HERZOGENAURACH (dpa-AFX) - Sportswear giant Adidas achieved record sales last year and significantly boosted its operating profit, overcoming negative impacts such as US tariff policies and a strong euro. CEO Björn Gulden and his management team remain confident about the company's future outlook. Thanks to robust cash flows, Adidas also announced plans for share buybacks worth billions.
The statements were very well received by the market on Friday. The DAX-listed share rose 4.4 percent in early trading. However, the stock has been on a downward trend for some time, making it difficult to break out. Over the past 12 months, the stock has lost more than 40 percent, and before the release of the key figures this year, it was down around 16 percent. To reverse the negative trend, the price would need to approach the 168 euro mark. In the morning, the stock was trading at around 150 euros.
Last year ended on a promising note, praised UBS analyst Robert Krankowski. Adidas defied concerns about European markets, the industry's discount battles, and US tariff policy. The announced share buyback program is also at the upper end of expectations. Since the fourth quarter is relatively insignificant, the focus is on the outlook. Currently, the market expects high single-digit percentage sales growth for 2026. The double-digit growth in the past quarter could reinforce the assessment that the previous targets do not signal a slowdown, but rather reflect Adidas's typically conservative guidance.
The margin, in particular, was well received in trading. This shows that Adidas managed to sell its products at good prices even in a period marked by discount campaigns, said Felix Dennl of Bankhaus Metzler.
According to preliminary figures, Adidas brand sales rose by 13 percent on a currency-neutral basis last year, the company announced Thursday evening. Despite negative currency effects of over one billion euros, total revenues increased from 23.7 to 24.8 billion euros. The gross margin — a key metric closely watched by analysts — improved by 0.8 percentage points to 51.6 percent. Operating profit rose by more than 700 million to just under 2.1 billion euros.
"I am once again very proud of what our teams have achieved," said CEO Björn Gulden. Despite numerous external disruptions such as US tariff policy and unfavorable currency effects, Adidas achieved double-digit growth and more than doubled its operating profit in the fourth quarter. 2025 turned out much better for Adidas than planned and expected at the start of the year. Gulden also praised the high sell-through at full price, noting that Adidas was able to "keep discounts under control."
Looking ahead, Gulden expressed optimism about continuing to grow globally and gain market share. "Our confidence in Adidas's future sales and profit growth, as well as in its cash flow generation, is also why we have now decided to launch a share buyback," Gulden said. The volume is expected to reach up to one billion euros. The shares will be retired.
Final business results for 2025 are scheduled to be published on March 4. A forecast for the current year will also be provided at that time./nas/err/jha/
