LVMH stems the luxury crisis: debt down, revenue holding up

Organic growth in the division, which includes Louis Vuitton and Dior, stood at 1 per cent, whilst LVMH’s overall turnover was also held back by the other two divisions: Perfume & Cosmetics (-1 per cent to 3.9 billion) and Wines & Spirits (+5%, but with total sales of ‘just’ 2.6 billion).

As regards profitability, too, the good news comes from the spirits division, which appears to have overcome a difficult period linked to lower consumption among younger generations and tariffs.

For LVMH, this is a defining division: the original core around which Bernard Arnault built the group – which now comprises 70 fashion houses – consists of Louis Vuitton (LV, from the acronym), Moët & Chandon champagne (M) and Hennessy cognac (H). Debt has fallen (-19%), dropping from 10.1 billion in the first half of 2025 to 8.2.

Overall operating profit fell by 4 per cent to 8.7 billion (representing a margin on revenue of 22.5 per cent), but that of the Wines & Spirits division rose by 11% to 582 million, followed by that of watches and jewellery (+9% to 831 million). Profits fell in the fashion division (-7% to 6.2 billion) and the cosmetics division (-2% to 417 million). As with Zegna and Moncler, which have already published their first-half results, the stagnation caused by the war in the Persian Gulf was offset by the United States and, to some extent, by the slow recovery in Greater China, which had a positive impact on results across Asia as a whole.

A sign that the atmosphere within the group has not entirely improved came from its founder, Bernard Arnault, France’s richest man and one of the top five in the world: at the age of 77, he continues to hold the roles of chairman and CEO of the group, even though all five of his children hold senior positions, starting with Delphine, CEO of Dior.

Speaking on the sidelines of the half-yearly results, he said he ‘had confidence in the group’s long-term potential’; last Tuesday, however, Le Monde had dedicated one of its summer profiles to him, featuring him on the front page with a huge (and beautiful) photograph of the entrepreneur, whilst describing the atmosphere amongst staff as a mix of ‘terror and admiration’ and speculating that there are strong tensions amongst the five heirs. In a letter to the newspaper, published on the LVMH account on X, Arnault said that “anyone betting on a rift within a family to sell newspapers will have a long wait ahead of them”.

Relations between Arnault and sections of the press have never been idyllic, but the harshness of his response to *Le Monde* is striking coming from a man who is usually faithful – for better or for worse – to Dante’s advice: ‘pay them no mind, but look on and move on’.