BERLIN – Germany sportswear giant Adidas continued to beat its own expectations and to outdo struggling competitors.
The company announced sales growth of 10 percent, on a currency-neutral basis, in the third quarter of this year. Sales between July and September were 6.44 billion euros, versus 5.99 billion euros in the same prior-year period.
“The third quarter was a very strong quarter for us and again better than expected,” the company’s chief executive officer Bjørn Gulden said in a statement. “This shows the strength of the Adidas brand and is a result of the great job our people are doing in all markets and all functions.”
In mid-October, Adidas had already raised its guidance for the year, due to the third-quarter results it announced officially on Tuesday morning in Germany. Instead of growth increasing at a mid-single-digit rate, the company now expects growth of around 10 percent for the full year. This is the third time that Adidas has raised its guidance in 2024.
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Over the first nine months of this year, Adidas’ net sales equaled 17.72 billion euros. Last year, the company made 16.62 billion euros over the same period.
The sportswear brand’s operating profit also increased significantly in the third quarter of 2024, rising to 598 million euros. Adidas now expects its operating profit for the year to come in at 1.2 billion euros, instead of just 1 billion euros.
In terms of sales territories, Adidas brought in 2.15 billion euros in its home market of Europe, equating to an increase of 18 percent in currency neutral terms over the third quarter.
In North America, sales fell 7 percent in currency-neutral terms to 1.36 billion euros.
“The decline [in North America] was solely related to the significantly smaller Yeezy business,” Adidas said. “Excluding Yeezy, revenues in North America increased versus the prior year.”
Adidas has been dealing with a hangover from the end of its business relationship with the musician Ye, formerly Kanye West. The end of the collaboration in 2022 and the highly profitable Yeezy line has dragged on Adidas’ accounts, but the traumatic chapter should come to an end this year. Over the third quarter, sales of the remaining Yeezy stock brought in 200 million euros, the German company said. Over the last quarter of the year, Yeezy is likely to bring in another 50 million euros after which the line will finish.
Elsewhere, Adidas’ revenues also grew. They increased 18 percent on a currency-neutral basis in Japan and South Korea, with sales of to 361 million euros. Revenues also rose in Greater China to 946 million euros, equaling a 9 percent increase in currency-neutral terms.
Similar growth came from the Emerging Markets category, with sales there totaling 910 million euros, reflecting a 16 percent currency-neutral increase and in Latin America, with 677 million euros in sales adding up to a 28.4 percent gain.
Gulden expressed satisfaction with the product mix that had brought Adidas such good results. “Double-digit growth in both Lifestyle and Performance shows the currently good ‘balance’ in our business,” he stated. The heat that the brand currently has on the street offers an “opportunity to connect with a new generation of consumers both in lifestyle and performance,” the executive said.
Adidas footwear revenues rose 14 percent on a currency-neutral basis, apparel was up 5 percent and accessories — a sector that had been struggling over the past quarters — also returned to growth, with an increase of 10 percent. Adidas’ retro footwear models — Samba, Gazelle, Campus and Speziale — continue to trend around the world and, although the company didn’t provide specifics, it said its Lifestyle segment’s sales had grown by double digits over the quarter.
