L'Oreal steals French stock market crown from LVMH

By Gianluca Lo Nostro and Tassilo Hummel

PARIS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Cosmetics group L'Oreal became France's most valuable listed company on Tuesday, surpassing Louis Vuitton owner LVMH as high-end luxury companies remain under ⁠pressure after years of slowing sales and lacklustre earnings.

It is the first time since 2017 that a non-luxury company has claimed the top spot on the Paris bourse at the end of a trading day.

Berenberg analyst Nick Anderson pointed to the lipstick effect: When the economic mood is bleak, it becomes easier to sell small treats rather than high-end handbags, shoes and dresses.

“People simply can't afford to buy these expensive luxury items and instead are indulging in small luxuries like the proverbial lipstick to make themselves feel better.”

L'Oreal's market capitalisation reached around €203 billion ($234 billion) late on Tuesday, according to LSEG data, with LVMH at €201 billion.

PROLONGED SLUMP

Hit by a prolonged economic slump in China and the war in the Middle East, the global luxury industry has been contracting over the last three years. According to consultancy Bain, around 60 million consumers have turned their backs on luxury goods as persistent price hikes have pushed high-end fashion brands out of reach for many buyers.

Shares in L'Oreal, which also produces high-end cosmetics for fashion labels like Armani and Yves Saint Laurent, are up 5% this year, compared with a year-to-date loss of 35% for LVMH.

LVMH, controlled by the family of CEO Bernard Arnault, became Europe's most valuable company amid a pandemic-era spending boom in 2021, but today is dwarfed by chipmaker ASML — now worth three times as much — and Swiss pharmaceutical giants Roche and Novartis. Its shares were down 2.3% on Tuesday.

Based on current stock market data, LVMH on Tuesday also lost its place among Europe's 10 largest companies by market capitalisation.

Arnault, meanwhile, has lost his title as Europe's wealthiest person to Zara founder Amancio Ortega, according to Forbes' real-time billionaire ranking.

Apart from a resilient but small group of ultra-rich shoppers, LVMH is suffering from a structural lack of demand, Anderson said, pointing to the economic downturn in China, once the industry's growth engine, and other factors.

“We're scared about tax rises everywhere across Europe. You've got inflation worries, you've got AI job worries. There's just something everywhere," Anderson said.

"I don't see luxury trends significantly improving," DWS equity portfolio manager Stefan Bauknecht said, adding that L'Oreal's new lead could well be here to stay.

​LVMH and L'Oreal have been approached for comment.

($1 = 0.8663 euros)

(reporting by Piotr Lipinski. Editing by Tassilo Hummel and Mark Potter)