EssilorLuxottica's Leadership Rows Behind Milleri as Family Feud Tests Investor Nerve
Published on 09/12/2026 at 02:40 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Twenty senior executives at EssilorLuxottica have thrown their weight behind chairman Francesco Milleri, signing an internal memo that casts him as the rightful steward of founder Leonardo Del Vecchio's legacy and rejects claims that the eyewear giant has lost its strategic bearings. The letter to staff, reported by Bloomberg, lands squarely in the middle of a public spat that has rattled shareholders for weeks.
At the heart of the dispute sits Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, son of the late founder, who stepped down from his management roles — including oversight of the flagship Ray-Ban brand — at the end of August, citing deep disagreements over how the company is run. Speaking at an economic conference on Sunday, he called for a new chapter at the group, pointing to the sheer scale of its market value destruction as evidence that a reset is overdue.
Board Backs Management, but the Family Holding Simmers
EssilorLuxottica's board of directors had already moved on Wednesday, issuing a unanimous statement of support for Milleri and his deputy Paul du Saillant, and voicing confidence in the wider leadership team and its current strategy. That display of unity has done little to settle the deeper question of who ultimately steers the company: the management suite or the family vehicle that controls it.
Delfin, the family holding, owns 32.4 percent of EssilorLuxottica, and it is there that a parallel power struggle is playing out. Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio is pushing to reshape governance in line with the wishes of the majority shareholders, and according to Il Sole 24 Ore, a Luxembourg court is set to rule on September 22 on pre-emption rights tied to share packages within the family.
Market Reaction Versus Operating Reality
The stock's recent trajectory tells one story; the income statement tells another. Shares changed hands at EUR 147.60 on the day of the memo, up 0.9 percent, yet they remain down 46 percent since the start of the year and far below the 52-week high of EUR 323.70. On Friday the stock closed at EUR 148.10, just 2.4 percent above its 52-week low of September 10, with an RSI of 31 pointing to oversold conditions — though no stabilization has yet emerged from that reading. The gap to the 200-day moving average stands at roughly 29 percent.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying EssilorLuxottica?
Executives argue the sell-off — more than 50 percent since last November — reflects a market reaction rather than the underlying business. They point to first-half 2026 results: revenue of EUR 14.818 billion, a 9.7 percent increase in constant-currency terms, adjusted operating profit up 15 percent, and net income of EUR 1.921 billion.
To shore up investor confidence, the company launched a substantial buyback at the end of August, worth more than EUR 800 million. Between August 31 and September 3 alone, it repurchased 424,681 of its own shares. Management frames the move as a statement of faith in the group's value creation and long-term prospects. A separate buyback program covering 5 million shares underscores the same message.
A Valuation Caught Between Governance and Growth
For investors, the calculus has become unusually binary. If the board holds its line and Del Vecchio's criticism remains a lone voice — without other family members or institutional shareholders joining in — the current weakness may come to be seen as an overreaction to a media-amplified conflict, leaving room for a rebound once the news flow calms. Should the family rift widen, or should more figures close to Delfin stake out positions, governance doubts could deepen and further unsettle institutional investors.
Adding a layer of uncertainty, Reuters has reported that the will of fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died in 2025, names EssilorLuxottica alongside LVMH and L'Oréal as possible buyers or partners in any future sale of a stake in Armani. EssilorLuxottica declined to comment. Were the group drawn into such a transaction while its internal leadership dispute remains unresolved, questions over its strategic direction would only multiply.
What to Watch Next
The coming weeks should reveal whether the management's show of solidarity is enough to calm investors. Operating metrics continue to show expansion in Vision Care, and the company is pressing ahead with global growth — most recently through the acquisition of Thai chain Top Charoen — yet friction between the founder's heir and the executive suite keeps weighing on sentiment.
The immediate test is whether Del Vecchio keeps airing his grievances in public or whether the conflict retreats behind closed doors. Until that becomes clearer, EssilorLuxottica remains a stock where governance questions overshadow the group's operating substance — and where the distance from its 52-week high of EUR 323.70, at roughly 54 percent below, reflects a trust deficit as much as any business weakness.
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