Ray-Ban โขParent EssilorLuxottica hits record High as Smart Glasses Fuel Investor Optimism
PARIS – Shares of EssilorLuxottica, the parent companyโ ofโ Ray-Ban, surged to a record high on Thursday, driven by strong investor confidence in the burgeoning market forโฃ smart glasses and the โsuccess of its collaboration โคwith Meta. The stock’s sharp riseโ has outpaced the โฃperformance of Europe’s luxury sector benchmarkโ sence theโข start of the year.
The renewed interestโฃ in “face wearables” – a categoryโ previously abandoned byโ tech giants like Google and Microsoft – isโ largely attributed to the improvedโฃ functionality and stylish design of Ray-Ban metaโ smart glasses. Combining enhanced cameras with generative AI capabilitiesโข and โขleveraging the iconic Ray-Ban aesthetic, the glasses โขhave re-ignited competition in the space, with Google, Samsung,โค and Apple reportedly developing their own models.
Analysts at JPโฃ Morgan have identified smart glasses as a “significant growth driver” for EssilorLuxottica, even as the company’s core eyewear โbusiness remains robust. Equita analysts have revised their annual revenue estimates for the wearables segment upwards, now projecting a one billion euro impact on group sales for the current year.
“The acceleration inโ third-quarter revenue and the โlevel of confidenceโข expressed for โthe fourth quarter and medium-term outlook are an significant โฃindicator โคof the success of the โขgroup’s strategic directions,” Equita analysts concluded in a recent research note.