Adidas shares drop after sales miss expectations

Adidas logo pictured at Futurecraft shoe launch in New York, 6 April, 2017.
Reuters

Adidas saw its shares drop 7.5% in early Wednesday trading after second-quarter sales came in below expectations and the company warned of an added €200 million ($231 million) cost burden from new U.S. tariffs in the second half of 2024.

Despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly profits, CEO Bjorn Gulden cited uncertainty from U.S. trade policies under President Trump. 

"We still do not know what the final tariffs in the U.S. will be," CEO Bjorn Gulden said in a statement. Another unknown is the indirect impact on consumer demand if the tariffs cause 'major inflation', he added.

Sales rose 2.2% to €5.95 billion ($6.9 billion), falling short of the €6.2 billion forecast by analysts.

The sales slowdown comes after a period of strong growth driven by popular products like the Samba and Gazelle sneakers, raising concerns that Adidas may be losing steam.

"For investors to view this as a temporary setback, the company will need to deliver a reassuring message regarding the outlook for H2 and the early 2026 order book," UBS analyst Robert Krankowski said in a note to clients.

U.S. tariffs targeting Vietnamese and Indonesian goods—Adidas' top sourcing countries are set to impact the brand heavily, with inventories rising 16% to €5.26 billion as Adidas frontloaded orders to avoid tariff hikes.

Tags