Adidas is predicting better-than-expected third-quarter results ahead of its official report this month.
On Tuesday, the German athletic company noted that it has increased its operating profit outlook for the full year 2026 following record top and bottom-line third-quarter results.
Based on preliminary figures for the third quarter, revenues increased 9 percent to a record 7.25 billion euros. In currency-neutral terms, revenues grew 7 percent in the quarter. The company’s gross margin improved by 2.5 percentage points and reached a level of 54.3 percent. Third-quarter operating profit increased 37 percent to 1.01 billion, the highest quarterly level on record, Adidas said.
During the quarter, the company said it received the majority of its U.S. tariff claims. The company recorded a corresponding refund of around 200 million euros, which contributed to the gross margin improvement. In addition to the tariff refund, the strong gross margin development was driven by healthy full-price sales, while unfavorable currency developments had a negative impact.
Following the better-than-expected third-quarter results, the company now expects its currency-neutral revenue growth of between 9 percent and 10 percent in the full year 2026 to lead to higher profitability.
Specifically, the company expects operating profit to be around 100 million euros higher than previously assumed. Considering both the around 100 million euros from the higher profitability of its growth and the around 200 million euros tariff refund, the company is now set to increase operating profit to 2.6 billion euros in 2026.
In light of this development, Adidas said it has decided to reinvest around 100 million euros in the fourth quarter into initiatives enabling greater operating leverage in the future, in line with its already communicated mid-term profitability targets. As a result, Adidas now projects full-year operating profit to increase to a level of around 2.5 billion euros in 2026. This is up from its previous call for full-year operating profit around 2.3 billion euros.
Adidas chief executive officer Bjørn Gulden doubled down in a statement, noting that the company had another “great quarter.”
“We achieved the highest revenue ever in a quarter and the highest operating profit ever,” the CEO noted. “Our brand, our product and our people are our strength.”
Gulden added that the company’s investment and creativity in marketing have created brand heat and again made Adidas an “attractive” brand globally.
“Our investment in innovation is paying off, not only by great wins, stories and performances, but also with strong and profitable growth in football, running and training,” Gulden said. “Our fantastic designers and development teams have created new apparel collections that are globally in high demand and currently fueling our lifestyle business.”
He also acknowledged that the lifestyle footwear business remains challenging mainly due to too much inventory and excess discounting in the marketplace. “We know this will soon normalize again,” Gulden added. “In this environment we are not trying to maximize the short-term. Instead, we remain disciplined, continue to strengthen our foundation for sustainable and profitable growth and stay focused on our mid-term targets.”
Adidas will publish its official financial results for the third quarter on Oct. 29.