EssilorLuxottica SA (FR:EL) has announced plans to ramp up its smart glasses production capacity for Ray-Ban Meta (META) smart glasses, aiming to produce 10 million units annually by the end of 2026. CEO Francesco Milleri highlighted the success of these glasses in its Q4 results today and reaffirmed its commitment to the Meta partnership. day, highlighted the success of these glasses and reaffirmed its commitment to the Meta partnership. Meanwhile, Meta is making a significant push into virtual reality (VR) and smart glasses, with investments expected to exceed $100 billion by 2025.
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Overall, EssilorLuxottica posted a 9.2% year-over-year rise in Q4 revenue, adjusted for constant currency.
EssilorLuxottica Celebrates Meta Smart Glasses’ Success
The France-based eyewear company stated that Meta smart glasses were among the top-selling models during the holiday season. The company also revealed that over 2 million units of Ray-Ban Meta have been sold since their launch in September 2023.
During the analyst call, Milleri explained that activation rates and usage time have consistently increased since the launch, demonstrating the product’s growing integration into daily life. Furthermore, analysts predict that smart glasses will evolve into a major revenue contributor for EssilorLuxottica, growing from a small single-digit percentage of sales in 2024 to a mid-to-high single-digit share by 2026.
Notably, EssilorLuxottica and Meta have partnered since 2019 to create Ray-Ban smart glasses. In 2024, they sealed a long-term agreement to drive their collaboration into the next decade.
Meta Goes All In on VR and Smart Glasses
Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, emphasized that 2025 will be a critical year for assessing its progress toward its vision of scaling AI-powered glasses to hundreds of millions, and eventually billions, of users. Additionally, Zuckerberg stated that smart glasses will remain a key priority for Meta amid huge investments in VR and AR.
In December, the Financial Times reported that Meta plans to incorporate a screen into the $300 sunglasses it produces with EssilorLuxottica to display notifications and responses from its virtual assistant. This upgrade marks a significant milestone in Meta’s effort to develop lightweight headsets that aim to replace smartphones as the primary computing device for consumers.
Is EssilorLuxottica a Good Stock to Buy?
According to TipRanks, EL stock has a Moderate Buy rating based on recommendations from nine analysts. It includes six Buy and three Hold ratings. The EssilorLuxottica average price target is €271.88, which implies a decline of 7% from the current trading price.
