chapter of its transformation.
- The integration of AI across Havas' operations, including finance, media planning, analytics, and creative workflows, has generated momentum for operational efficiency, margin expansion, and organic revenue growth.
- Havas' strategic acquisition of five agencies and market expansions, particularly in North America and emerging markets like India, have been largely fueled by the shift towards an AI-first approach in its operations.
- Havas' investment in technology, such as AI, to enhance business processes, has led to a dynamic new business momentum, with notable projects won from clients like Olive Garden, Azid, and Under Armour, particularly in the North American market.
