Hermès outperforms hedge funds

What you probably already know: The luxury market has taken a beating of late, with J.P Morgan noting a pronounced slowdown across the globe. Beauty, fashion and wellness brand Glossy predicts 2026 could become another unsettling year as economic pressures and cuts in consumer spending have potential to wreak havoc on many companies. But, if you compare the fashion industry to the broader stock market, you’ll find that many Hermès products are compounding faster than retirement accounts, while sneakers from Louis Vuitton are sprinting past Wall Street. Many luxury items, in fact, are behaving more bullishly than even the strongest of bulls.

Why it matters: A fun report on high-end fashion by vintage handbag shop FashioNica, based in Irvine, California, compared price increases on the resale market of high-profile luxury items (think handbags, watches and sneakers) from 2022 until the end of 2025 with the performance of the S&P 500 over the same period. Topping the list is the Hermès Mini Kelly II handbag, which once retailed for $9,200 but has since jumped to $36,980 for a total return of 302%, compared to 43% for the S&P 500. Three products from Paris-based Hermès, in fact, made the top three and five were in the top 10, including the Birkin handbag (No. 2, 242% total return over the S&P) and the Kelly handbag (No. 3, with a 116% return).

What it means: The only non-handbag in the top 10 is the Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1 Low sneakers, which now sell for more than 125% of their initial price, which was $2,750 in 2022. And, despite a reputation for keeping their worth, most luxury watch brands, like Rolex, perform worse than regular investments. The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, for example, is near the bottom of the list and now retails for 62% less than it did four years ago ($2,453, as opposed to $6,400) and lags the S&P by 105%. The Nike Dunk Low Panda is at the very bottom, underperforming the S&P by 118%.

What happens next: The survey boils down to a simple fact: Who’s buying these products on resale. In explaining the results, one unnamed analyst said, “A Birkin appeals to fashion collectors, investors and regular luxury shoppers, and that broader buyer pool makes handbags way easier to sell. High-end watches attract mostly dedicated enthusiasts.” It’s worth noting that, in general, Birkin resale values have grown at twice the pace of retail price increases the past 10 years. “Specialized platforms have made authentication and selling so seamless,” the analyst notes, “that the handbag secondary market just runs smoother than watches right now.”