Is Sephora Publicly Traded? (All You Need to Know)

The tremendous success of Sephora continues to attract investors who look forward to reaping big from the company’s enormous yields.

As a result, if you are an investor, you might be interested in finding out whether Sephora is publicly traded. I’ve researched the issue, and here’s what I uncovered!

Is Sephora Publicly Traded in [currentyear]?

Unfortunately, Sephora is not publicly traded, but a privately owned company by Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton LVMH in [currentyear]. Hence, the retailer is not directly listed on any stock exchange market. However, if you want to purchase Sephora’s shares, you can do so by buying stock in LVMH. LVMH stock is traded on Euronext Paris.

If you want to find more information on whether Sephora is publicly traded, how to purchase Sephora’s stock, its ownership, and much more, keep reading!

Is Sephora on the Stock Market?

Sephora is not on the stock market since it exists as a private limited company and not a publicly-traded company. Hence, one cannot buy Sephora’s stock.

What Company Owns Sephora?

Sephora is currently owned by Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton LVMH.  it was founded by Dominique Mandonnaud in 1969 in Paris.

Later, LVMH brought the beauty brand under its umbrella in 1997.

As a result of the acquisition, LVMH gained 100% ownership of Sephora.

Therefore, you cannot find Sephora listed on the world exchanges.

Who Owns Sephora Stock?

Sephora’s stock is owned by its parent company, LVMH.

Although Sephora has existed as one of the most popular and successful retailers of cosmetics and beauty brands, Sephora itself is one of LVMH’s several business units.

Can I Buy Sephora Stock?

Can I Buy Sephora Stock?

Unfortunately, you can’t buy Sephora’s stock directly since Sephora is not a publicly-traded company.

However, you can buy shares from the parent company, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, since LVMH is publicly traded on the Euronext Paris Euro list.

Below are the different ways to own LVMH stock:

  • Over-the-Counter Market

You can own the LVMH stock through an OTC market (Over-the-counter market).

However, it’s always important to remember that OTC markets are often riskier than other stocks listed on major exchanges since they aren’t regulated.

Moreover, LVHM OTC share volume is considerably high, making liquidity a lesser concern when compared to other OTC stocks.

Nonetheless, the share volumes are often less than 1.5 million shares traded daily on LVMH’s base, the Paris Exchange.

For US investors, the American Depository Receipts (ADRs) provide direct investment exposure to foreign stock, i.e., non-US stock.

However, if your investment manager has a global presence, you can simply buy European shares instead of going through OTC to get direct shares of LVMH.

  • Exchange-Traded Funds

For a luxury stock like LVMH, investors can consider the luxury sector Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).

Ideally, the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is a type of security that helps in the tracking of an index, commodity, sector, or any other asset, and can be sold or purchased as a regular stock.

ETFs enable diversification since they can track a wider range of stocks and mimic the returns of a country or a group of countries.

Moreover, since ETFs are passively managed, they tend to have lower expense ratios as compared to mutual funds that are actively managed.

  • Closed-End Funds

An investor can also own the LVMH stock through closed-end funds.

The closed-end fund provides a portfolio of pooled assets that upraises the amount of capital through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and, afterward, lists the shares for trade.

Ideally, the closed-end fund share is closely similar to ETFs and mutual funds.

For instance, the closed-end fund normally has a professional manager who oversees the portfolio and ensures active buying and selling of holding assets, just like a mutual fund.

Furthermore, the closed-end fund trades like equity due to the fluctuations of prices throughout the trading day, just like the exchange-traded fund.

However, a closed-end fund differs from both an ETF and a mutual fund since, after the closed-end funds’ IPO, the parent company of the fund does not issue additional funds.

As a result, the fund itself won’t buy back the shares. Instead, the fund can only be sold and bought on the secondary market just like individual stock shares.

Can I Buy LVMH Stock in the US?

Unfortunately, you can’t directly purchase shares of LVMH in the US, since it is a foreign company.

However, you can purchase LVMH stock by first purchasing ADRs (American Depositary Receipts).

Basically, the ADRs are negotiable certificates or securities issued by a U.S. depositary bank that represent the shares of a non-US company.

With the ADRs, one can trade on the U.S. stock markets just as any other domestic shares would trade.

What Is Sephora’s Stock Symbol?

Sephora doesn’t have an independent stock symbol because it doesn’t exist as an independent company but as part of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Since LVHM stock can be purchased on different stock exchanges, its country-based stock symbol will vary depending on the country.

For instance, LVMH on the European exchanges trades with the ticker symbol LVMH, while on the US stock markets, it trades with the ticker symbol LVMHF or LVMUY.

When Did LVMH Go Public?

LVMH became a publicly listed company in 1990. However, a majority of its shares belong to the founder, Bernard Arnault.

Is LVMH Stock a Good Long-Term Investment?

LVMH is a considerably good long-term investment even though the stock might not seem cheap.

The following reasons make LVMH a good long-term investment:

  • The company has affluent customers who continue to shop, even through economic downturns and upturns.
  • High-end brands like LVMH face less competition than cheaper brands
  • The organic sales and revenues declined in 2020. Therefore, analysts expect that the revenue and earnings are bound to increase.

To know more, you can also read our posts on whether or not Sephora prices match, Sephora JCPenney return policy, and is Sephora a franchise.

Conclusion

Sephora isn’t a publicly-traded company but is privately owned by Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton LVMH. However, investors can still buy Sephora’s stock indirectly by purchasing LVMH stock since LVMH is a publicly-traded company on Euronext Paris.

Photo of author

Marques Thomas

Marques Thomas graduated with a MBA in 2011. Since then, Marques has worked in the retail and consumer service industry as a manager, advisor, and marketer. Marques is also the head writer and founder of QuerySprout.com.

Leave a Comment