Luxury’s Top Stocks Share Parisian Glamour but Little Else

The world’s three most valuable luxury companies are all French, controlled by founding families, and bankrolled by handbag brands. But their approach to doing business is very different, as recent variations in sales growth show.

Hermès International shares fell 5% on Friday after the Paris-based leather-goods maker reported a sales increase of 11% in the fourth quarter, compared with the same period of 2020 at constant exchange rates—meager in light of what others managed. Kering said Thursday that its sales were up 32% over the three months through December as demand picked up for its flagship Gucci brand. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the largest of the trio, grew by 27% over the period.