EssilorLuxottica shares jump over 14% after third-quarter revenue beats forecasts

Revenue beats forecasts

EssilorLuxottica released its third-quarter figures after the Paris market closed on 20 October. Revenue reached 7,486 million euros, up 9% at current exchange rates and 7.2% at constant rates, following double-digit growth in the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts had expected 7.36 billion euros. For the first nine months of 2026, revenue rose 6.8% to 22,304 million euros, or 8.9% at constant rates.

Analyst expectation7.36

Q3 2026 revenue7.49

Analyst expectation

7.36 billion euros

Q3 2026 revenue

7.49 billion euros

Data from the article text

Chairman and chief executive Francesco Milleri and deputy chief executive Paul du Saillant praised the result in a joint statement.

“Quarter after quarter, we continue to demonstrate the strength of our unique model, with contribution from all geographic areas and particularly brilliant performance in Asia-Pacific, growing double digits.”

Asia-Pacific revenue reached 979 million euros in the quarter. The company said its traditional Eyecare and Medtech business grew more than 6% at constant rates, both in the quarter and in the first nine months. Sales in North America rose 4.7%.

Shares rally after a steep fall

Shares of the Franco-Italian group rose more than 14% on 21 October, the largest gain reported later in the session, when the stock was on course for its biggest one-day rise since 2008. Earlier in the session the gain was reported at just over 11%, and then over 13% when the stock traded near 171 euros. The rebound follows a long slide. On 20 October, before the results, shares had lost 1% to 150.50 euros. Market value had reached a record 149 billion euros a year earlier and has since nearly halved. Investors had raised concerns about governance and the young smart glasses business, including privacy and sales forecasts. As of the 20 October report, the shares were down 42% since the start of the year in New York, with market capitalisation around 70 billion euros. That decline weighs on Delfin, the holding company of the Del Vecchio heirs.

Smart glasses growth slows

Wearables, which include the AI glasses made with Meta and Nuance hearing devices, generated 486 million euros in the third quarter, up 20%. That rate was far below the near 100% growth recorded in April to June, which the company partly attributed to a tough comparison with the year before. Wearables made up about 6.5% of total revenue. EssilorLuxottica also disclosed wearables revenue separately for the first time. The fourth-quarter comparison will be demanding, because the segment booked 1.1 billion euros in the last three months of 2025.

Bernstein analysts were blunt in a note to investors about the outlook for the category.

“The prospect of smart glasses disrupting traditional eyewear will likely stay as a sword of Damocles hanging over EssilorLuxottica”

Analysts split on the stock

Equita rates the shares Buy with a 223 euro target and expects full-year revenue estimates to rise by about 1%. Deutsche Bank keeps a Hold rating with a 157 euro target, noting that third-quarter revenue beat consensus by 2%, with half of that from operating performance and half from favourable currency effects. Bernstein rates the shares Market Perform with a 185 euro target. It raised its 2026 earnings-per-share estimate by 1.4% and its 2027 estimate by 3.2%, citing the tough wearables comparison and rising competition. RBC analysts called the shares attractively valued, offering defensive core attributes in a challenging consumer environment.

Equita (Buy)223

Bernstein (Market Perform)185

Deutsche Bank (Hold)157

Equita (Buy)

223 euros

Bernstein (Market Perform)

185 euros

Deutsche Bank (Hold)

157 euros

Data from the article text