Will it ever return? That seems far from certain at a time of major industry disruption, already buffeted by the big US tech players and now once again shaken to its core by the AI wave.

The many restructuring programs - which some have likened to rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic - pursued by former chief executive Mark Read were not enough to prevent the inevitable; he has since made way for Cindy Rose, a former Microsoft executive.

After WPP lost 4/5 of its market cap in four years, today the conversation is increasingly focused on the prospects of a break-up sale of the group's assets rather than any real hope of a resurrection.

The media arm, GroupM, on its own is said to command a valuation higher than the sum-of-the-parts. It is said that France's Havas is circling, even if Yannick Bolloré has for now denied these rumours.

On that note, it is worth tipping the hat to the fulfilled prophecy of Bolloré senior, who compared WPP to the Titanic back in 2015, just after the British group lost the L'Oréal account...

WPP's situation is critical on every front. Its revenue has been flat for ten years - adjusted for inflation, it is clearly down - and its operating profit as well as its free cash flow have both been halved over the period.

Meanwhile, the number of shares outstanding has fallen by only 15% following share buybacks carried out at valuations far higher than today's; the dividend has been cut by a third, and another reduction is imminent, while net debt is rising by a solid £1bn.

The group's market capitalisation now looks like that of an LBO, with equity valued at £2.8bn and net debt expected to flirt with £4bn by then. That represents a multiple of less than 6x-to-7x free cash flow after acquisitions completed in 2024, and 14x that expected in 2025.

Optimists will point out that the big advertising conglomerates are pronounced dead once every ten years, yet each time they manage to reinvent themselves. However, at a moment when uncertainty linked to the sector's disruption is genuinely at its peak, it will take quite a rabbit out of a hat to hope to avert the shipwreck.