29 April 2025
If you are covering the latest financial results from Adidas, please find below a comment from Mamta Valechha, consumer discretionary analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
“Adidas once again pre-released its first quarter numbers last week, which came in ahead of expectations. Total sales grew 17%, which is a continuation from the strong trends seen at the end of last year. But as with any company, what investors really care about right now is the outlook statement and exactly what impact tariffs are likely to have.
“Adidas will be hit significantly by the uncertainty created by the various tariff announcements, making it very difficult for the company to plan ahead. At this stage it is difficult to quantify the exact impact and therefore has prevented an upgrade to full year guidance. Given the strong brand momentum and earnings power increasing, management will be disappointed to find events out of their control preventing further impetus. Guidance is for double-digit revenue growth and operating profit of 7%, but for now those numbers look uncertain.
“So far this year, Adidas has been seeing double digit sales growth across all regions and channels, with wholesale outperforming the direct-to-consumer offering. Footwear continues to be a strong performer, with consumers also opting for lifestyle clothing, while the performance category also continues to do well. Adidas will hope these trends continue in the face of the economic uncertainty created by tariffs in the US, but unfortunately we very much have to wait and see before the full impact comes through.”
