Stock exchange: LVMH narrowly overtakes Hermès as top capitalisation on CAC 40

Antoine Arnault, LVMH. Credits: THIBAUD MORITZ / AFP Paris - French luxury giant LVMH, which had been ousted from its position as the leading company on the CAC 40 on Tuesday, as well as the most valuable luxury company in the world, narrowly regained its lead over competitor Hermès on Thursday. Hermès’ valuation reached approximately 241.4 billion euros on Thursday at the close of the Paris stock exchange, compared to 242.5 billion euros for LVMH, according to calculations by AFP. On Tuesday, at the close of the stock exchange, Hermès had snatched the top spot on the CAC 40 from its rival LVMH, as well as the position of third largest European stock market capitalisation, just behind German software publisher SAP and Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk. The group, known for its Birkin bags and silk scarves, had also become the most valuable luxury company in the world. The turnaround was short-lived: on Thursday, LVMH, the world's number one in the sector in terms of turnover, regained its throne. Hermès (down 3.22 percent to 2,287 euros) in fact slipped on the stock market after announcing on Thursday an increase in its prices in the US to compensate for the 10 percent customs duties imposed by Donald Trump, in parallel with the publication of first quarter results below market expectations. The LVMH share stabilised on Thursday (up 0.08 percent to 485.60 euros per share), the day after a sharp decline of 7.82 percent, after the announcement on Tuesday evening of a 2 percent fall in its sales in the first quarter, deemed disappointing by analysts. “The year 2025 is starting in a slightly turbulent way, so to speak,” commented the group's chief executive officer, Bernard Arnault, on Thursday at LVMH's annual general meeting. Arnault, whose group makes 25 percent of its sales in the US, called on European leaders to settle the trade tensions between the European Union and the US “amicably”, even declaring himself “in favour” of “a free trade zone” between the two economic powers. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@fashionunited.com

Apr 22, 2025 - 14:15

Stock exchange: LVMH narrowly overtakes Hermès as top capitalisation on CAC 40

Antoine Arnault, LVMH. *Credits: THIBAUD MORITZ / AFP*

Paris - French luxury giant LVMH, which had been ousted from its position as the leading company on the CAC 40 on Tuesday, as well as the most valuable luxury company in the world, narrowly regained its lead over competitor Hermès on Thursday.

Hermès’ valuation reached approximately 241.4 billion euros on Thursday at the close of the Paris stock exchange, compared to 242.5 billion euros for LVMH, according to calculations by AFP.

On Tuesday, at the close of the stock exchange, Hermès had snatched the top spot on the CAC 40 from its rival LVMH, as well as the position of third largest European stock market capitalisation, just behind German software publisher SAP and Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk.

The group, known for its Birkin bags and silk scarves, had also become the most valuable luxury company in the world. The turnaround was short-lived: on Thursday, LVMH, the world's number one in the sector in terms of turnover, regained its throne.

Hermès (down 3.22 percent to 2,287 euros) in fact slipped on the stock market after announcing on Thursday an increase in its prices in the US to compensate for the 10 percent customs duties imposed by Donald Trump, in parallel with the publication of first quarter results below market expectations.

The LVMH share stabilised on Thursday (up 0.08 percent to 485.60 euros per share), the day after a sharp decline of 7.82 percent, after the announcement on Tuesday evening of a 2 percent fall in its sales in the first quarter, deemed disappointing by analysts.

“The year 2025 is starting in a slightly turbulent way, so to speak,” commented the group's chief executive officer, Bernard Arnault, on Thursday at LVMH's annual general meeting.

Arnault, whose group makes 25 percent of its sales in the US, called on European leaders to settle the trade tensions between the European Union and the US “amicably”, even declaring himself “in favour” of “a free trade zone” between the two economic powers.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.