The fashion giant, once Europe’s most valuable listed company, reported revenue of €18.5 billion in the three months to the end of September.
The firm, whose brands include Louis Vuitton, Dior, Celine and drinks maker Hennessy, saw a revenue increase of 1.2% year on year in the third quarter, after a 0.1% rise in the second quarter and a 5.9% fall in the first.
However, organic sales growth, which excludes currency movements and changes to the group’s business portfolio, fell short of expectations. Growth slowed to 1% in the third quarter from 3% in the second.
Overall, in the first nine months, sales were €57.1 billion, with organic sales up 2%.
The company praised its diverse business portfolio in a statement, saying it provided resilience in an uncertain geopolitical and economic environment.
LVMH said sales growth was good in the United States, Europe and Japan, but it faced a less favourable environment in China.
As a result, the fashion and leather goods segment saw sales drop 5% on an organic basis as weaker demand in the world’s second-largest economy weighed on the business. The decline was steeper than the roughly 2% fall expected by analysts, according to Deutsche Bank.
Louis Vuitton also saw its public image take a hit in China after suing local tea company Molly Tea for copying its logo. While it won the case, the dispute provoked a wave of indignation on social media and calls to boycott the brand.
Overall, the quarter proved to be a setback for the fashion and leather goods segment, as the drop in sales followed the division posting its first organic sales gain in two years in the previous quarter.
But LVMH’s selective retailing division, which includes the Sephora perfume and cosmetics retail chain, posted an 8% organic sales increase, while the watches and jewellery and wines and spirits segments both managed 6% organic gains.
Deutsche Bank analysts said the results could prompt further cuts to earnings forecasts for the second half of 2026 and 2027.
“It is hard to see what could change investor sentiment in the short term,” they wrote, although they viewed the weakness as cyclical rather than structural.
“Overall, recovery is taking longer due to the weaker Chinese demand, but the company do not see it as a structural issue. Brand initiatives are producing results and they expect these bottom-up measures to be more gradual,” they wrote.
LVMH’s share price has dropped nearly 40% since the start of the year. In September, L’Oréal overtook the group as France’s most valuable listed company. LVMH’s share price was down more than 1.6% at around 10am CEST in Paris.