The news: Global ad spend growth forecasts have been reduced by nearly $20 billion for the next two years due to “mounting uncertainty,” per an updated WARC Media forecast.

• Global spend will grow 6.7% to $1.15 trillion, down nearly one percentage point from previous estimates. 2026 growth will be even slower at 6.3%.
• Our newly global forecast update brings 2025 growth down to 8.3%; in our previous update, it was 8.9%.

The new forecast comes shortly after Magna reduced its 2025 US ad sales growth prediction to 4.3%, down from the 4.9% growth projected in December.