PARIS — LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said revenues fell 4 percent in the third quarter, but sales in organic terms rose for the first time this year, signaling there may be light at the end of the tunnel for the beleaguered luxury sector.

The industry bellwether said revenues for the three months to Sept. 30 totaled 18.3 billion euros, up 1 percent in organic terms, beating market expectations for a 1 percent decline. 

Its key fashion and leather goods division also performed better than expected, posting a 2 percent decline, versus a consensus forecast for a 4 percent drop. LVMH said the improvement reflected “good resilience with local customers.”

While new Dior creative director Jonathan Anderson’s first designs have yet to arrive in stores, his first women’s and men’s collections were “tremendously well received,” the French luxury conglomerate reported. The brand recently inaugurated two new flagships in New York City and Beverly Hills. 

Anderson showed his first women’s collection for Dior on Oct. 1, winning a standing ovation, while creative duo Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez presented their debut line for Loewe on Oct. 3. 

Meanwhile, Fendi revealed on Tuesday that it has named Maria Grazia Chiuri chief creative officer. Her first womenswear collection for the fall 2026 season will be shown in Milan in February. 

Watches and jewelry also performed better than expected in the period, with organic sales up 2 percent in the third quarter. Perfumes and cosmetics were in line with forecasts, rising 2 percent.

The wines and spirits division, which is undergoing a wide-ranging restructuring, sharply beat consensus estimates with a 1 percent increase, versus forecasts for a 4 percent drop. Selective retailing also exceeded expectations, up 7 percent.

LVMH said the third quarter saw business pick up across all business groups and all regions, with the exception of Europe, where organic sales were down 2 percent, reflecting a decline in tourist spending due to currency fluctuations, which weighed more on the quarter than earlier in the year. 

Organic sales were up 3 percent in the U.S. and gained 2 percent in Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan. In Japan, they were down 13 percent, signaling an improvement after a 28 percent drop in the second quarter. 

The results appeared to justify growing investor confidence in LVMH, which saw its share price tank this year amid anemic demand for luxury goods, a strengthening euro and looming U.S. trade tariffs. 

Several analysts have recently raised their outlook for the stock, which troughed in late June and is now trading around 14 percent below its level at the start of the year. 

In a research note earlier this month, Bernstein designated LVMH as its “best idea” for the fourth quarter. 

“LVMH is still the first port of call for any new luxury consumer. It is also the first port of call for many would-be luxury investors,” analyst Luca Solca and his team wrote. “Many of the headwinds facing the luxury industry may well reverse in the coming year. LVMH has all it takes to hit the ground running.”

LVMH is the first major player to report third-quarter sales. French groups Kering and Hermès International are due to unveil their figures on Oct. 22.