Laurent-Perrier S.A. (LPE.PA) fair value

ACCE thesis

Laurent-Perrier is a French Champagne house, selling its own-label bottles (Laurent-Perrier, Grand Siècle, Salon-linked vintages are not in its portfolio, so keep to the core range) through distributors and direct channels across export markets. Its moat is the scarcity of aged Champagne stock and the brand premium that comes with it, which shows up in a 56.6% gross margin and a 23.5% operating margin, both high for a drinks company of this size. Revenue growth of 4.5% is modest, but the market is pricing the business at 9.3x trailing earnings and 8.6x forward, a discount that leaves little room for the pricing and mix gains that premium Champagne has delivered in recent years. The thesis rests on whether that margin holds as volumes normalise after the post-2022 destocking, and on whether the 7.7% ROE reflects a capital-heavy inventory model or a fixable underperformance. Worth a deeper look if the next two reporting periods show margins staying in the mid-20s, with inventory and export trends confirming the top line.