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Global collectors have given auction houses a Christmas present: a projected uptick in full-year revenue that marks a reversal from recent years of decline.
The “Big Three” – Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips – have reported a combined projected total revenue of US$14.1 billion for 2025, up roughly 10 per cent from 2024.
“The first half was solid and stable. I feel even better at the end of the year, as a great second half gave us an even stronger finish,” Christie’s CEO Bonnie Brennan told the Post on December 15, after the company posted a 6 per cent increase in projected sales to US$6.2 billion – a figure that includes both auctions and private sales.
Another encouraging sign came two days later, when Sotheby’s announced a 17 per cent jump in its projected sales to US$7 billion. This was followed on December 19 by Phillips’ announcement of a 10 per cent jump that took its 2025 total to US$927 million.
But the recovery in Asia is lagging behind that seen in the United States and Europe, at least in terms of auction sales.
Christie’s Asian auction sales – which mostly take place in Hong Kong, where Sotheby’s and Phillips also have their Asia headquarters – contracted by 5 per cent, while auction sales in the Americas surged 15 per cent and were up 2 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
