Adidas posted a strong first quarter, with operating profit climbing 15.6% year-on-year to €705 million. That beat analyst consensus of €647 million by roughly €60 million, and came in above Bernstein’s estimate of €656 million.
Adidas kept its 2026 outlook of high-single-digit sales growth in 2026 after Q1 sales rose to €6.6B, above the €6.3B estimate, and operating profit reached €705M. Apparel grew 31% and performance sports rose 29%, helped by football, running, and training demand. pic.twitter.com/0Tqzm5ZI3r
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) April 29, 2026
Net sales hit €6.6 billion, up 7% in reported euro terms. On a currency-neutral basis, sales grew 14% — well ahead of the ~9% consensus forecast.
Earnings per share came in at €2.70, topping the €2.53 consensus estimate.
CEO Bjørn Gulden called the results “very strong in the current environment,” pointing to broad-based demand across categories and regions.
Performance categories led the way, growing 29% currency-neutral in Q1, up from 27% in Q4 2025. Football, running, and training all contributed.
Apparel was the fastest-growing product line, up 31% currency-neutral to €2.4 billion. Footwear grew 4%, on top of 17% growth in the same quarter last year.
CFO Harm Ohlmeyer flagged the company’s decision to front-load World Cup inventory as a key driver of the quarter. That strategy helped make 14% growth achievable.
The running category also got a lift from the London Marathon, where Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe became the first athlete to finish an official race in under two hours — wearing Adidas shoes.
Direct-to-consumer revenues grew 22% currency-neutral. E-commerce was up 25%, and own retail rose 19%. Wholesale grew a more modest 8%.
Latin America led all regions with 26% currency-neutral growth. Japan and South Korea followed at 23%, and Greater China came in at 17% — 800 basis points above Bernstein’s 9% estimate.
North America returned to double-digit growth at 12% in constant currency, though that translated to just 1% in euro terms due to FX drag.
Europe, the largest market by revenue at €2.09 billion, grew 6%. Gulden noted that some Middle East markets saw sales decline due to the Iran war.
Gross margin slipped to 51.1%, down from 52.1% a year earlier. Currency movements and higher U.S. tariff costs more than offset gains from full-price selling and product mix improvements.
Adidas estimated the combined drag from tariffs and currency will reduce full-year 2026 operating profit by around €400 million, with the hit heaviest in the first half.
Despite the strong Q1, Adidas held its full-year guidance unchanged. The company still forecasts high-single-digit currency-neutral sales growth and operating profit of approximately €2.3 billion for 2026 — about 5% below analyst consensus.
The guidance implies a sharp slowdown for the remainder of the year, with Q2–Q4 operating profit running well below current estimates.
Adidas also announced a share buyback programme of up to €1 billion for 2026.
Gulden flagged rising discounts in lifestyle footwear as a concern, warning that managing product flow to retailers is key to protecting price points.
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