QUAD vs NCMI vs WPP Stock Comparison

Quad, National CineMedia and Wpp Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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QUAD Quad/Graphics, Inc.
$9.53 +1.0% 1M +60.4% 1Y
Market cap
$450.24M
P/E
14.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.38B
Div. yield
–
Advertising Agencies Communication Services
5 wins
NCMI National CineMedia, Inc.
$1.84 -18.6% 1M -56.8% 1Y
Market cap
$162.56M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$249.00M
Div. yield
0.07%
Advertising Agencies Communication Services
3 wins
WPP WPP plc
$26.01 0.0% 1M +7.4% 1Y
Market cap
$5.51B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Advertising Agencies Communication Services
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Quad leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Quad 5, National CineMedia 3, Wpp 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionQUADNCMIWPPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $450.24M $162.56M $5.51B WPP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.4x -21.4x — –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.5x — 7.7x QUAD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -8.0% +5.8% — NCMI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.3% -3.1% — QUAD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.0% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x -1.7x — NCMI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.07% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +60.4% -56.8% +7.4% QUAD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +19.3%/yr -43.7%/yr -18.5%/yr QUAD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.9% 74.1% 55.7% QUAD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 76/100 — NCMI

Percentile Scorecard

QUADNCMIWPP

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisQUADNCMIWPP
Valuation 90 #6 of 53 85 #9 of 53 –
Growth 65 #16 of 44 77 #11 of 44 –
Profitability 71 #13 of 42 42 #25 of 42 –
Financial Health 35 #40 of 61 85 #10 of 61 25 #46 of 61
Shareholder Returns 40 #16 of 26 92 #3 of 26 56 #12 of 26
Overall 60 76 –
  • QUAD ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • NCMI ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • WPP ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodQUADNCMIWPPSPY
1 month +1.0%-18.6%0.0% -0.2%
3 months +13.7%-53.5%+22.1% +3.9%
6 months +22.2%-48.7%+47.6% +8.2%
Year to date +52.0%-52.7%+15.8% +12.9%
1 year +60.4%-56.8%+7.4% +12.3%
3 years +101.5%-48.2%-38.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +26.3%-19.7%-14.8% +23.3%
5 years +141.9%-94.3%-64.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year +19.3%-43.7%-18.5% +10.9%
10 years -59.0%-98.7%-74.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year -8.5%-35.0%-12.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureQUADNCMIWPPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.9%74.1%55.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 46.4%91.4%54.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.430.791.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.41-0.770.13 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -69.4%-97.3%-81.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.2%-58.7%-5.6% -1.2%
52-week high $10.85$4.45$27.56 $779.14
52-week low $5.18$1.84$15.11 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleQUADNCMIWPP
P/E now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 18.4x -22.7xmedian 18.4x —median 18.4x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 0.6x 0.7xmedian 0.6x —median 0.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 10.5x 7.1xmedian 10.5x —median 10.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 9.0x 8.8xmedian 9.0x —median 9.0x
P/B now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 1.5x 0.5xmedian 1.5x 1.5xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.31median 0.44 0.87median 0.44 —median 0.44

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsQUADNCMIWPP
Revenue $2.38B $249.00M –
Gross profit $514.40M $234.50M –
Operating income $96.30M -$17.70M –
Net income $31.20M -$7.60M –
Free cash flow $50.40M $19.70M –
EPS (diluted) $0.62 $-0.08 –
Cash & equivalents $7.40M $46.10M $3.13B
Total debt $400.00M $12.00M $26.45B
Shares (diluted) 50.00M 93.70M 215.20M
Enterprise value $366.34M -$5.64M -$6.53B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricQUADNCMIWPP
P/E 14.7x -22.7x –
P/FCF 10.6x 8.8x –
P/Operating cash flow 5.6x 7.2x –
P/S 0.2x 0.7x –
P/B 4.3x 0.5x 1.5x
P/Tangible book 4.7x 4.2x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 5.4x 7.1x –
EV/EBIT 9.6x -7.8x –
EV/Revenue 0.4x 0.6x –
EV/FCF 18.4x 7.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 9.6x 5.8x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.31 0.87 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricQUADNCMIWPP
Revenue growth (1Y) -8.0% 5.8% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -9.3% 8.3% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) -8.0% 5.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.8% 9.8% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 100.2% 24.7% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 31.4% -15.1% –
Net income growth (1Y) 318.2% 62.6% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 47.6% -26.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) 307.7% 62.4% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 47.3% -26.1% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -19.2% -19.3% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.5% 128.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -29.6% -18.6% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -22.0% 81.9% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricQUADNCMIWPP
Gross margin 21.6% 94.2% –
EBITDA margin 7.2% 7.9% –
Operating margin 4.1% -7.1% –
Pretax margin 1.7% -3.1% –
Net margin 1.3% -3.1% –
FCF margin 2.1% 7.9% –
Operating cash flow margin 4.1% 9.6% –
Return on equity 24.8% -2.2% –
Return on assets 2.6% -1.7% –
Return on invested capital 14.0% – –
Return on capital employed 15.0% -4.5% –
Asset turnover 2.0x 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.1x -3.1x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 3.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricQUADNCMIWPP
Debt / assets 33.4% 2.7% 22.7%
Debt / equity 3.2x 0.0x 1.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x -1.7x –
Debt / FCF 7.9x 0.6x –
Liabilities / assets 89.6% 25.1% 88.2%
Equity / assets 10.4% 74.9% 11.8%
Interest coverage 2.2x -25.3x –
Current ratio 0.9x 1.8x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.5x 1.8x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.8x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.75 2.09 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricQUADNCMIWPP
Dividend yield 3.9% 4.9% 3.8%
Net buyback yield 0.7% 2.6% –
Shareholder yield 4.6% 7.5% 3.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – -150.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 57.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 100.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 57.8% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusQUADNCMIWPP
Forward P/E 7.5xFY2026 – 7.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.27FY2026 $-0.08FY2026 $3.38FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +25.7%FY2026 – -20.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.4% – +5.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.24BFY2026 $286.80MFY2026 $12.28BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -7.3%FY2026 +17.9%FY2026 -10.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.6% -3.9% +9.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersQUADNCMIWPP
Held by institutions 41.0% 89.6% 11.5%
Institutions holding 146 110 141
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.1% +2.2% -0.4%
Institutions buying 83 56 81
Institutions selling 40 34 35
Buyers to sellers 2.08 1.65 2.31

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

QUADNCMIWPP
QUAD 1.00 0.16 0.05
NCMI 0.16 1.00 0.13
WPP 0.05 0.13 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, QUAD, NCMI and WPP?

Wpp (WPP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Quad (QUAD) $450.24M, National CineMedia (NCMI) $162.56M, Wpp (WPP) $5.51B.

Which company is growing faster?

National CineMedia (NCMI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Quad (QUAD) -8.0%, National CineMedia (NCMI) +5.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Quad (QUAD) has the highest net margin (Quad (QUAD) 1.3%, National CineMedia (NCMI) -3.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Quad (QUAD) returned the most: Quad (QUAD) +60.4%, National CineMedia (NCMI) -56.8%, Wpp (WPP) +7.4%. Over five years, Quad (QUAD) compounded fastest (Quad (QUAD) +19.3%/yr, National CineMedia (NCMI) -43.7%/yr, Wpp (WPP) -18.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Quad (QUAD) 0.00%, National CineMedia (NCMI) 0.07%, Wpp (WPP) 0.00%. Quad (QUAD) and Wpp (WPP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Quad (QUAD) has been the steadiest (Quad (QUAD) 42.9%, National CineMedia (NCMI) 74.1%, Wpp (WPP) 55.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, QUAD, NCMI and WPP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Quad (QUAD) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.