dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecasts | Mid Year 2026.

dentsu lowered its 2026 global ad growth forecast at midyear because of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, raised its outlook for 2027, and still expects ad spend to outgrow the wider economy.

Key findings

• Global ad spend growth for 2026 was cut to 5.0%, which dentsu says still outpaces economic growth.
• The 2027 forecast was raised to 5.5% growth, and the 2028 outlook of 5.2% is unchanged.
• 2025 ended stronger than dentsu expected, at 5.8% growth.
• EMEA growth for 2026 was cut by 0.6 points to 3.6%, the Americas by 0.4 points to 4.8%, while APAC was raised to 5.9%.

Why it matters

It is a more cautious counterpoint to the WARC and WPP numbers and shows that EMEA, which includes the GCC, has the weakest regional outlook for 2026.

About this report

Published by dentsu, 2026-05. Free, with sign-up. Get the full report from dentsu