Stock: Adidas attempts new recovery after strong start to the year

Strong preliminary results from Adidas catapulted the sporting goods manufacturer's shares to the top of the leading index on Wednesday, posting significant gains.

Around midday, it rose by almost 7 percent to 147.30 euros in the slightly weaker Dax . At the start of trading, it had temporarily reached 149.25 euros, its highest level since early March.

The general outlook for Adidas, however, remains rather bleak. Looking at the start of the year, there is still a deficit of almost 13 percent. Since the downward trend began in mid-February 2025, the loss has amounted to 44 percent.

Analyst Richard Edwards from the US bank Goldman Sachs does not expect any changes to market estimates given the confirmed annual targets, but praised Adidas' surprisingly strong operating result in the first quarter. This was further supported by currency-neutral sales growth.

Piral Dadhania from the Canadian bank RBC noted, however, that revenue growth was unevenly distributed and particularly low in the footwear segment. While sales in this category increased by only 4 percent on a comparable basis, the increase in the apparel segment was around 31 percent. There, double-digit percentage growth rates in the football; running; training; motorsport; and Originals categories drove revenues.

The debate about Adidas among investors could now shift in a more constructive direction after the strong first quarter, wrote Jefferies analyst James Grzinic, who rates the stock as “Buy” with a price target of 190 euros.

He particularly highlighted the company's robustness. This is demonstrated by its growth momentum, the resilience of the gross margin despite high tariffs and currency headwinds, and its cost control.

“We may have to wait until the third quarter, however, to get a clearer, non-event-driven impression of Adidas' brand popularity,” he noted. Before then, it could become clearer to what extent the latest innovations, particularly the Hyperboost and Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 running shoes, can mitigate the risk of the Terrace segment's advancing market maturity.

Grzinic is aware that sceptics could, however, attribute part of the strong business performance to temporary sales effects due to this year's upcoming World Cup. Furthermore, the further build-up of inventories is also likely to be scrutinised, although he believes that supply chain uncertainties justify the early procurement of products.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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