Adidas shares rise as strong third quarter drives 2026 guidance hike

Oct 21 — Adidas shares rose 3.3% in early Frankfurt trade on ​Wednesday, after the German sportswear group raised its full-year outlook on the back of strong third-quarter results.

Adidas ‌has been investing in rolling out new styles as the popularity ⁠of its Samba and ​Gazelle sneakers gradually fades, including ⁠the launch of its lightest‑ever racing shoe, the Adizero ‌Adios Pro Evo ‌3, which helped Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe ⁠crack the two‑hour marathon ⁠barrier in April.

The group said in an unscheduled preliminary earnings statement on Tuesday that it expected its 2026 operating profit to be around €100 million ($112 million) higher than previously anticipated, not counting a ‌US tariff refund of €200 million ​recorded in the third quarter.

In total, it sees annual operating earnings of €2.5 billion, instead of the previous €2.3 billion goal, when accounting for the refund and a reinvestment of €100 million planned for the fourth quarter.

The surprise update provided "another compelling proof point of ​Adidas continuing to expand market share while delivering ‌profitable growth amid ‌a ⁠challenging environment", Metzler analysts said in a note to investors.

J.P. Morgan analysts wrote that excluding the impact from tariffs, Adidas' quarterly gross profit and underlying operating ‌profit exceeded market expectations by ​2% and 9%, respectively.

($1 = ‌0.8910 euros)

(Reporting by ⁠Tristan Veyet ​in Gdansk and Alessandro Parodi in Paris, editing by ​Milla Nissi-Prussak)

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