EssilorLuxottica Shares Gain as Smartglasses Promise Rosy Future

By Joshua Kirby

Shares in EssilorLuxottica surged after the eyewear behemoth said booming demand for smartglasses will drive revenue growth over the years to come.

Shares gain 5.6% to 265.50 euros in early trade Thursday.

The Franco-Italian group said in an earnings update late Wednesday that its tie-ups with tech giant Meta on Ray Bans and Oakleys powered by artificial intelligence sold more than 7 million pairs last year, shoring up an 11% leap in revenue over the year to around 28.5 billion euros ($33.8 billion). That rate accelerated to 18% by the end of the year, adjusted for currency effects.

Over the coming five years, that trend should continue, ensuring "solid growth" in total revenue, the company said, without specifying any numerical targets. In its previous midterm guidance the company had targeted sales growth in the mid-single-digits through the end of this year.

"Our success in wearables is helping to propel the AI-glasses revolution, with our iconic brands being a powerful driver of demand," Chief Executive Francesco Milleri and deputy CEO Paul du Saillant said. They pointed to the group's transformation into a medical-technology business as a driver of the company's future performance.

"Our breakthroughs in medtech, myopia management and audiology are cementing our role as a leader across multiple frontiers," they said.

Still, buzz around wearable tech must be balanced against hotter competition in the category and cannibalization of non-tech eyewear, Bernstein analysts wrote.

While tech-powered eyewear spurred EssilorLuxottica's top line last year, it weighed on the group's profitability. The adjusted operating margin slipped to 16.0% in 2025 from 16.7% a year earlier as lower-margin smartglasses expanded as a share of total sales. U.S. import tariffs also bit into profitability, the company said.

Still, the company said operating earnings over the coming years should be "broadly aligned" with revenue growth. That should "prove reassurance against recent investor concerns on meaningful margin dilution from wearables," analysts at Citi wrote in a note.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 12, 2026 04:15 ET (09:15 GMT)