In this week’s Week in Charts, L’Oréal bets on marketing push, WBD stock continues to climb, and Korean content gains ground.
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Quote of the Week
Number of the Week
Charts of the Week
WBD Stock on the Rise as Netflix and Paramount Decline in Takeover Battle
Shares in Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) have risen by 30 percent over the past month, driven by competing takeover bids from Netflix and Paramount Skydance, which launched its rival offer last week. Uncertainty over the outcome of the acquisition saga has been bumpier for the suitors’ respective stock prices, with Netflix down by 15 percent and Paramount down 11 percent over the last month.
Luxury Brands’ Ad Spend Nears 10 Percent of Revenues
Luxury brands’ ad spend will near 10 percent of their total revenues this year, according to forecasts from WPP Media’s ‘This Year Next Year’ report, based on composites of the largest global advertisers in each category. Retail brands however have seen their ad budgets fall from 5 percent of revenues in 2022, to 4.6 percent in 2025. “Retailers face a complex operating environment dominated by tariff-driven pricing pressures, intensifying competition from smaller players, and the perpetual tension between short-term sales activation and long-term brand building,” said the report.
Meta and Google Account for More Than Half Online Time in UK
UK adults spend more than half of their time online using Meta and Google services, according to new research from Ofcom, with YouTube, Google Search, Facebook/Messenger and WhatsApp dominating smartphone use in 2025. ByteDance was the third-most used company among UK adults, who used TikTok for an average 15 minutes per day.
Korean and Spanish Titles Are Most Popular Non-English Netflix Content
Korean and Spanish titles are the most popular non-English content on Netflix, according to research from Omdia, with Korean shows and films accounting for 13 percent of total hours viewed over the past two years. The research firm noted that Spanish content leads on individual or title views, but Korean content accumulates more viewing hours due to the longer length of Korean series.
The Week in Stocks
Agencies
Shares in WPP rallied last week, after the embattled holding company secured the UK government’s media account, reportedly worth around £1.5 billion.
TV
Netflix and Paramount both took another hit to their stock prices last week as the takeover race for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) heats up, while WBD’s own share price continues to climb (see chart above).
Publishers
Future’s stock price continues to slide following the publishing group’s full-year results at the start of the month, revealing a six percent YoY decline in total revenues.
Ad Tech
Teads’ share price rallied last week but has fallen by 90 percent over the past year, as its merger with Outbrain in February continues to depress revenue growth for the video ad tech firm.
Tech
Adobe stock jumped on Friday after its latest earnings update lifted investor confidence in the software company’s AI strategy. But the wider tech market took a hit on Monday in anticipation of new economic data and ongoing fears around inflated AI expectations.
