Driven by a positive analyst comment from Canadian bank RBC, Adidas shares remained on a recovery path on Wednesday. The sporting goods manufacturer’s shares rose by a good one percent to 169.10 euros by midday and are heading for their fourth day of profits in a row.
The Dax, on the other hand, had recently come under pressure. The German leading index is currently 0.7 percent in the red.
RBC analyst Piral Dadhania found words of praise for Adidas: The Herzogenaurach company now offers easily predictable earnings growth that ranks at the top end of the industry. In this respect, the share valuation is still cheap.
The US bank Citigroup was also generally positive. Their quarterly “Citi Athletic Survey” shows that in China the willingness of consumers to purchase Adidas products is increasing. Chinese people continue to prefer international brands over domestic brands, although preference for the latter is increasing. In North America and Europe, however, the propensity to buy Adidas is decreasing somewhat.
Shares of competitor Puma fell by 1.7 percent, more than the MDax of medium-sized stocks. RBC expert Dadhania also commented on this value. It is still too early for a more optimistic assessment, as the sporting goods manufacturer will be in a transition year in 2026.
Dadhania also went to the sidelines at Nike. With the US competitor, investors would need patience. The company’s turnaround is making progress under CEO Elliott Hill, but the pace and extent are slower than expected. Nike’s shares were down 1.5 percent in premarket US trading.
Meanwhile, investors in sporting goods manufacturers have been watching the Football World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, which starts on Thursday, for weeks. All three brands are on board as team suppliers. Adidas was there for the last time as an outfitter for the DFB team. In the future, the German jerseys will be provided by Nike.
Shortly before the start of the World Cup, the US government is expecting a record number of visitors, despite discussions about high travel costs and the political situation in the country. The World Cup will be the best attended in history, US tourism representative Nick Adams told the German Press Agency.
Recent data suggests increasing demand, said Adams, citing figures from service provider Cirium. Airlines created around a million additional seats on routes between Europe and the USA between June and October due to expected demand.
However, it is questionable whether investors can benefit permanently from the World Cup, wrote Marc Decker, co-head of equities at Quintet, the parent company of private bank Merck Finck, recently. The world football association FIFA generates billions in revenue, while companies can emotionally charge their brands globally. However, studies and market analyzes have shown that this attention has only a limited impact on sustainable share price gains.
According to Decker, the reasons for this are obvious: for globally diversified corporations, the direct financial effects of a World Cup are often too small to significantly change the fundamental valuation. In addition, expected sales impulses are usually priced in early by the markets. Investors ultimately reacted more strongly to margin development, growth prospects or interest rate expectations than to major sporting events.