EssilorLuxottica Balances Meta Rollout Against Legal Scrutiny and a Shareholder Truce

EssilorLuxottica expands Meta AI eyewear as French prosecutors open a criminal probe; Delfin nears settlement and Goldman cuts its target.

EssilorLuxottica finds itself pulled in two directions at once. On one side, its partnership with Meta Platforms is moving from concept to shelf, with new frame designs, a US-bound AI assistant and a hearing feature awaiting regulatory clearance. On the other, French prosecutors have opened a criminal probe touching the smart-glasses category, and the group's largest shareholder is only now emerging from a long-running family feud.

A Product Line That Keeps Widening

The two partners used yesterday's announcement to unveil fresh model variants alongside a broader international push. Among the additions are the camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio range and the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 series. Meta, for its part, is upgrading what the devices can actually do: the Muse personal AI assistant is set to reach US users, with on-device data processing slated for later in the year.

American customers will also get an FDA-cleared hearing-enhancement function before the year is out, sold either as a one-off purchase or by subscription. By year-end, the pair expect to offer more than 100 design variants of their AI eyewear.

Distribution is widening in parallel. Sales of the Meta Ray-Ban Display model are kicking off in the UK and Canada, part of a phased rollout into ten additional national markets. Pre-orders in continental Europe are opening in stages, covering France, Italy and Germany among others.

Prosecutors Enter the Frame

That expansion is unfolding under close regulatory watch. On 18 September, French state prosecutors and data-protection authorities launched a criminal investigation following complaints alleging sexual harassment linked to camera-equipped glasses. As Reuters reported, the review targets the product category in general; no wrongdoing has been alleged against EssilorLuxottica's own products.

Delfin Edges Toward Calm

Meanwhile, the group's biggest shareholder appears close to settling its internal dispute. The conflict has centred on key decisions at the Delfin holding: Rocco Basilico had filed suit at the Tribunal of Luxembourg against resolutions including dividend increases and a planned transfer of stakes. At issue are the holdings of siblings Paola and Luca Del Vecchio, destined for their brother Leonardo Maria.

The arrangement covers the purchase of 25 percent from his sister and brother, plus bare ownership (nuda proprietà) of a further 12.5 percent held by his mother, Nicoletta Zampillo. Financing for the 25 percent block is put at ten billion euros, with his vehicle Lmdv Capital pledging Delfin shares to banks as collateral.

Analysts Trim Their Smart-Glasses Assumptions

The prospect of steadier ownership at the top comes as the operating story is being reassessed. Goldman Sachs analyst Richard Felton cut his price target on EssilorLuxottica to EUR 165 while keeping a neutral rating, citing more conservative assumptions for the smart-glasses business after Meta launched hardware of its own. He trimmed growth expectations by as much as 170 basis points and lowered earnings estimates through 2028 by up to 7 percent.

Buyback Support and a Soft Share Price

EssilorLuxottica is also putting its own cash to work. On 18 September the company bought back 287,000 ordinary shares at a volume-weighted average price of EUR 139.2931 apiece, acting under an authorisation granted by its annual general meeting — a move that underscores management's intent to shore up the stock at its depressed level.

The shares have had a bruising run. They trade at EUR 144.15 in today's session, down 0.8 percent on the day, and have lost 47 percent since the start of the year. Market participants, though, are looking past the buyback to the operating business and to how quickly the Meta tie-up translates into measurable earnings. The next hard data point arrives on 20 October 2026, when EssilorLuxottica publishes its third-quarter business update.