The sporting goods manufacturer Adidas defied the headwinds from tariffs and the strong euro in the first quarter and performed better than expected. The Nike competitor increased its sales and profits significantly and confirmed its forecast. The share price rose significantly in the early morning.
Sales rose by a good 7 percent to around 6.6 billion euros, as the company announced on Wednesday in Herzogenaurach. Adjusted for currency effects, Adidas achieved growth of 14 percent. The strong euro impacted sales by around 350 million euros. Adjusted for currency effects, Adidas grew double-digit percentages in all regions – with the exception of Europe, where an increase of 6 percent was recorded.
The shares rose almost seven percent in early trading. The paper has been doing poorly recently. So far in 2026, the share price has already fallen by around 13 percent; over 12 months, the price has lost almost a third. Analysts praised the numbers. Adidas is benefiting from healthy brand and sales momentum, which is increasingly rare in a challenging and fragmenting sportswear market, noted analyst Piral Dadhania of Canadian bank RBC.
The company’s own retail sector remains the engine of growth
The company recorded robust demand, particularly in its own sales channels. In contrast, the increase in wholesale was weaker – since retailers are currently relying more on discounts due to the uncertain consumer environment, Adidas says it is currently not selling “excessive quantities” to its partners in order to keep the discounts under control. This applies specifically to the lifestyle segment. “Of course we hope that the environment will stabilize and the discounts will normalize, but unfortunately that is out of our hands,” explained CEO Bjørn Gulden.
Despite headwinds from currency effects and customs duties, operating profit rose by 15.5 percent to 705 million euros. Analysts had expected less in terms of both sales and operating results. The profit attributable to shareholders improved by 12.6 percent to 482 million euros.
Adidas hopes for the World Cup
Adidas stuck to its forecast. In the current year, sales are expected to increase by a high single-digit percentage after adjusting for currency effects. In absolute figures, this would be an increase of around 2 billion euros. In 2025, sales of the Adidas brand increased by 13 percent, adjusted for currency effects, to 24.8 billion euros. The operating result is expected to improve from just under 2.1 billion to around 2.3 billion euros. However, tariffs and currency effects are likely to impact profits by 400 million euros.
Adidas is hoping for tailwind from the men’s World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico this summer. “Despite many delivery and transport problems, we have the majority of the products in the markets and are looking forward to a fantastic event that will be great for us,” said Gulden.