Adidas raises 2024 guidance again, citing good brand momentum

Adidas on Tuesday raised its full-year sales and profit guidance, citing better than expected performance in the third quarter and good brand momentum as it benefits from demand for its retro three-striped Samba and Gazelle shoes.

Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden has helped reboot the German sportswear brand since its break-up with rapper Ye two years ago abruptly ended its lucrative Yeezy sneaker line.

Adidas raised its forecasts for the third time this year, saying it now expected currency-neutral revenues to increase by around 10% this year, having previously forecast a high single-digit rate.

The sportswear maker also upgraded its profit forecast for the year to 1.2 billion euros ($1.31 billion) from 1 billion euros.

Its retro “terrace” shoes, such as the Samba, a soccer shoe popular in the 1970s, have helped Adidas gain market share from its arch-rival Nike, which reported a 10.4% drop in sales in its most recent quarter.

Over the third quarter, Adidas revenue grew 7% to 6.438 billion euros, slightly above analysts’ estimates of 6.416 billion euros. Excluding sales of Yeezy shoes in both years, the increase was of 14% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

There was huge demand for Adidas’ remaining stock of Yeezy shoes when it first started selling off its inventory, but lately Adidas has offered discounts on the sneakers.

The company said it expected no further profit contribution from sales of remaining Yeezy shoes in the fourth quarter, which it said would bring in around 50 million euros in revenue.