Hermes leapfrogged LVMH to become the world’s most valuable luxury company on Tuesday (Apr 15), after shares in the owner of Louis Vuitton tumbled on the back of disappointing first-quarter results. In a bruising day for the luxury sector in which the companies swapped spots several times, shares in Paris-listed LVMH fell 7.9 per cent, sending the group’s market capitalisation down to €246.
5 billion (US$280 billion; S$368 billion). That is its lowest level since November 2020. Shares in Hermes, the maker of Birkin and Kelly bags, ended the day little changed, giving it a market capitalisation of €248.
1 billion. The luxury industry has struggled following a boom in the COVID-19 pandemic as middle-class consumers rein in spending and China’s economy falters, factors that are now being compounded by US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade war. LVMH’s first-quarter results, released late on Monday (Apr 14), showed that sales in its crucial fashion and leather goods division fell 5 per cent, far short of analysts’ expectation of 1 per cent growth.
By contrast, Hermes’ ultra-wealthy client base, carefully calibrated exclusivity and tightly controlled production have enabled it to weather the recent slowdown better than its rivals. However, other luxury stocks were hit harder on Tuesday, with Prada falling 4.2 per cent and Kering declining by 4.
8 per cent. Shares in L’Oreal and Puig also fell after LVMH’s results hinted at a broader slowdown in beauty. Her.
