Edelman Fees Decline 3.6% In 2025 But Strong Q4 Suggests Rebound

(MENAFN- PRovoke) NEW YORK-Edelman saw its global fee income decline by 3.6% (4% in constant currency terms) in 2025, ending the year at the $950 million mark, down from the $986 million It reported for the previous year.

It was the second year of declining revenues for the world's largest public relations firm since t became the first-and so far only-public relations agency to break the $1 billion barrier in 2022.

The firm has also seen its headcount decline, from more than 6,400 in 2022 to 5,900 last year to slightly more than 5,500 at the end of 2025-in line with broader industry trends as financial uncertainty and efficiency gains from artificial intelligence take their toll on the public relatios workforce..

The most significant decline came in North America, which accounts for more than half of the firm's revenue ($541 million) and was down by slightly more than 8%. The Asia-Pacific region also declines slightly, down by 2.5% to $87 million-although India and South-East Asia enjoyed strong years.

But there was growth in EMEA, which rose 3.4% (largely due to currency fluctuations) to $243 million, and where the UAE and Saudi Arabia (the latter from a small base) both reported substantial growth. The firm's Canadian operations grew by more than 6% while its Latin American business enjoyed better than 10% growth, with its Colombia-based content studio making a strong contribution.

In an interview with PRovoke Media, CEO Richard edelman suggested that the fourth quarter of 2026 hd seen a return to growth, particularly in the US, where he said he thought the business could recover most of the revenue lost in 2025 by the end of its financial year in June.

Speaking on a recent podcast with PRovoke Media, Edelman had suggested thar the firm had turned a corner, saying he hoped revenues would be back over the $1 billion mark this year.

He aksi pointed to some encouraging underlying numbers: 5% growth among the firm's global clients and 8% growth among the top 100 clients worldwide. And in the second half of the year, Edeman secured more than 30 new global clients totaling $30 million.

Technology was the biggest growth sector for the firm, up by 7.7%, while financial services also delivered healthy 5% growth. Healthcare was soft, however, down 7% and food and beverage was down by more than 10%. Interestingly, the marketing communications practice delivered a robust 6.3% increase.

Edelman suggested that the firm-and others in the sector-were benefiting from the consolidation in the advertising business, and the merger or elimination of some ad agency brands, suggesting that advertising might be losing its traditional role as the primary“idea engine.”

And addressing the strength of brand work compared to cprporate affairs, he suggested that a decline is“ESG, DEI and some other purpose driven work on the corporate side” was responsible for.

Finally, Edelman voiced particular confidence in the firm's artificial intelligence capabilities, which include Archie AI, a proprietary LLM built with Edelman Trust data. The firm built and deployed 11,800 custom AI models last year, and launched GEOsight to take advantage of the opportunity presented by AI search.

“I think for us the objective is not efficiency,” je said.“Its to fll the hole left by the disappearance of all those ad agencies, We think we can now do content at speed and at scale for thousands issues. We see earned media at the heart of the flywheel, offering up new creative solutions to buyers. And we are remaking our busness to prove tangible sales results. That's the next step for PR.”

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