Perfumes & CosmeticsNarrow moat

LVMH (MC) — moat facet

The widest door into the brands and the thinnest margin in the group.

Perfumes & Cosmetics sells the most affordable versions of LVMH's brands and earns the least on them. It brought in €8,174 million of revenue in 2025 and €727 million of profit from recurring operations, a margin of about 8.9%.12

Perfumes & Cosmetics revenue (€bn)€5.0bn2016€5.6bn2017€6.1bn2018€6.8bn2019€5.2bn2020€6.6bn2021€7.7bn2022€8.3bn2023€8.4bn2024€8.2bn2025LVMH annual results releases 2017-2025 and 2023 URD
Steady growth to a 2024 peak, then flat.

It holds Parfums Christian Dior, Guerlain, Parfums Givenchy, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Acqua di Parma and others.3 Unlike fashion, it sells mostly through other retailers, including Sephora; the maisons ran more than 700 of their own stores at the end of 2024.4

Revenue grew steadily for most of the decade, from €4,953 million in 2016 to a peak of €8,418 million in 2024, about 6.9% a year.567 The margin has not followed. It was 11.1% in 2016 and 2018 and has not reached 11% since; in 2020 it was 1.5%, on €80 million of profit.8910

Growth has now stopped. Revenue grew 11% organically in 2023 and 4% in 2024, and was flat in 2025.111213 Profit still rose 8% in 2025, to €727 million, as LVMH kept what it calls a highly selective retail approach.14

The geography has moved away from Asia. Asia outside Japan took 35% of the group's revenue in 2022 and 30% in 2024; Europe outside France was 21% and the United States 19%.15

The first half of 2026 was flat again. Revenue was €3,914 million, unchanged organically and down 1% in the second quarter, and profit fell 2% to €417 million.16 La Beauté Louis Vuitton, launched in 2025, sits here and is covered under The Future Bets.

The verdict is that this group's purpose is reach rather than profit: it puts the brands in front of people who will never buy a handbag. The number that would change that is the margin: 8.9% in 2025, and it has not reached 11% since 2018.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Organic growth of 0% in 2025 and H1 2026; profit holding near €0.7bn a year.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Perfumes & Cosmetics recurring profit, first half
€417M in H1 2026, down 2%

Profit flat on flat revenue is the group's ceiling; a margin back above 11% would change the verdict.

Source: LVMH first-half 2026 results release ↗
References
  1. ReportedIt brought in €8,174 million of revenue in 2025 and €727 million of profit from recurring operations, a margin of about 8.9%.
    LVMH 2025 annual results release - revenue by business group with organic change, profit from recurring operations by business group, and business-group commentary, 2024 and 2025 — FY2024-FY2025 · publ. January 2026 · source ↗
  2. Moat Explorer calcIt brought in €8,174 million of revenue in 2025 and €727 million of profit from recurring operations, a margin of about 8.9%.
    Moat Explorer calculation from LVMH's annual results releases 2017-2025, the 2023 and 2024 URDs and the H1 2026 release: operating margins, shares of group profit and revenue, compound growth rates — FY2016 to H1 2026 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIt holds Parfums Christian Dior, Guerlain, Parfums Givenchy, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Acqua di Parma and others.
    LVMH first-half 2026 results release - revenue by business group with organic change for the half and the second quarter, profit from recurring operations by business group, and business-group commentary — H1 2026 · publ. 27 July 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedUnlike fashion, it sells mostly through other retailers, including Sephora; the maisons ran more than 700 of their own stores at the end of 2024.
    LVMH 2024 Universal Registration Document - business-group sections: revenue, profit, operating margin, revenue by region, type of revenue, store networks, Wines & Spirits revenue split and volumes, Diageo joint ventures, organic change by business group — FY2022-FY2024 · publ. March 2025 · source ↗
  5. ReportedRevenue grew steadily for most of the decade, from €4,953 million in 2016 to a peak of €8,418 million in 2024, about 6.9% a year.
    LVMH 2017 annual results release - revenue and profit from recurring operations by business group, 2016 and 2017 — FY2016-FY2017 · publ. January 2018 · source ↗
  6. ReportedRevenue grew steadily for most of the decade, from €4,953 million in 2016 to a peak of €8,418 million in 2024, about 6.9% a year.
    LVMH 2024 Universal Registration Document - business-group sections: revenue, profit, operating margin, revenue by region, type of revenue, store networks, Wines & Spirits revenue split and volumes, Diageo joint ventures, organic change by business group — FY2022-FY2024 · publ. March 2025 · source ↗
  7. Moat Explorer calcRevenue grew steadily for most of the decade, from €4,953 million in 2016 to a peak of €8,418 million in 2024, about 6.9% a year.
    Moat Explorer calculation from LVMH's annual results releases 2017-2025, the 2023 and 2024 URDs and the H1 2026 release: operating margins, shares of group profit and revenue, compound growth rates — FY2016 to H1 2026 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  8. ReportedIt was 11.1% in 2016 and 2018 and has not reached 11% since; in 2020 it was 1.5%, on €80 million of profit.
    LVMH 2017 annual results release - revenue and profit from recurring operations by business group, 2016 and 2017 — FY2016-FY2017 · publ. January 2018 · source ↗
  9. ReportedIt was 11.1% in 2016 and 2018 and has not reached 11% since; in 2020 it was 1.5%, on €80 million of profit.
    LVMH 2020 annual results release - revenue by business group with organic change for the year and the fourth quarter, and profit from recurring operations by business group, 2019 and 2020 — FY2019-FY2020 · publ. January 2021 · source ↗
  10. Moat Explorer calcIt was 11.1% in 2016 and 2018 and has not reached 11% since; in 2020 it was 1.5%, on €80 million of profit.
    Moat Explorer calculation from LVMH's annual results releases 2017-2025, the 2023 and 2024 URDs and the H1 2026 release: operating margins, shares of group profit and revenue, compound growth rates — FY2016 to H1 2026 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  11. ReportedRevenue grew 11% organically in 2023 and 4% in 2024, and was flat in 2025.
    LVMH 2023 annual results release - revenue by business group with organic change, and profit from recurring operations, 2022 and 2023 — FY2022-FY2023 · publ. January 2024 · source ↗
  12. ReportedRevenue grew 11% organically in 2023 and 4% in 2024, and was flat in 2025.
    LVMH 2024 Universal Registration Document - business-group sections: revenue, profit, operating margin, revenue by region, type of revenue, store networks, Wines & Spirits revenue split and volumes, Diageo joint ventures, organic change by business group — FY2022-FY2024 · publ. March 2025 · source ↗
  13. ReportedRevenue grew 11% organically in 2023 and 4% in 2024, and was flat in 2025.
    LVMH 2025 annual results release - revenue by business group with organic change, profit from recurring operations by business group, and business-group commentary, 2024 and 2025 — FY2024-FY2025 · publ. January 2026 · source ↗
  14. ReportedProfit still rose 8% in 2025, to €727 million, as LVMH kept what it calls a highly selective retail approach.
    LVMH 2025 annual results release - revenue by business group with organic change, profit from recurring operations by business group, and business-group commentary, 2024 and 2025 — FY2024-FY2025 · publ. January 2026 · source ↗
  15. ReportedAsia outside Japan took 35% of the group's revenue in 2022 and 30% in 2024; Europe outside France was 21% and the United States 19%.
    LVMH 2024 Universal Registration Document - business-group sections: revenue, profit, operating margin, revenue by region, type of revenue, store networks, Wines & Spirits revenue split and volumes, Diageo joint ventures, organic change by business group — FY2022-FY2024 · publ. March 2025 · source ↗
  16. ReportedRevenue was €3,914 million, unchanged organically and down 1% in the second quarter, and profit fell 2% to €417 million.
    LVMH first-half 2026 results release - revenue by business group with organic change for the half and the second quarter, profit from recurring operations by business group, and business-group commentary — H1 2026 · publ. 27 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026