LVMH growth buoyed by Dior and Sephora in second quarter of 2026

By Lynsey Barber | Published: 28-Jul-2026

The French luxury group’s perfumes and cosmetics business remained stable, with fragrance outperforming thanks to Parfums Christian Dior and Guerlain, while Sephora recorded positive growth across all categories

LVMH’s growth in the second quarter of the year was buoyed by the success of the Christian Dior fashion house under new creative director Jonathan Anderson.

The French luxury group’s revenue hit €38.6bn in the first half of 2026, with growth accelerating in the second quarter, up 3% on an organic basis, and 4% when excluding the impact of the Middle East conflict.

In addition to Dior’s contribution, which marked a return to organic growth for LVMH’s fashion business, the performance was also driven by strong growth at retailer Sephora.

“LVMH demonstrated its solidity and effective strategy,” said Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH.

“Our maisons – which remained focused on ensuring the utmost quality in our products, and several of which are pursuing their creative renewal – continued to inspire dreams and enhance their desirability.

“Accelerating growth in the second quarter arose in particular from the success of Jonathan Anderson’s first designs for Christian Dior, the remarkable performance of Louis Vuitton’s exceptional new stores in Beijing and Seoul, and Tiffany and Bvlgari’s iconic lines.

“Strong growth at Sephora and the recovery in champagne and cognac also contributed to this excellent momentum.

“While continuing to pay very close attention to margins, we are entering the second half of the year with renewed confidence in the long-term potential of our maisons and in our highly committed teams to continue to stand out and reinforce LVMH’s leadership position.”

How did LVMH’s beauty business perform in H1 2026?

Sales in LVMH’s perfumes and cosmetics business, which contributes 10% of LVMH’s total sales, were €3.9bn in the first half of the year – flat on an organic basis and down 4% on a reported basis compared to the same period in 2025, due to currency impacts.

Profit from recurring operations declined 2% year-on-year to €417m and operating margin improved 20 basis points to 10.6%.

“Perfumes and cosmetics continued to see good performance from its historic maisons, in particular Parfums Christian Dior and Guerlain,” said Rodolphe Ozun, Head of Financial Communications at LVMH on an investor call.

“By category, fragrance has outperformed, though again, Dior and Guerlain enjoyed good momentum in both make-up and skin care

“Looking at key markets, while travel retail remained a headwind, Asia and Japan enjoyed good momentum.”

New fragrance launches for Dior included J’Adore Intense, Addict fragrances, additional scents in La Collection Privée, plus Les Nectars d’Exception in skin care.

LVMH also highlighted the success of Guerlain’s L’Art et La Matière and Aqua Allegoria

Perle fragrances, plus the acceleration of RougeG in make-up and good results in skin care with Orchidée Impérial.

How did Sephora perform for LVMH in H1 2026?

Within the luxury giant’s selective retailing business, which makes up 22% of LVMH’s total sales and includes Sephora, revenue was €8.4bn in the first half of the year.

That was up 5% organically and down 2% on a reported basis, taking into account a -5% currency impact and -3% connected to the disposal of part of its luxury travel retail business DFS in January.

Profit from recurring operations in the division in the first half of the year was €893m, up 2% on the same period last year.

Meanwhile, operating margin improved four basis points to 10.6%.

“Sephora enjoyed good performance across key markets, including the US, Europe, the Middle East and China, and all categories recorded positive growth, with make-up and hair care outperforming,” said Ozun.

“Sephora also continued to invest in its retail network and to expand into new markets, with Belgium and Croatia open in the first half of the year among others.”