LVMH soars after reporting first sales growth of 2025 on China rebound

Investing.com -- LVMH’s third-quarter revenue rose 1%, marking first growth this year, as improved Chinese demand helped after prolonged luxury slump.

Sales reached 18.28 billion euros, in the three months to September, beating some estimates.

Shares in LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury group and a bellwether for the sector, soared more than 12% on Wednesday.

Fashion and leather goods, which house Louis Vuitton and Dior and generate most of LVMH’s profit, fell 2% from a year earlier but improved from a 9% drop in the previous quarter.

It was the first quarter of slight growth this year for the world’s largest luxury goods group, which is seen as a sector bellwether with operations spanning fashion, alcohol and retail.

Trends in Asia excluding Japan, a market dominated by China, showed "noticeable" improvement nine months into the business year, LVMH said in a statement.

Sales at the fashion and leather goods division, home to flagship brands Louis Vuitton and Dior and accounting for more than two-thirds of profits, were down 2% versus a year earlier.

"While there had been a lot of debate among investors in recent weeks about the magnitude of the sequential improvement in Q3, we think the progress made came in generally better than anticipated," JPMorgan analysts commented.

They said the recovery “bodes well for a return to growth next year, as the environment stabilises and brands’ specific initiatives accelerate.”

However, the analysts cautioned that there is still uncertainty around how strong that rebound can be, particularly for Fashion & Leather Goods, pointing to the scale of Louis Vuitton and the “timing and pace of the stylistic transitions at most of the other brands.”

The results from the $400 billion group comes after months of weak appetite for handbags and accessories as price hikes deterred mid-tier shoppers. The sector has also faced headwinds from U.S. tariffs, China’s real estate downturn and higher jewellery production costs from surging gold and silver prices.

(Pratyush Thakur contributed to this report.)