LVMH announced on Monday that sales in its fashion and leather goods division rose 1% in the second quarter of 2026, to €8.89 billion, slightly below consensus expectations of 1.7% growth. While minimal, the return to growth marks a notable inflection point after seven consecutive quarters of negative sales growth for the division. (LVMH’s Q1 fashion sales results came in at -2%.) For the entire LVMH Group, organic revenue growth was up 3% in the quarter to €19.52 billion.
“Our maisons — which remained focused on ensuring the utmost quality in our products, and several of which are pursuing their creative renewal — continued to inspire dreams and enhance their desirability,” Bernard Arnault, chair and CEO of LVMH, said in a statement. “Accelerating growth in the second quarter arose in particular from the success of Jonathan Anderson’s first designs for Christian Dior, the remarkable performance of Louis Vuitton’s exceptional new stores in Beijing and Seoul, and Tiffany and Bvlgari’s iconic lines. Strong growth at Sephora and the recovery in champagne and cognac also contributed to this excellent momentum.”
EBIT margin across the group exceeded expectations. “This is supported by better margins at all divisions. We wonder if this could be good enough to sustain the share price and get investors to stand up and pay attention,” Bernstein analyst Luca Solca wrote in a note.
Profit from recurring operations for the first half of 2026 came to €8.7 billion, yielding an operating margin of 22.5% and beating expectations of 21.8%. The group share of net profit amounted to €5.7 billion, stable year-on-year.
Swiss luxury group Richemont kicked off the earnings season on July 15, announcing group sales up 20% to €6.3 billion in its Q1, and confirming that the jewelry boom shows no sign of slowing.
It’s not only Richemont. At LVMH, watches and jewelry sales increased 11% in the second quarter, while selective retailing, which includes cosmetics retailer Sephora, grew 6%. The wines and spirits division rose 5%, and perfumes and cosmetics were down 1%.
By region, group sales in Asia (excluding Japan) were up 4%, slowing after 6% growth in Q1. Sales were up 14% in Japan, a significant improvement compared to last quarter, when sales were down 3%. Europe was flat, compared with a 3% decline in Q1, while the US market was up 6%, accelerating from 3%.
The group said that the conflict in the Middle East weighed on sales growth by approximately 1 percentage point, in line with Q1. “We have still one point of impact in the second quarter, but overall, a longer duration [of disruption compared with Q1]. So we have seen a regular and gradual improvement. Also, we are exiting the quarter still negative, but much more muted than when we entered the quarter,” LVMH CFO Cécile Cabanis said.
