Adidas is down 3%. The company was not helped by record sales and higher forecasts

Adidas shares fell more than 3% despite raising its full-year profit forecast by €200-300 million to €2 billion, as the German sportswear and footwear maker overcame weak global demand in 2025. Investors are now closely awaiting the company's official report, due to be published in a week's time, as well as plans to promote retro sneakers and prepare for major sporting events in 2026.

Shares in German sportswear maker Adidas fell 2.9 percent in Frankfurt trading on Oct. 22, despite raising its full-year profit forecast. Thanks to strong demand for retro sneakers and a smaller-than-expected impact from U.S. duties, the company now expects its operating profit to be around €2 billion in 2025, Adidas said in a statement ahead of its third-quarter report on Oct. 29. The new target is €200-300 million higher than the manufacturer's own previous estimate, but it was fully in line with analysts' forecasts, the Financial Times points out .

According to the publication's sources , Adidas expects the impact of US duties in the second half of the year to be around €100 million, half what it had previously thought.

According to the company's preliminary results for the third quarter, operating profit rose to € 736 million from € 598 million a year earlier and exceeded analysts' forecasts, who expected the figure to be € 694 million. Revenue increased by about 8% to € 6.63 billion, which was the highest quarterly sales in the history of Adidas, the FT calculated. At the same time, analysts expected a little more, notes Bloomberg. Revenue was partly held back by the negative impact of currency fluctuations, the company explained.

From the upcoming report, in addition to the numbers directly, investors are expecting details of marketing initiatives and product plans ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics and World Cup, Morningstar writes.

Adidas' market value has fallen 20% since the start of the year, while shares of rival Nike, which has started to show signs of recovery, have fallen in price by about 7%.

The German manufacturer faced several challenges. First, people around the world were buying less sportswear. Second, U.S. import duties made goods more expensive and affected profits. The company is trying to mitigate this by raising prices on some products in the U.S. and reducing shipments from countries most affected by U.S. trade measures, such as China.

Now Adidas is trying to extend the success of its popular retro sneakers, such as Samba and Gazelle, to the apparel and footwear lines for running and basketball, Bloomberg writes. CEO Bjorn Gulden noted that the company's sports segment is growing strongly across all categories and regions.

According to Morningstar analysts, the price of the company's securities already reflects expected margin expansion and moderate sales growth. They raised their fair value estimate for Adidas shares from €182 to €183, but the new target is still below current quotes.

SimplyWallStreet analysts' benchmark is higher at €237, suggesting a potential upside of a quarter. Expectations are linked to increasing demand for Adidas' sports and casualwear products, global diversification of the business and expansion of direct sales channels. Innovation, successful product line relaunches and sustainability initiatives strengthen the brand, support premium pricing and increase long-term customer loyalty, SimplyWallStreet said .

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor