LVMH set to drop out of Europe’s top 10 after 37% stock decline in 2026

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LVMH set to exit Europe’s top 10

Highlights

LVMH market value fell to €201 billion.
Shares are down about 37% this year.
The stock has lost 55% from its 2023 peak.
LVMH is poised to leave Europe's top 10.

LVMH shares fell 2.5% on Tuesday, reducing the group's market capitalization to about €201 billion, or $232 billion, and putting it just below L'Oréal, Bloomberg reported. If the current ranking holds, LVMH would lose its position as France's most valuable listed company and leave Europe's top 10 for the first time in nine years.

Luxury downturn weighs on LVMH

The change contrasts sharply with 2023, when LVMH was Europe's most valuable listed company and its shares traded above €900. The stock has since lost about 55% from its peak, erasing much of the advance generated during the post-pandemic luxury boom.

The decline has accelerated this year. LVMH shares are down roughly 37% in 2026, returning to levels last seen during the pandemic, when lockdowns forced luxury stores around the world to close. The scale of the current drawdown is now comparable with the decline experienced during the global financial crisis.

China has been a major source of pressure. Luxury demand in the country has weakened, depriving LVMH and its peers of a market that had been central to their expansion. Conflict in the Middle East has added another obstacle by hurting spending in important luxury shopping destinations.

Louis Vuitton, LVMH's most profitable brand, has also faced consumer criticism in China following a trademark dispute with a local tea company. Several brokers have cut their ratings and price targets as the outlook has deteriorated.

L'Oréal moves ahead as rankings shift

At roughly €201 billion, LVMH's market capitalization has slipped just below L'Oréal, putting its status as France's largest listed company at risk. The ranking remains dependent on share-price movements, making it more accurate to describe LVMH as set to exit, rather than having definitively exited, Europe's top 10.

The reversal also extends to Bernard Arnault. The LVMH controlling shareholder recently dropped out of the world's 10 largest fortunes as technology billionaires increasingly dominate global wealth rankings.

Europe's luxury leader loses ground

LVMHs slide illustrates how dramatically markets have reassessed the luxury sector. Only three years ago, the company stood at the top of Europe's corporate rankings; today its valuation has fallen to about €201 billion.

Whether LVMH ultimately remains outside the top 10 will depend on market movements, but the underlying deterioration is already substantial. A 55% decline from its 2023 peak shows how quickly weaker Chinese demand and softer luxury spending have reversed one of Europe's most prominent post-pandemic growth stories.

We also reported Fraser's Group raises Hugo Boss's stake as luxury expansion deepens.

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