EssilorLuxottica just delivered a stunning validation of the smart glasses market. The Ray-Ban maker credited its Meta partnership with driving more than 4 percentage points of its 11.7% third-quarter revenue growth, proving that AI-powered wearables aren't just tech demos anymore - they're moving serious numbers. With sales hitting €6.9 billion and the company fast-tracking production capacity, smart glasses just crossed into mainstream territory.
The smart glasses revolution just got its first major financial validation. EssilorLuxottica, the eyewear giant behind Ray-Ban, delivered results that should have every tech CEO paying attention - the company's partnership with Meta drove more than 4 percentage points of its impressive 11.7% third-quarter growth.
"Clearly there is a lift coming from Ray-Ban Meta wearables as a product category," CFO Stefano Grassi told investors during the company's earnings call. The numbers back up his confidence: quarterly sales jumped to €6.9 billion (roughly $8 billion) from €6.44 billion a year earlier, with wearables contributing meaningfully to the bottom line.
This isn't just about novelty gadgets anymore. The partnership that began in 2019 has evolved into a profit engine that's reshaping how we think about wearable computing. Meta's AI-powered Ray-Ban glasses let users snap photos, play music, and interact with digital assistants through voice commands - essentially putting smartphone functionality on your face.
The momentum is accelerating beyond anyone's expectations. Grassi revealed that EssilorLuxottica will hit its planned 10 million unit production capacity earlier than the original 2026 target. That's the kind of demand signal that validates Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's bold prediction that "glasses will materially replace most of the functionality that today we have embedded into our phones."
The product lineup keeps expanding too. Beyond the original Ray-Ban Meta glasses, the partnership now includes Oakley's HSTN model launched in June, with a Prada-branded version in development. At September's Meta Connect event, Zuckerberg unveiled the next generation: $799 Ray-Ban Display glasses featuring a small digital screen controlled by neural wristbands, plus new models like the $499 Oakley Meta Vanguard and $379 Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2.
"We believe that glasses will be the future," Grassi said, adding that the wearables business has turned profitable. His optimism extends into Q4, driven by "all the new products that have been recently presented at the Meta Connect" event.
