LVMH Stock Drops as Results Raise Questions on Luxury Turnaround

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Luxury giant LVMH eked a small gain in 2024 sales, underwhelming investors following buoyant results from rivals that signalled a turnaround for the sector.

Full year sales at the company behind the Dior and Louis Vuitton brands reached 84.68 billion euros ($88.27 billion), higher than the 84.36 billion euros forecast by analysts polled by Visible Alpha. That marked just a 1% organic gain over the previous year and a 2% drop reported.

“Yesterday after the market close LVMH reported its FY24 results, which despite a small sales beat disappointed the market due to elevated expectations following multiple stronger beats from peers,” UBS analysts wrote in a note Wednesday.

LVMH's results follow better-than-expected sales by British trenchcoat maker Burberry ( BRBY ) and record quarterly sales by Cartier parent Richemont that had raised investor hopes that the luxury industry was on the path to recovery. The luxury sector had been struggling after the boom following Covid fizzled and as Chinese spenders pulled back as they coped with a real estate slump.

LVMH shares fell 5% in Paris, as did those of Gucci owner Kering. Shares in Birkin handbag maker Hermes, in Paris and Burberry shares in London were flat, and in Swiss trading, Richemont was around 2% higher.

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