Kering Q3 2026 results: Gucci sales fall 6%, revenue flat at €3.3bn

Key takeaways

• Kering reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of €3,345 million, flat on a reported basis and down 1% on a comparable basis.
• Gucci, the group's largest house, posted revenue of €1,291 million, down 4% reported and 6% comparable; its own stores fell 9%.
• Kering Jewelry (+11% comparable) and Kering Eyewear (+4%) grew, and Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta returned to growth, but the company published no revenue figures for those two houses.
• The group now plans at least 125 net store closures in 2026, after 105 in the first nine months.
• Kering shares fell about 16.6% in Paris on October 23, the biggest decline on the STOXX 600 that day, according to Reuters figures published by Investing.com.

Kering Q3 2026 results at a glance

Gucci's sales decline overshadowed an otherwise stable quarter in Kering's Q3 2026 results. In a release published after the Paris close on October 22, the group reported three-month sales of about €3.35 billion, close to the roughly €3.34 billion analysts had expected, according to Yahoo Finance. Gucci's 6% comparable decline was worse than the roughly 5.4% fall analysts had forecast, according to WWD figures cited by Yahoo Finance.

Currency movements added about one percentage point to reported growth, and there was no change in the scope of consolidation. The 2025 comparison figures exclude Kering Beauté. Over the first nine months, revenue was €10,565 million, down 2% reported and stable on a comparable basis.

Kering revenue by division in Q3 2026

The table below uses figures from Kering's press release. Comparable change excludes currency and scope effects.

Source: Kering, "Revenue for the third quarter of 2026", October 22, 2026. Group total includes eliminations of €37 million in both periods.

Why Gucci sales fell 6%

Gucci's revenue from directly operated stores, which include e-commerce, fell 9% on a comparable basis. Wholesale and other revenue rose 35%, and wholesale alone grew 45% to €120 million, about 9% of the brand's quarterly sales. Kering said North America was Gucci's most resilient region, while Asia-Pacific, mainland China and Japan were weaker.

On the earnings call, chief financial officer Armelle Poulou said Gucci faced a comparison base that was 11 points tougher than in the prior quarter. She said conversion, average ticket and average price improved, but store traffic was still a gap. "Our priority is to rebuild desirability. Creative renewal is underway," she said, according to the Investing.com transcript.

Poulou said recent price cuts covered a "very limited number" of items, mostly seasonal products from earlier creative periods, and denied that Gucci was repositioning its prices. She also said fourth-quarter wholesale revenue is likely to be weaker, describing the channel as small and sensitive to the timing of shipments.

In the release, CEO Luca de Meo said: "The recovery of Gucci remains our defining priority."

Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and the other houses

Kering did not publish revenue numbers for Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta or its smaller fashion labels this quarter. Instead, the release described their performance in words:

• Saint Laurent and Brioni grew.
• Bottega Veneta outperformed, according to the company.
• Balenciaga saw resilient leather goods but a difficult period for ready-to-wear and shoes.
• Alexander McQueen is still being repositioned.

Comparable retail sales in Fashion & Leather Goods excluding Gucci rose 2%, helped by Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Brioni. For the division as a whole, directly operated retail fell 4% and wholesale rose 4%.

Kering Jewelry and Kering Eyewear grow

Kering Jewelry, which includes Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo and Qeelin, raised revenue 12% reported and 11% comparable to €239 million. Its own stores grew 18%, while wholesale fell 6%. Over nine months, jewelry sales are up 17% on a comparable basis.

Kering Eyewear revenue rose to €373 million, up 4% comparable, with growth in every region. Corporate & Other fell 5%, mainly because rental income ended after earlier real estate transactions.

Store closures: at least 125 in 2026

Kering closed 128 stores and opened 23 in the first nine months of 2026, for 105 net closures. That already exceeds its original full-year target of 100, so the group raised the goal to at least 125 net closures by year-end. It made 75 net closures in 2025.

Poulou told analysts that "the plan is executed quicker, but the list is staying the same." She estimated that closures cut sales growth by about 1 percentage point in the first half and about 2 points in the second half, before some sales are recaptured by nearby stores.

Outlook: margin goal kept, growth goal missing

Kering said it still expects its recurring operating margin to improve in 2026, driven by cost discipline, while it keeps investing in its brands. Poulou added that the second-half margin will not be better than the first half's, given the environment.

The release did not repeat an earlier aim of returning to revenue growth in 2026, Sharecast reported. On the call, a Citi analyst asked why a sales growth target that appeared in the half-year presentation was missing. Poulou did not answer directly. She said Kering does not give quarterly revenue guidance and that October trends were broadly in line with the third quarter, according to the transcript.

Poulou named lower store traffic as the main problem across the group. She said mainland China was the largest drag, while the Middle East returned to growth. Management is reviewing its China plan, including more local decision-making, local product ranges and store refurbishment.

In July, Gucci and L'Oréal signed a 50-year exclusive beauty licence. Kering expects it to take effect in mid-2027, subject to regulatory approvals and the early end of Gucci's existing licence with Coty.

How Kering shares reacted

The results came out after the Paris market closed on October 22. Kering's US-traded American depositary receipts fell more than 4% that evening, Yahoo Finance reported. Investing.com put the ADR's decline at about 12%, to $21.80, close to its 52-week low of $21.71.

In Paris on Friday, October 23, the shares were down 10.8% at €190.40 by 07:30 GMT, their lowest level since June 2025, AFP reported. They ended the session down about 16.6%, the worst performer on the STOXX 600, according to Reuters figures published by Investing.com. Reuters said the stock was on course for its worst day on record.

Data as of the Paris close, October 23, 2026, 15:30 UTC.

Deutsche Bank analysts said Gucci "has not shown convincing signs of stabilisation," according to AFP. JPMorgan analyst Chiara Battistini said the progress on brand desirability "remains in its very early stages," Reuters reported. The selling spread to peers: Hermès, which reported its own third-quarter slowdown in China a day earlier, hit a four-year low. Our Europe stocks daily brief for October 23 covers the wider market session.

What it means

The quarter shows Kering's two-speed position. Jewelry, eyewear, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta are growing, but Gucci still makes up close to 40% of group revenue, and its reported decline deepened from 3% in the second quarter to 4%, according to AFP. With Gucci's recovery described by its owner as gradual, the rest of the group is not yet large enough to offset it.

Investors appeared to react less to the headline revenue, which met forecasts, than to what was missing: a revenue growth goal for 2026 and clear evidence that Gucci's new creative direction is bringing shoppers back. The next checkpoints are Kering's full-year results, due early in 2027, when it will report whether the recurring operating margin improved as promised. Macro events also matter for European luxury stocks, including the ECB's October meeting and demand from Chinese consumers.

What is not yet known: Kering has not disclosed brand-level revenue for Saint Laurent or Bottega Veneta this quarter, and it has not said whether it will set a new sales target.

Sources

• Kering: Revenue for the third quarter of 2026 (GlobeNewswire)
• Kering: Revenue for the third quarter of 2026 (full release, GlobeNewswire via The Manila Times)
• Investing.com: Earnings call transcript, Kering Q3 2026
• Reuters via Investing.com: STOXX 600 extends fall as Kering slumps, oil climbs
• AFP via France 24: Kering shares tumble as Gucci fails to reassure investors
• Reuters via Global Banking & Finance Review: Kering shares tumble as luxury faces tough winter
• Yahoo Finance: Kering ADRs slide as Gucci sales fall 6%
• Sharecast: Kering shares slide as third-quarter Gucci sales fall

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.