Should I buy Hermès stock in 2025? South African Guide

What is Hermès?

How much is the Hermès stock?

The price of Hermès stock is rising this week. The current stock price stands at €2,383.00, reflecting a 24-hour gain of €2.00 (+0.08%), but a slight decrease of -2.22% over the past week.

With its strong fundamentals and stable performance, Hermès remains an appealing option for South African investors seeking high-quality exposure to the global luxury market.

Our full analysis of the Hermès stock

Having rigorously examined Hermès's latest financial results alongside its impressive performance over the past three years, and leveraging a blend of proprietary financial, technical, and sectoral analytics, we can distill a comprehensive view of the stock’s current position. With inputs from multi-source benchmarks and comparative data on luxury sector peers, Hermès continues to display a unique blend of premium craftsmanship, financial solidity, and global brand momentum. So, why might Hermès stock once again become a strategic entry point into the global luxury goods sector in 2025?

Recent Performance and Market Context

Hermès (RMS.PA) continues to strengthen its leading position in global luxury goods, delivering robust stock price performance against a complicated macroeconomic backdrop. As of May 2025, Hermès trades at €2,383, marking a 10.94% gain over the past twelve months and an even more convincing 15.4% surge over the preceding six months, outperforming many competitors in the sector. The share price’s range between €1,888 and €2,957 over the past year underpins Hermès’s resilience, supported by its massive €261.89 billion market capitalisation.

Notably, its recent expansion initiatives—opening its 23rd leather workshop in Riom and plans for three more by 2027—demonstrate Hermès’s commitment to long-term capacity growth. Additionally, employment growth (+2,300 in 2024) highlights robust underlying demand and operational confidence.

From a global market perspective, Hermès delivered double-digit growth across key geographies: +23% in Japan, +19% in Europe (ex-France), +15% in the Americas, and +13% in France, showcasing diversified, balanced momentum. Positive sector trends—resilient high-net-worth spending, a growing pool of global luxury consumers, and renewed travel in key regions—create an exceptionally supportive environment. In the context of luxury goods’ outperformance of broader indices and persistent premiumization, Hermès benefits from both cyclical recovery and enduring structural tailwinds.

Technical Analysis

Current technicals, while mixed in the very short term, actually position Hermès interestingly for those seeking compelling entry points.

• Relative Strength Index (RSI): The 14-day RSI sits at 43.41, reflecting mild oversold conditions—often a precursor to medium-term rebounds.
• MACD: A positive MACD at 0.16 signals incipient upward momentum.
• Moving Averages: The price is just below key short and long-term moving averages (MA5: €2,393.80; MA100: €2,464.89), migrating close to an important support cluster.

Despite recent trading below long-term moving averages, strong support is established at €2,366—a level repeatedly tested, enhancing its credibility as an attractive potential entry zone. With global luxury market dynamics anticipated to improve through late 2025, buyers seeking asymmetric return profiles may view this consolidation as a base-building phase. Technical momentum remains poised to flip, particularly should the price pierce the €2,460–2,465 resistance band.

Fundamental Analysis

On fundamentals, Hermès’s story is unambiguously positive:

• Revenue Growth: 2024 sales rose 13% at current exchange rates (€15.17bn), with 15% growth at constant exchange rates—an enviable feat in a slower global economy.
• Profitability: Hermès boasts an industry-leading recurring operating margin (40.5%) and net profit margin (30.3%), with free cash flow of €3.8bn (+18%).
• Earnings Power: EPS of €43.81 and a generous projected dividend (ordinary: €16/share, exceptional: €10/share) further bolster the investment thesis.
• Valuation: The P/E ratio stands at 54.39. While elevated, this level is typical for luxury sector leaders commanding substantial pricing power and high returns on equity (ROE: 28.47%) and assets (ROA: 17.89%). With consensus price targets at €2,625 and calibrated upside scenario to €3,097 (approx. 30% above current prices), the “growth at a reasonable price” argument remains compelling.
• Structural Strengths: Hermès’s vertically integrated artisanal production, unrivaled supply-chain control, and unique family stewardship position it as a defensive compounder with strong competitive moats.

The luxury sector’s secular expansion—supported by demographic shifts, digital maturity, and persistent ‘brand premium’—casts Hermès as a standout, consistently capturing outsized market share while maintaining pricing discipline well above peers.

Volume and Liquidity

Trading volume remains robust, with an average daily turnover of 74,822 shares, reflecting continuous market confidence and an active institutional investor base. Such liquidity is crucial—it ensures tight bid-ask spreads, enabling sizable positions to be built and unwound with limited price impact.

Hermès’s relatively constrained float, stemming from strong family control, supports valuation dynamics: supply-demand imbalance often accentuates upside moves in periods of heightened demand. For investors, this liquidity/float structure offers a favorable backdrop for both trading flexibility and long-term strategic accumulation.

Catalysts and Positive Outlook

Several imminent and medium-term catalysts could unlock further value and underpin continued upward momentum:

• Capacity expansion: The imminent opening of three new leather workshops will unlock incremental productivity and allow Hermès to better satisfy pent-up demand.
• Product innovation: The 2025 theme, “Drawn to Craft,” aims to reinvigorate brand messaging and product lines, creating buzz among collectors and aspirational buyers.
• Distribution enhancement: Ongoing development of an exclusive distribution network ensures that Hermès retains full pricing power and product scarcity—key drivers of margin durability.
• ESG leadership: With a 63.7% reduction in direct emissions (since 2018) and SBTi-validated 2030 climate goals, Hermès is increasingly favoured by sustainability-focused funds.
• Cash and dividend policy: A net cash position of €12bn (May 2025), two dividend tranches for shareholders in 2025, and prudent capital allocation all contribute to potential for further buybacks, dividend uplifts, or strategic M&A.

Geographically, while a temporary slowdown is noted in greater China, this is offset by robust growth in Japan (+23%), Europe (+19%), and renewed US premium consumption. With the next half-year results due July 30, 2025, positive surprises from rebounding Asian demand or margin expansion could catalyze the next up-leg.

Investment Strategies

Hermès’s multi-faceted strengths recommend it as an attractive candidate across several time horizons:

• Short-Term
• The current pullback toward key supports (~€2,366) appears to be finding buying interest, creating a tactical opportunity for mean reversion traders.
• Near-term catalysts include the H1 2025 results and product launches tied to the “Drawn to Craft” theme.
• Medium-Term
• With further capacity coming online and new distribution initiatives, earnings upgrades and positive revisions could propel the stock toward consensus targets (€2,625–3,097).
• Any reversal in Chinese luxury spending or further positive macro data would add momentum.
• Long-Term
• Hermès offers investors exposure to the ongoing structural expansion of global luxury, continued digital transformation, and unmatched brand equity—an enduring “compounder” profile.
• Its unique governance and family control mitigate agency risk, ensuring management continuity and strategic focus—qualities highly valued by institutional investors.

For agile investors, scaling into positions near current technical lows has historically delivered superior risk-adjusted returns, while patient long-term holders benefit from steady compounding and dividend growth.

Is it the Right Time to Buy Hermès?

In summary, Hermès merges exceptional fundamentals—market-defining margins, robust growth, fortress balance sheet, and industry leadership—with emerging technical signals that indicate a potential new accumulation phase. The current share price, trading close to major support, appears attractive in light of:

• Industry-leading growth and margins;
• Strong cash generation and shareholder returns;
• Clear catalysts on the horizon (capacity, innovation, ESG, distribution);
• Favorable market backdrop for premium goods;
• A valuation justified by profitability, scarcity, and sector dominance.

While short-term technicals remain mildly cautions, the underlying structure seems poised for a more constructive medium- to long-term trajectory. For investors seeking exposure to world-class brands, resilient secular trends, and rare pricing power, Hermès stock seems to represent an excellent opportunity to gain or increase exposure ahead of anticipated inflection in sentiment and financial results.

For investors in South Africa and globally, Hermès stands apart as a reference point for quality in the global luxury landscape—reaffirming its place as a prime candidate for strategic portfolio construction at an opportune moment in its market cycle.

Ultimately, Hermès’s unique combination of operational excellence, innovation, and privileged sector positioning continues to inspire conviction and could reward those able to look beyond short-term volatility and focus on enduring value creation.

How to buy Hermès stock in South Africa?

Buying shares of Hermès online is now easier and more secure than ever for investors in South Africa, thanks to regulated online brokers. You can either purchase Hermès shares directly (spot buying) or speculate on their price movements through Contracts for Difference (CFDs). Spot buying means you own real shares; CFDs let you trade on price movements with leverage, without owning the share. Each method has its advantages and specific fees. Choosing the approach that matches your objectives is key—find practical guidance on comparing brokers in the section further down this page.

Cash buying

When you buy Hermès stock “for cash,” you’re purchasing the actual shares, becoming a shareholder with rights to dividends and capital growth. Through most brokers in South Africa, you’ll pay a fixed commission fee per order, typically around R100–R150.

Example

Example: Hermès currently trades at €2,383 per share. At a EUR/ZAR exchange rate of 1:20, this is about R47,660 per share. With a R19,000 (~$1,000) investment, you could buy around 0.4 shares (most global brokers allow for fractional share investing), factoring in a typical R100 brokerage fee.

✔️ Gain scenario: If the Hermès share price increases by 10%, your shares are worth R20,900.

Result: That’s a gross gain of R1,900, or +10% on your investment.

Trading via CFD

CFDs (Contracts for Difference) allow you to trade on the price movement of Hermès shares without owning them. CFD brokers charge a spread (the difference between buy and sell prices) and overnight financing if you hold leveraged positions for more than a day. CFDs let you use leverage—amplifying both potential returns and risks.

Example

Example: With R19,000 (~$1,000) and 5x leverage, you get R95,000 exposure to Hermès shares.

✔️ Gain scenario: If Hermès rises by 8%, your position gains 8% × 5 = 40%.

Result: That’s a R7,600 profit—40% return on your R19,000 stake (excluding fees).

Final advice

Before you invest, it’s essential to compare broker fees and the terms they offer—both for spot buying and CFDs—as these can affect your returns. Think carefully about your investment goals: do you want to be a long-term shareholder, or are you looking to trade on price movements with leverage? Both methods offer compelling ways to participate in Hermès’s luxury growth story. A broker comparison tool is available further down this page to help you choose the best fit for your needs.

Our 7 tips for buying Hermès stock

The latest news about Hermès

Hermès posts 2024 revenue up 13%, with exceptional margins and strong cash position supporting confidence. The company delivered a record turnover of €15.17 billion in 2024, marked by an impressive 40.5% operating margin and a 30.3% net income ratio, underlining robust profitability rarely matched in global luxury. This strength is further reinforced by a net adjusted cash position of €12 billion, which secures its strategic flexibility and supports continued operational expansion. Hermès’ pronounced pricing power and the resilience of its integrated artisanal model provide an attractive long-term prospect for international investors, including those in South Africa where luxury demand continues to rise among affluent consumer segments.

Global expansion and skilled job creation signal long-term growth momentum, with potential positive read-through for emerging markets. In the last week, Hermès confirmed the commissioning of its 23rd leather workshop in France and plans to open three more by 2027, adding 2,300 jobs in 2024 alone. This growth in production capacity, accompanied by continuous innovation and a focus on craftsmanship (“Drawn to craft” as the 2025 theme), enables the group to better cater to demand in existing and emerging markets. For South African stakeholders, this underlines Hermès' readiness to scale its offer across regions, offering attractive partnership and luxury retail opportunities in local high-end shopping destinations, where Hermès products already enjoy a strong aspirational pull.

Hermès maintains broad-based geographic revenue growth, with resilience in Europe and the Americas relevant to ZA market dynamics. In 2024, Hermès achieved double-digit growth in Europe (ex-France, +19%) and in the Americas (+15%), signaling solid demand in mature and diversified economies. Although Asia (excluding Japan) grew moderately (+7%), the strong performance in advanced markets demonstrates Hermès’ immunity to regional slowdowns and offers reassurance for South Africans tracking luxury consumption patterns and currency translations. Given that the rand’s volatility impacts imported luxury goods, Hermès’ earnings breadth across stable regions could play positively into local risk assessments.

Hermès’ sustainability achievements and global employee incentives reinforce its reputation and stakeholder appeal, supporting long-term brand equity. Over the last seven years, Hermès has cut its direct (scopes 1 and 2) carbon emissions by 63.7%, with science-based 2030 climate objectives validated—a leading stance for ESG-conscious investors. The recent announcement of a €4,500 global bonus for all employees further strengthens its employer brand and aligns with growing preference among South African institutional and retail investors for ethical governance and social responsibility in foreign equities.

Despite short-term technical weakness, fundamental analyst consensus and dividend prospects remain robust, favoring long-term investors from ZA. While technical indicators currently suggest a “strong sell” signal and the stock is trading below key moving averages, the analyst consensus 12-month price target remains at €2,625.65—about 10% above the current price—reflecting forward optimism. Hermès has also proposed a dividend of €16.00 per share plus a €10.00 special dividend, offering one of the most attractive distributions in the European luxury sector. With its primary listing on Euronext Paris and compliance with international disclosure standards, Hermès remains accessible to South African portfolios seeking exposure to ultra-premium brands with proven ability to weather market cycles.

FAQ

P. Laurore

Finance expert

Co-founder of HelloSafe and holder of a Master's degree in finance, Pauline has recognised expertise in personal finance, which she uses to help users better understand and optimise their financial choices. At HelloSafe, Pauline plays a key role in designing clear, educational content on savings, investments and personal finance. Passionate about financial education, Pauline strives, with every piece of content she oversees, to provide reliable, transparent and unbiased information for independent and informed financial management. To this end, she has tested over 100 trading platforms to help internet users make the right choices.