Investing.com -- EssilorLuxottica posted an 8.1% rise in first-quarter revenue driven by broad-based growth across regions and channels, and reaffirmed its mid-single-digit annual revenue growth target through 2026.
The eyewear group posted revenue of 6.85 billion euros ($7.3 billion) for the quarter, up 7.3% at constant exchange rates, missing the consensus estimate of 8.1%.
Growth was led by Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), which climbed 10% at constant rates, while North America rose 4%.
Direct-to-consumer revenue grew 10.1%, outpacing professional solutions, supported by strong brick-and-mortar performance and an 8% increase in comparable-store sales.
Online growth was also robust, with Ray-Ban.com leading the segment, fuelled by strong demand for Ray-Ban Meta (NASDAQ:META) smart glasses.
"We successfully maintained strong momentum, with all regions and businesses contributing," said CEO Francesco Milleri and Deputy CEO Paul du Saillant in a statement, highlighting product innovation such as Nuance Audio and continued strength in myopia solutions in China.
The company said it is implementing measures to manage the impact of U.S. import duties but did not provide details. It reaffirmed its forecast for adjusted operating profit margins to reach 19-20% of revenue by the end of 2026.
EssilorLuxottica said growth was broad-based across both optical and sun segments, with Oakley, Miu Miu and Stellest lenses among the top performers.
Asia-Pacific sales rose by double digits, helped by strong demand for myopia solutions in China.
"We think that, in this environment, this performance is resilient enough, showing the strength and complementarity of the EssilorLuxottica portfolio," JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) analysts said in a note.
"While uncertainty around duties could continue to drive volatility in the share price short term, we see the fundamental medium/long term story as intact and if anything continue to favour EssilorLuxottica’s more defensive nature to navigate these volatile times," they added.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analysts were more cautious in their post-earnings remarks, saying they expect consensus estimates for Essilor to decline by a low single-digit percentage following the release to reflect the slight revenue growth miss and adjustments for the negative impact of recent U.S. dollar movements.
"We expect consensus to remain in somewhat of a “wait-and-see” mode on the impact of tariffs, given ongoing uncertainty and limited company commentary today," they added.
Pratyush Thakur contributed to this report.