German sportswear brand Adidas continued its record-breaking, sector-beating run in the second quarter of 2026.
The company notched up 14 percent sales growth, in currency neutral terms, between April and June, to bring in 6.74 billion euros. This marks Adidas’ highest quarterly net sales ever recorded and also beat market expectations, which were set at 6.63 billion euros.
Adidas had seen a similarly high rate of sales growth in the first quarter. Over the last six months, the German sportswear giant has seen sales growth of 14 percent, in currency adjusted terms, amounting to 13.34 billion euros.
“The business in the quarter was unbelievably strong,” Adidas’ chief executive officer Bjorn Gulden said in a statement. “Fourteen percent growth in this volatile environment … underlines the current strength of both the brand and our products and shows what a fantastic job our people around the world are doing.”
As a result, the company also adjusted its guidance for the year slightly. Previously Adidas had expected growth in the high single digits for the full year but now forecasts growth of between 9 and 10 percent for all of 2026. Its predictions on operating profit — it’s expected to rise to 230 million euros — remained unchanged.
During the quarter, Adidas saw double-digit growth in all markets except Europe, its home market and also its largest. There sales grew only 6 percent.
In the recent past, Gulden has stated that he wasn’t worried about the European market, explaining that Europe likely had the highest level of consumer uncertainty in a volatile market environment as well as the highest level of discounting.
In its second-largest market, North America, Adidas notched up 17 percent sales growth
The biggest increases for the brand came in Latin America, where Adidas sales rocketed 28 percent, followed by Japan and South Korea, where they climbed 18 percent.
In Greater China, Adidas notched up 15 percent sales growth with the emerging markets category growing by 12 percent.
In his statement, Gulden noted that Adidas’ apparel business was “on fire.” Apparel sales soared 35 percent over the second quarter to bring in 2.72 billion euros.
Footwear sales only went up 1 percent. Footwear is Adidas’ mainstay and was worth 3.5 billion euros over the quarter. Although sports performance shoes were doing well, Gulden noted that the lifestyle footwear market “is currently under pressure due to heavy discounting at many retailers, especially in Europe, but also in many other markets.” Observers are likely to ask whether Adidas’ long, successful run with the “terrace shoe” trend has finally come to an end.
Sales of Adidas accessories increased by 20 percent.
Despite a significant increase in marketing during the World Cup this quarter, Adidas was also able to increase its operating profit between April and June. This rose 5.1 percent to hit 574 million euros, although the figure was still around 49 million euros below market expectations. It also resulted in a lower -than-expected profit margin of 8.5 percent.
