Leica reports revenue dip in 2025/26 financial year

A year of anniversaries

The financial year ran alongside the 100th anniversary of the first Leica camera, and the company credits the celebrations with strengthening its global appeal. It cites high demand for limited-edition anniversary models, a strong response across 24 international exhibitions, and continued interest in Leica Pre-Owned cameras as evidence of this. Leica’s own auction house, Leitz Photographica Auction, sold a rare Leica prototype during the year, which the company says ranks among the most expensive cameras ever made. Leica is also marking the 50th anniversary of its international network of photography galleries with an exhibition, Personal Perspectives, running through 2026.

Andreas Voll, chief executive of Leica Camera AG, said the year’s results reflected the company’s broader strategy. “Leica is a company that stands for precision, craftsmanship, design and photographic culture like almost no other,” he said. “The company’s business performance demonstrates the Leica Camera Group’s successful strategic direction, with innovative premium-segment cameras and efforts around appealing to new target groups.” Andreas pointed specifically to the Leica M EV1, the first M-series camera with a built-in electronic viewfinder, and to the company’s first internationally available smartphone, the Leica Leitzphone, as evidence of that direction.

New products across the range

The year brought a steady run of launches. The Leica M EV1 arrived in October 2025 as the first M-camera with an integrated electronic viewfinder, followed in January 2026 by the Noctilux-M 35, a compact, fast lens using precision glass moulding for some of its elements. The SL3 Reporter added a ruggedised system camera to the range, while the Q3 Monochrom was built specifically for black-and-white work. In sports optics, the Ultravid White Ocean binoculars target coastal and marine use, alongside new spotting scopes aimed at nature and landscape photographers.

Leica’s smartphone partnership with Xiaomi also continued, with the Leitzphone unveiled in February 2026. The Leica LUX iPhone app gained an “Artist Looks” feature, letting users shoot in a style associated with photographer Greg Williams. Elsewhere, Leica expanded its Smart Projection business through partnerships with furniture makers YOMEI and USM to integrate the Cine 1 laser TV into their cabinetry, added an Urban Green colourway to the ZM 1 and ZM 2 watches, and continued expanding the international network of its spectacle-lens subsidiary, Eyecare.

Growth at home, caution abroad

Leica said its strongest growth came from its home market of Germany, while describing international markets as still shadowed by geopolitical and economic uncertainty. The company continued expanding its store network into previously unserved regions during the year, built on a selective sales strategy combining retail, auctions and e-commerce that it says has been refined over the past two decades. Leica added that online business contributed around 5% to the group’s year-on-year revenue growth, even as total group revenue fell over the same period.

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