TCF POST Analysis

adidas reported record quarterly revenue and operating profit for Q3 2026, led by a 19% jump in apparel sales and strong direct-to-consumer (DTC) demand, and raised its full-year profit guidance. Revenue rose 9% to €7.25 billion (7% currency-neutral), and operating profit climbed 37% to €1.01 billion, with the operating margin at 13.9%. adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden noted the quarter with the highest sales ever, amounting to € 7,252 million.

“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. Our fantastic designers and development teams have created new apparel collections that are globally in high demand and currently fueling our lifestyle business,” he said. “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.”

By product and category (currency-neutral)

  • Apparel: Up 19%, with double-digit growth in Originals and Football and gains in Sportswear, Running and Training. Nine-month apparel growth is 28%.
  • Footwear: Flat, as adidas kept wholesale sell-in conservative to protect full-price franchises in a promotional market. DTC footwear grew 6%, with double-digit gains in Running and Training. Nine-month growth is 1%.
  • Accessories: Up 5% (12% over nine months).
  • Performance: Up 14%, driven by double-digit growth in Running, Training and Football.
  • Running: adidas athletes took all six podium spots at the Berlin Marathon in the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3. The Adizero Adios Pro 5 and Hyperboost Run launched in the quarter.
  • Training: The first Originals Sport collection for women saw exceptional sell-out rates, and new Adizero Dropset drops kept momentum going.
  • Football: Demand carried over from the all-adidas World Cup final, with kit launches for Arsenal, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester United.
  • Other: New NCAA partnerships with Tennessee and Penn State boosted US Sports, and Motorsport, Outdoor, Tennis and Golf also grew.
  • Lifestyle: Up 3%, led by double-digit growth in Originals apparel (Firebird, adicolor, the new adiSignature line, and collaborations with Jennie, Arte Antwerp and Simone Rocha).
  • Footwear: Superstar, Low Profile, Samba, Handball Spezial, Japan and Tokyo kept growing. Gulden called the segment challenging because of excess inventory and discounting across the market, which he expects to normalize.

By channel

  • DTC: Up 17%, with e-commerce up 18% and own retail up 16%.
  • Wholesale: Up 2%, held back by the conservative sell-in approach, especially in Europe.

By market (currency-neutral)

  • Japan/South Korea: +19%
  • Latin America: +16%
  • Emerging Markets: +15%, despite disruption in several Middle Eastern countries from regional conflict
  • Greater China: +13%
  • North America: +12%
  • Europe: -4%. DTC grew at a high-single-digit rate, but wholesale was hit by cautious sell-in and a planned SAP migration that pushed some shipments and revenue into Q4. adidas expects Europe to return to high-single-digit growth in Q4.

Profitability and balance sheet

  • Gross margin rose 2.5 points to 54.3%, helped by a tariff refund of about €200 million, healthy full-price sales and favorable channel mix. Currency and higher US tariffs weighed on it.
  • Marketing and point-of-sale spending rose 4% to €833 million, falling to 11.5% of sales as spending normalized after the World Cup.
  • Net income from continuing operations rose 48% to €711 million, with EPS of €4.06.
  • Inventories fell 4% from the previous quarter to €5.7 billion, though they were up 5% year on year. Operating working capital rose 8%.
  • The leverage ratio improved to 1.3x from 1.6x.

Nine-month snapshot

Revenue reached €20.6 billion (+11% currency-neutral), operating profit rose 21% to €2.3 billion, and apparel grew 28%. adidas also completed a €1 billion share buyback and cancelled 6 million shares.

Outlook

adidas now expects currency-neutral revenue growth of 9% to 10% for 2026 and operating profit of around €2.5 billion, up from about €2.3 billion. That reflects roughly €100 million from stronger underlying profitability and the €200 million tariff refund, minus about €100 million it plans to reinvest in Q4 in initiatives for future operating leverage.