Sotheby’s is projecting $7.0 billion in consolidated 2025 sales, a 17 percent increase over last year and the strongest result in the company’s history.
Auction sales rose 26 percent to $5.7 billion, accelerating sharply in the second half. Private sales came in at $1.2 billion, down slightly, while the categories of global fine art and luxury posting double-digit gains.
The company benefited from a surge of high-quality consignments: Fine art sales reached $4.3 billion (+15%), boosted by major estates including the Leonard A. Lauder Collection—the most valuable auction collection of the year—and the $236.4 million Klimt, Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer. Luxury sales climbed to $2.7 billion, up 22 percent, marking the division’s fourth consecutive year above the $2 billion mark. RM Sotheby’s surpassed $1 billion for the first time, propelled by demand for top-tier automobiles and the most expensive new Ferrari ever sold at auction.
Related Articles
Engagement metrics also hit historic highs, the auction house said. Across more than 450 auctions in nine countries, Sotheby’s reported an 87 percent sell-through rate, 4.5 bidders per lot, and a 161 percent hammer-to-low-estimate aggregate, all higher than in 2024. New bidders accounted for 35 percent of all participants, with buyers under 40 comprising 17 percent in fine art and 29 percent in luxury.
The opening of Sotheby’s new global headquarters at the Breuer Building served as the commercial centerpiece of the year. Six white-glove sales during the inaugural week brought in $1.17 billion, including the highest total for Modern art sold at Sotheby’s in a single week. The Breuer drew 25,000 visitors to its November preview, and December’s Luxury Week nearly doubled last year’s foot traffic.
What the Numbers Tell Us
Sotheby’s year-end results show a market rediscovering its appetite for top-quality material. The supply was there, the audience was there, and the Breuer provided the stage. While the market has not returned to post-pandemic highs, Sotheby’s managed to engineer heat through well-timed programming, geographic expansion, and deft category management. (Did you catch that neckless?)
The most important shift is strategic rather than cyclical: Sotheby’s now presents itself as a cross-category marketplace, not merely a fine art institution. Nowhere was this more evident than the company’s rapid Middle East expansion. In February, Sotheby’s staged the first-ever international auction in Saudi Arabia. In December, the company launched Collectors’ Week in Abu Dhabi, generating $133.4 million in sales across cars, watches, jewelry, real estate, and handbags. The format—part exhibition, part luxury fair—helped drive record years in watches, jewelry (up ~18%), and handbags, including the $10.1 million Hermès Birkin.
The through-line is obvious: luxury is bringing in new clients, and Sotheby’s is building the infrastructure to capture and retain those buyers. RM Sotheby’s record-breaking year, the surge in watch sales, and the performance of sports and science categories (including a $30.5 million Ceratosaurus) illustrate a business increasingly insulated from the supply volatility of fine art.
But the headline momentum masks several asymmetries. Private sales softened. Much of the growth is concentrated in the second half of the year and tied to the Breuer’s high-profile launch the trophy works in the Lauder sale. And while younger bidders are entering the system, their share of high-value fine art remains relatively modest—more a sign of widening participation than generational turnover.
Still, the broader pattern is unmistakable. Like Christie’s, Sotheby’s working to produce gains across categories and geographies in a clear effort to insulate itself to the vagaries of art supply and the uneven nature of global liquidity. Whether that momentum carries into 2026 will depend on the depth of next year’s supply—and on whether the house can turn the Breuer’s debut into a baseline, rather than a crescendo.
