The global sportswear brand reported preliminary third-quarter revenue of €7.252 billion, an increase of 9% compared with the prior-year period. On a currency-neutral basis, revenue grew by 7%.
Operating profit climbed 37% to €1.008 billion, marking the highest quarterly operating profit in the company’s history. Gross margin also improved by 2.5 percentage points to 54.3%.
The results prompted adidas to revise its profitability expectations, while maintaining its focus on sustainable growth and investment in future business performance.
Record results drive a stronger profit outlook
Following its better-than-expected third-quarter performance, adidas expects currency-neutral revenue growth of between 9% and 10% for the full year 2026.
The company said stronger profitability from this growth is expected to contribute approximately €100 million more to operating profit than previously anticipated.
A further boost came from the US tariff refunds received during the quarter. adidas said it received the majority of its US tariff claims and recorded a corresponding refund of around €200 million.
Together, the higher profitability expected from growth and the tariff refund would put operating profit at approximately €2.6 billion before the company’s planned additional investment.
However, adidas has decided to reinvest around €100 million during the fourth quarter into initiatives designed to improve operating leverage in the future.
As a result, the company now projects full-year 2026 operating profit of around €2.5 billion, up from its previous outlook of approximately €2.3 billion.
The additional investment is intended to support the company’s longer-term profitability ambitions, in line with its previously communicated mid-term targets.
Strong margins, but footwear faces challenges
The improvement in adidas’ gross margin reflects several factors. The company said the approximately €200 million tariff refund contributed to the increase, alongside healthy full-price sales.
Unfavourable currency developments, however, had a negative impact on gross margin.
While the overall results were strong, adidas also acknowledged challenges in its lifestyle footwear business. According to CEO Bjørn Gulden, excess inventory and heavy discounting across the marketplace are putting pressure on this part of the business.
Gulden said the company believes the situation will normalise, while emphasising that adidas is not prioritising short-term profit maximisation at the expense of its longer-term objectives.
Instead, the company intends to remain disciplined, strengthen its foundations and continue working towards its mid-term profitability targets.
Football, Running and Training support growth
Beyond the headline financial figures, adidas pointed to its investments in marketing, innovation, product development and design as important contributors to its performance.
The company said its marketing investments and creative work have helped generate strong interest in the brand globally.
Innovation is also delivering results, with adidas highlighting profitable growth in Football, Running and Training. The company further reported strong global demand for new apparel collections created by its design and development teams, which are currently supporting its lifestyle business.
These developments underline the importance of balancing performance-led products with lifestyle collections as adidas works to sustain demand across different consumer categories.
Gulden credited the company’s brand, products and employees for the quarter’s performance, highlighting the role of teams working across its global markets.
Bjørn Gulden: “A great quarter for adidas”
adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden described the latest performance as a significant achievement, pointing to the company’s record revenue and operating profit.
“A great quarter for adidas. We achieved the highest revenue ever in a quarter with €7,252 million and the highest operating profit ever with €1,008 million. Our brand, our product and our people are our strength.”
Gulden also highlighted the contribution of marketing and innovation, particularly in performance categories and apparel.
“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.”
He acknowledged that footwear lifestyle remains challenging but reiterated the company’s commitment to strengthening its business for the long term.
“Yes, the footwear lifestyle business is currently challenging, mainly due to too much inventory and too much discounting in the marketplace, but we know this will soon normalize again. 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.”
People and local markets remain central to the strategy
Gulden also stressed the importance of understanding consumers and their local cultures, saying that empowering teams in individual markets is essential to achieving that goal.
He praised adidas employees around the world for their energy, commitment to consumers and athletes, passion for the brand and team spirit.
“We need to be close to the consumer and their local culture and we are convinced the only way you can achieve this is by empowering our teams in the markets! That is why people are so important and why our people are our main asset.”
His comments reflect the company’s emphasis on local market knowledge and employee contribution as it pursues further growth in a volatile and complicated global environment.
adidas looks ahead after a record quarter
The preliminary third-quarter results give adidas a stronger basis for its revised 2026 operating profit outlook. The company is balancing stronger expected profitability with planned reinvestment, while continuing to address pressure in its lifestyle footwear business.
With revenue growth, healthy full-price sales and performance categories contributing to its results, adidas is positioning its next phase around sustainable and profitable growth rather than short-term gains alone.
The company is scheduled to publish its final third-quarter financial results on 29 October 2026, when further details on its performance will be available.
