Bernard Arnault Invests €215 Million in LVMH Stock Amid Market Turbulence
Billionaire tycoon Bernard Arnault has made a significant move, allocating €215 million ($230 million) towards the purchase of LVMH shares, responding to a recent downturn in the luxury conglomerate’s stock value, triggered by underwhelming earnings reported in late July.
Arnault’s financial entities, Financiere Agache and Christian Dior SE, initiated their acquisition of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE shares just three days following the release of the earnings report on July 25. Since then, the stock has experienced a notable 14% decline, grappling with the complexities of slowed economic growth in China and the United States, as well as ongoing inflation and rising interest rates.
With the French billionaire and his family holding approximately 48% of LVMH’s shares and commanding nearly 64% of the voting rights, Arnault, ranked as the world’s second-richest individual, has established a track record of consistent investment in LVMH stock, occasionally pausing during the blackout periods surrounding earnings disclosures, as confirmed by regulatory filings.
A spokesperson for Bernard Arnault has declined to provide further commentary on this development.
LVMH’s second-quarter financial results unveiled challenges within the luxury conglomerate, notably in the U.S., where organic revenue experienced a 1% decline. This performance reverberated across the investor landscape, resulting in a 5.2% decline in LVMH shares during the subsequent trading session. This downturn also reverberated through the broader luxury sector and the CAC 40 Index.
The month of August witnessed a substantial 7.8% decline in LVMH shares, marking the most significant monthly drop since December. Remarkably, this decline relinquished LVMH’s position as the largest European company by market capitalization, with Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S surging to the top spot, driven by robust sales of its obesity treatment, Ozempic.
Consequently, Bernard Arnault’s net worth has seen a reduction from a record $212.4 billion in mid-July to $170.4 billion as of Thursday, placing him second, trailing behind Elon Musk’s $230.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Despite recent fluctuations, LVMH shares have registered an approximate 8.8% increase in value year-to-date.
