J. G. Navarro
Research expert covering advertising and marketing with a focus on South America
JCDecaux SE – statistics & facts
The world's largest outdoor advertising corporation has failed to reach its pre-pandemic heights, but no one can accuse it of ignoring opportunities to expand. JCDecaux SE's revenue is yet to recover from the lockdowns that kept consumers across the planet away from its core business: out-of-home (OOH) ads. Despite increasing continuously in the years following the coronavirus outbreak, the 2023 figure barely surpassed 90 percent of the holding's peak 2019 result.
Recently, the Île-de-France-based company focused on transactions. In mid-2023, it acquired the Spanish and Italian operations of one of its main rivals, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (CCO). Around that same time, it left the busiest airport in China, Guangzhou Baiyun International, for a local player. A year later, it drastically reduced its stake in Switzerland's top OOH ad firm, APG|SGA, by selling its shares to a Swiss press group. These examples illustrate JCDecaux's global presence as well as its power. Its 2023 revenue surpassed the OOH-only revenues of the second and third-largest outdoor ad companies worldwide by over one-quarter.
JCDecaux's main revenue source is street furniture, through which the holding generated over 1.8 billion euros in 2023. That same year, more than 75 percent of JCDecaux street displays were placed in Europe, while less than three percent in the U.S. Even its billboard operation exemplified that unbalance. Despite ranking lowest among its revenue sources, their larger-than-life nature became emblematic of the outdoor ad business. Almost 80 percent of JCDecaux billboards were in Europe and less than two percent in the U.S.
Recently, the Île-de-France-based company focused on transactions. In mid-2023, it acquired the Spanish and Italian operations of one of its main rivals, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (CCO). Around that same time, it left the busiest airport in China, Guangzhou Baiyun International, for a local player. A year later, it drastically reduced its stake in Switzerland's top OOH ad firm, APG|SGA, by selling its shares to a Swiss press group. These examples illustrate JCDecaux's global presence as well as its power. Its 2023 revenue surpassed the OOH-only revenues of the second and third-largest outdoor ad companies worldwide by over one-quarter.
JCDecaux's nearly ubiquity has a persistent limit
From South Africa to Norway, Japan to Chile, JCDecaux is there. Founded by Jean-Claude Decaux in 1964, it thrived for most of its existence due to its strategic location in Europe, trying to, and often succeeding in, expanding to the rest of the globe. However, its achievements have been limited in the United States where CCO, Lamar Advertising Company, and Outfront Media Inc. compete for consumers' attention and advertisers' budgets since the first half of the previous century.JCDecaux's main revenue source is street furniture, through which the holding generated over 1.8 billion euros in 2023. That same year, more than 75 percent of JCDecaux street displays were placed in Europe, while less than three percent in the U.S. Even its billboard operation exemplified that unbalance. Despite ranking lowest among its revenue sources, their larger-than-life nature became emblematic of the outdoor ad business. Almost 80 percent of JCDecaux billboards were in Europe and less than two percent in the U.S.
