The Big 5 agency holding companies grew 1.7% during the first quarter, marking a “deceleration” from “+4%” rates of growth in recent prior years, according to a top Wall Street analyst tracking Madison Avenue stocks.

In terms of North America, the Big 5 — WPP, Omnicom, Interpublic, Publicis and Havas — actually declined 0.3% during the first quarter, according to estimates published by Pivotal Research’s Brian Wieser in a note sent to investors this morning.

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