Kering CEO promises growth in 2026
Gucci owner Kering saw its shares jump last week after it announced a smaller-than-expected drop in Q4 sales from 2025.
On top of this relatively good news, the company’s CEO Luca de Meo also pledged growth and wider margins for this year, which was music to the ears of investors.
The Q4 results represented the first quarter under the stewardship of de Meo, who was previously the head of Renault.
“We will see growth in 2026, we will see increasing margins on all the brands,” de Meo told analysts. “With sales trends improving quarter after quarter, the momentum is real—early, fragile, but real. I guarantee you that we will build on it.”
Gucci’s sales have slowed and profits have declined over the past few years, with de Meo saying that Kering had expanded its store network too aggressively while sales were strong, while a ‘bonanza’ of price hikes had alienated shoppers.
He said: “Four or five years ago, we were on top of the world, and then something went wrong and we found ourselves on our knees. And now we’re starting again.”
Due to poor revenue performance and the sale of some its key assets—including Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin—Kering’s operating income for the whole of 2025 was €1.63 billion, down more than 66% from its 2022 level.
In more bad news, its operating profit margin fell to 16% at Gucci and 11% group-wide, down from 36% and 27% respectively three years earlier.This contrasts unfavourably with the 22% margin that LVMH delivered last year.
