Adidas posts forecast-beating quarterly profit on strong sneaker demand

German sportswear and apparel maker Adidas on Wednesday reported first-quarter sales and profit above expectations, citing growth across all its markets and channels.

First-quarter operating profit jumped 82% to 610 million euros ($692 million), the group said, resulting in a margin of 9.9%. Analysts, in a company-provided consensus, had expected a margin of 8.9% and profit of 546 million euros.

The success of sneakers including Samba and Gazelle has helped Adidas gain further market share from U.S. rival Nike, opens new tab as well as maintain a competitive advantage over newer sportswear brands like On Running and Hoka, opens new tab in uncertain times.

Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden has turned Adidas around since the brand cut ties with rapper Ye and scrapped its lucrative Yeezy sneaker line in October 2022, with the last Yeezy inventories sold at the end of 2024.

First-quarter sales rose 13% to 6.15 billion euros, also higher than the 6.095 billion consensus, Adidas said, adding that excluding sales from the Yeezy line a year earlier quarterly revenue of the Adidas brand was up 17%.

Frankfurt-listed shares in Adidas, which is scheduled to release final first-quarter results on April 29, were 6.2% higher at 1702 GMT.