In Lvmh Paris at historic heights, the first European with a capitalization of $500 billion

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(Il Sole 24 Or Radiocor) – LVMH became the first European company by market capitalization And the eleventh in the world, thanks to today’s rally in stocks, which refreshed new historical highs above 905 euros. The fortune of the Arnault family, which owns 48.2% of the luxury group, has also increased by scale: since the beginning of the year its value has increased by about 52 billion to more than 218 billion euros.

The stock market value exceeds 500 billion dollars

And the stock market value of Lvmh exceeded $ 500 billion (about 455 billion euros), benefiting from the rise in stocks and the strength of the euro, which crossed the threshold of $ 1.10. It is the first time that a European company is worth so much. Worldwide, Lvmh became eleventh in the ranking. Since March 15th, the shares have held together higher after higher, gaining a total of 16% and extending the pace after April 12th, the day the group reported revenue trend for the first quarter, clearly higher than analysts had expected. : they actually increased by 17% to more than 21 billion euros.

In five years, shares have returned 242%

The total return on Lvmh shares over the past five years has been 242%, lower than that of Hermes, according to calculations by Gabriel Debach, an analyst at eToro. “We are still far from American values ​​​​in terms of capitalization, where Apple leads the ranking with $ 2,600 trillion (maximum $ 2,940 billion in December 2021), but the data shows the coefficient of the ratio between price and similar stocks: both ratios are about 26 times, to be exactly 26.7 times for Apple and 26.6 times for Lvmh, with French stocks recording higher values ​​in the past », commented the expert, who believes that “strong growth” is still expected for the shares of the luxury giant. After all, The company benefits from geographic diversification, with the reopening of the Chinese market in its favour, as well as increasing Japanese demand. Numbers at hand, the European and US markets together account for just under half of the total turnover, exactly around 49.3%. Moreover, for Debach, the performance the group recorded in China in the first months of 2023, with double-digit momentum, bodes well for the sales trend for the full year. The eToro analyst highlighted that US technology is outpacing fashion, “showing greater resilience in the face of inflationary concerns and even an economic slowdown.”

Equity value pushes Arnault’s assets up

Specifically by benefiting from the performance of Lvmh shares, the beneficiary Bernard Arnault, getting richer. The French businessman, along with his family, owns 48.2% of the capital. It was already known that he was the richest man on the planet since February 2, the day Forbes published Scrooge McDuck’s world ranking. Surprisingly, the French businessman has outperformed rich Americans, thanks to a slowdown in technology stocks that has been punished by rising interest rates. According to the magazine’s calculations, in recent weeks, the owner of Lvmh has owned personal assets of about $ 211 billion, higher than those owned by Elon Musk, and the second in the ranking with $ 180 billion, and almost double compared to the third in the ranking. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, with an estimated fortune of $107 billion. The fact is that, according to a Forbes survey, Bernard Arnault’s assets have increased even more, taking into account the performance of Lvmh shares on the stock exchange, which today have updated new historical highs. The numbers are on hand, and given that the Arnault family owns approximately 48% of the capital of Lvmh, this means that the Arnaults stake is worth more than 218 billion and that From the beginning of the year to today alone, their assets have been revalued to the tune of over €52 billion. Since the beginning of February, when the Forbes article was published, the value of LVMHs has gone from around €809 to €905 today, increasing the assets of the French family by more than 24 billion in just a few weeks.

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