Its sales are down 2% this year. This disappointing performance concludes a decade of stagnation - even a clear decrease after inflation - and poor profitability on external growth operations.

The North Face, the jewel in the crown, saved the day, with sales growth of 12% in dollars. Geographically, the decline in North America is confirmed, while the commercial dynamics remain rather good in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The management promises a cash profit of $900 million for the year 2024. We'll have to take him at his word on this one, since operations are burning through exactly the same amount - $900 million - in fiscal year 2023.

That's a far cry from the $1.5 billion in free cash flow per year achieved by VF at the beginning of the decade...

With equal sales - about $11.5 billion - over the period, the market capitalization is divided by three in ten years: this is because in addition to the stagnation of sales, and despite repeated price increases, the group is undergoing a continuous compression of its margins.

In the meantime, net debt has been multiplied by seven to finance excessive dividends and share buybacks. These buybacks have been made at excessively high valuations, typically in excess of x20 earnings.

Of course, no more share buybacks now that valuations are at historic lows. Look for the logic...