The Swiss luxury goods company Richemont has boosted the industry's stock prices with surprisingly strong sales growth in the fourth quarter of 2024. Driven by high demand in the USA for the Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels brands, the company's sales increased by 10 percent to 6.2 billion euros. Analysts had only expected an increase of 1 percent.

The jewelry division, the cornerstone of Richemont's business, achieved sales of 4.5 billion euros—a 14 percent increase compared to the previous year. These figures significantly exceeded analysts' expectations. The regions of America and Europe particularly contributed to this success with double-digit growth rates. The strong quarterly figures caused Richemont shares to rise by 16 percent on Thursday. Shares of competitors LVMH, Hermès, and Kering also gained between 5 and 9 percent.

Analyst Luca Solca of Bernstein commented that the results had "exceeded expectations" and kicked off the luxury goods sector's reporting season with a strong signal. Richemont's results are seen as an early indicator for the entire industry, which seems to be stabilizing after a challenging start to 2024. While sales in the USA and Europe increased sharply, the business in China remained a burden. In the Greater China region, sales fell by 18 percent compared to the same period last year but improved compared to previous quarters. The watch segment, heavily dependent on the Chinese market, recorded a decline of 8 percent – less than the double-digit losses expected by analysts. Despite the ongoing headwinds in China, Richemont's solid performance suggests that the global luxury sector might have overcome the worst of the downturn. HSBC analysts pointed to the recovery of the American luxury market since the November 2024 elections and the stabilization of Chinese consumption since the third quarter.