Shares in EssilorLuxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban glasses, soared 14 to an all-time high on Friday, adding nearly 20 billion to its market value amid growing investor enthusiasm for its AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta META.O smart glasses.
The Paris-listed company, founded by the late Italian entrepreneur Leonardo Del Vecchio and seen as a potential buyer for fashion house Armani, reported an 11.7 year-on-year rise in third-quarter sales to 6.9 billion 8.1 billion. The performance exceeded market expectations and marked its best quarterly result ever, fuelled by strong demand for wearable products.
Although smart glasses still represent a small portion of EssilorLuxotticas revenue, the segment has become a focal point for investors and analysts. CFO Stefano Grassi said AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta glasses contributed more than four percentage points to sales growth, prompting the company to accelerate production capacity ahead of schedule.
