Here's what CEOs and top execs are saying about how the Iran war is affecting business
Here's what CEOs and top execs are saying about how the Iran war is affecting business
Roya Shahidi,Lara O'Reilly,Mary HanburyWed, April 15, 2026 at 12:16 PM UTC
0
LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, has said that lower footfall in Middle East malls has affected business.Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images -
The Iran war has affected businesses across sectors, from retail to advertising.
Its impacts are starting to show up in earnings calls.
Here's what top CEOs and execs are saying about the impact of the Iran war on the business world.
More than six weeks have passed since the Iran war began, and the impact of the conflict on businesses is becoming more evident.
The impacts of surging oil prices, supply chain issues, and lower demand from the Middle East are starting to show up in Q1 earnings.
In some sectors, such as investment banking, executives say business activity is in good shape overall.
However, for industries such as luxury goods, which have a strong retail presence in the Middle East, there are concerns about how the ongoing conflict will affect business.
David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs
Bloomberg/Getty Images
David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, said in the company's first-quarter earnings call on April 13 that "the environment for investment banking activity continues to be incredibly robust, particularly M&A activity."
Solomon said that while leaders are "watching what's going on geopolitically," they are also looking at the opportunities that artificial intelligence could bring.
"They are focused on that, and that candidly trumps some of the geopolitical risk," Solomon added.
Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe
Bloomberg/Getty Images
The French advertising giant said on its first-quarter earnings call on April 14 that the conflict in the Middle East had led some clients to delay "large transformation capex projects" due to uncertainty over how the situation might unfold.
CEO Arthur Sadoun said on the call that clients had become resilient in navigating uncertainty, after other major events, including COVID, the war in Ukraine, tariffs, and inflation. Publicis said it hadn't seen brands making significant reductions in their marketing budgets in the first quarter.
"They know that if they cut marketing spend, they will lose market share," Sadoun said. "That will be very expensive and very difficult to win back."
Publicis' Middle East and Africa business posted a 5.1% decline in organic revenue in the quarter, with the United Arab Emirates and Israel most affected, the company said.
Cécile Cabanis, CFO of LVMH
THIBAUD MORITZ/AFP via Getty Images
LVMH said in its earnings call on April 13 that its first-quarter performance was negatively affected by the war in Iran.
Advertisement
Cécile Cabanis, CFO of the French luxury conglomerate, said that "demand is very much down" in the Middle East, particularly citing lower foot traffic to malls.
Cabanis said Sephora, one of LVMH's companies, has been able to resist this downward trend better because of its large presence in Saudi Arabia, which she said has been "more resilient" during the conflict.
"What we have not seen yet is repatriation. And what we know is that the wealth has not evaporated," Cabanis said.
She added that if the conflict persists and wealthy people leave the region, they will ensure that they are "there to serve the clients."
Armelle Poulou, CFO of Kering
Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Gucci parent company Kering said during its first-quarter earnings call on April 14 that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East weighed on its traffic and performance.
"Since the end of February, the situation in the region has remained an area of heightened attention for the group," CFO Armelle Poulou said.
It saw an 11% decline in retail revenue in the region during Q1, which dragged on the overall retail segment.
The Middle East accounts for about 5% of the luxury conglomerate's retail revenue, with about 1,100 employees and 79 stores, the company said. Despite some recent disruptions, it said stores are fully open.
Kering is also feeling the impact of the Iran war on sales outside of the Middle East. Its sales were down 7% in Western Europe in Q1, where "trends remain challenging, particularly due to softer tourist flows, notably from Asia and Middle East," Poulou said.
Eric du Halgouët, CFO of Hermes
Moritz Scholz/Getty Images
Luxury brand Hermes said its sales in the Middle East were down 6% during the first quarter as the conflict in Iran kicked off.
The company also saw its sales in France take a hit as it saw a "strong decrease" in Middle East customers shopping for its products.
"The impact of the slowdown because of the Middle East is not significant on profitability," its CFO Eric du Halgouët said during the company's earnings call.
"It remains to be seen whether the events continue for a month or two, but if it's just two months, I think that we can absorb this impact without too many difficulties," he added.
on Business Insider
Source: “AOL Money”
