L'Oréal Overtakes LVMH as France's Most Valuable Listed Company

On September 15, L'Oréal replaced LVMH as France's most valuable listed company at the Paris close, the first time since 2017 that a non-luxury company has topped the exchange's market-cap ranking, according to Jiemian News. L'Oréal ended the session with a market value of 203.17 billion euros, while LVMH closed at 202.05 billion euros. The shift also knocked LVMH controlling shareholder Bernard Arnault out of the top spot among Europe's richest people. Bloomberg's billionaire index showed Arnault's wealth falling as LVMH shares declined, while Zara founder Amancio Ortega moved ahead of him. Arnault, who was the world's richest person in 2023, has also dropped out of the global top 10. L'Oréal said first-half 2026 sales rose 6.8% year on year to 23.77 billion euros, with adjusted net profit up 4.7% to 3.9596 billion euros. Gross margin rose to 74.8% and operating margin to 21.3%. Its shares are up about 5% this year. LVMH reported first-half 2026 revenue of 38.644 billion euros, down 3% on a reported basis, while organic revenue rose 2%. Net profit attributable to shareholders was 5.697 billion euros, unchanged from a year earlier. The company's fashion and leather goods division, its largest, posted revenue of 18.146 billion euros, down 5% reported and 1% organically. LVMH shares are down more than 35% this year and have fallen 55% from their 2023 peak.