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Adidas has reported a strong start to the 2026 financial year, with first-quarter revenues increasing 14% on a currency-neutral basis to €6.6bn (£5.72bn).
The group’s operating profit rose 16% to €705m (£611m), representing an operating margin of 10.7%. Net income from continuing operations also grew 11% to reach €484m (£419.4m) during the period.
Growth was driven by the direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel, which saw a 22% increase to €2.48bn (£2.15bn) in currency-neutral net sales. E-commerce also grew 25% while own retail rose 19%.
Additionally, wholesale revenues increased 8% to €4.08bn (£3.54bn) as the company maintained a conservative sell-in approach in Europe and North America.
Performance across product divisions was broad-based, led by a 31% increase in apparel revenues to €2.42bn (£2.10bn) and 4% growth in footwear to €3.69bn (£3.20bn). The company noted significant demand for its football, running, and training categories ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Despite an underlying improvement in margin through full-price sales, the gross margin decreased 1.0 percentage points to 51.1%. This decline was attributed to external headwinds including higher US tariffs and unfavourable currency translation impacts.
Regionally, the group recorded a 5% growth in revenues in Europe to €2.09bn (£1.81bn), while North America and Great China saw sales grow by 12% and 17% to €1.2bn (£1.04bn) and €1.13bn (£980m) respectively.
The group stated that the current trading environment is characterised by macroeconomic challenges and elevated uncertainty. As a result, looking ahead, the group expects currency-neutral sales to increase at a high-single-digit rate in 2026, reflecting growth of around €2.0bn (£1.73bn) in absolute terms.
The full-year impact of higher US tariffs and unfavorable currency developments are expected to weigh on operating profit in an amount of around €400m (£346.6m).
Despite these headwinds, the company continues to expect profitability to further improve in 2026 and projects operating profit to increase to a level of around €2.3bn (£2bn).
Bjørn Gulden, chief executive, said: “I am very proud of the results our teams delivered in the first quarter. Sales growth of 14% to €6.6bn (£5.72bn) and almost €100m (£86.6m) more operating profit to €705m (£611m) is very strong in the current environment.
“The general retail environment is currently very volatile and heavily discounted in many markets, especially in lifestyle footwear. The discipline of not overselling into retailers is therefore currently crucial. We do, of course, hope the environment stabilizes and that discounts will normalize, but this is unfortunately not in our control. We will continue to focus on keeping our discounts under control, deliver fresh and innovative products to the markets, and use sports events and other culturally relevant activities to connect with consumers.”
He added: We are now ready for the World Cup. Despite many supply and transportation issues, we have most of the product in the markets and look forward to a fantastic event that will be great for us. But there is, of course, more to it. The world needs these sports events, where people from all over the world with all possible backgrounds come together to celebrate. Sports and sporting events have the power to change people’s lives and to make the world a better place to live.”
