Julius Young — Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Vantage
LVMH returned to 2% growth. Kering posted its first positive quarter in three years. Hermès grew 6.7% with a 41% operating margin. And Gucci is still declining. The H1 2026 numbers tell you exactly who gets left behind.
The H1 2026 luxury earnings season produced enough improvement that the major houses sounded something like relieved. LVMH reported €38.6 billion in first-half revenue, up 2% organically. Kering returned to 2% comparable growth in Q2 — its first positive quarter in three years. Hermès posted €8.2 billion, up 6.7% at constant exchange rates, with a 41.1% operating margin and leather goods growing 10%.
These numbers look like recovery if you do not look closely at Gucci. In 2025, Gucci declined 19%. In Q1 2026, it declined 8%. In Q2, it declined 2%. The trajectory is improving but the brand is still contracting while the market is beginning to grow. Complicating the story: L'Oréal is taking over the Gucci beauty license from Coty in mid-2027, with ambitions to triple the business — the Kylie Cosmetics/Coty pattern, repeating at larger scale. Hermès is the inconvenient fact the industry keeps having to explain: 41.1% operating margin in a period LVMH spent stabilizing. The H1 2026 numbers confirm that luxury is bifurcating between the ultra-scarce tier where Hermès operates and the aspirational tier where the recovery is still incomplete. Related: Why Hermès Has a 41% Operating Margin