BERLIN — Uncertainty around U.S. tariffs continues to weigh heavily on strategy at German sportswear giant Adidas. Even as they reported a successful second quarter, Adidas executives warned of potential price rises to come.
Adidas posted net sales of 5.95 billion euros in the second quarter and growth of 12 percent on a currency-adjusted basis.
That adds up to 14 percent growth in currency neutral terms over the first half of this year. So far in 2025, the company’s net sales total 12.11 billion euros.
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“We have achieved this despite all the challenges,” Adidas chief executive officer Bjorn Gulden told journalists at a press conference revealing the result in Germany on Wednesday morning. “Our brand is hot. I think of course that’s partly because of 76 years of history and accumulated marketing, but also our teams both globally and centrally putting us back in front of the consumer again.”
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Adidas saw growth in all product categories and sales territories between April and June and order books were full until the end of this year, Gulden said.
Adidas’ ambition is to be the leader in all markets except North America. There the brand has the objective of doubling its business.
“The most challenging market for a European brand is the North American market,” Gulden explained. In North America, net sales went up 8.1 percent in currency neutral terms. The latter has been a tricky market for Adidas since the loss of the profitable Yeezy franchise. In 2024, full-year sales had actually fallen several percentage points.
But the troubled Yeezy chapter at Adidas is now closed: The company said second-quarter results do not include any further Yeezy sales and that sales have been gaining momentum in North America since late last year.
In Adidas’ home market of Europe, sales rose 4.1 percent and some analysts had expressed concern about what looks like a slowdown there. But Gulden was upbeat, citing tough comparisons. During the same quarter last year, Adidas had been selling product related to the UEFA Men’s European Football Championship. “We sold a lot of replicas [football jerseys] so there is about 100 million [euros] plus missing from that business,” he explained.
Additionally, while European sales were slow during June — it may have been the heatwave, Gulden speculated — they have picked up again in July. “So we feel pretty confident we will be back again in double digits [in Europe] in the next quarters,” the Adidas boss concluded.
In Greater China, Adidas sales increased 2.1 percent. This should be seen as positive, Gulden argued, especially in comparison with the “very bad numbers” competitors had been reporting there.
Adidas saw double-digit increases in other territories, with an 11.9 percent rise in emerging markets, 12.6 percent growth in Japan and South Korea and a 22.2 percent surge in Latin America. Adidas is now number one in Mexico, Gulden noted.
In terms of product categories, Gulden pointed to improvements in sales of Adidas apparel, which grew 17 percent in the second quarter. Footwear, which makes up around two-thirds of the brand’s sales, usually outpaces apparel but between April and June, footwear sales only increased 9 percent, while accessory sales rose 7 percent.
“About 18 months ago, we said we needed to be careful because there’s too much basic apparel around, too many black hoodies, too much fleece,” Gulden explained. To remedy that Adidas has been trying to innovate, adding retro tennis looks, animal prints, denim and knitwear to collections, as well as pushing high fashion collaborations. The German brand is also trying to be “more fashion forward” with its accessories, Gulden said.
The terrace trend in footwear — with the bestselling Samba, Gazelle and Handball Spezial models — had turned Adidas around, Gulden admitted. But the company wasn’t too worried about the terrace trend ending anytime soon because in some markets, for instance, sales of the Samba were still growing.
“Also, in all markets, when we do something with it [terrace shoes] that is fashionable — I think I talked about metallics, animal print and collabs — then the sell through is immense, like it’s a new franchise,” Gulden explained.
The company was also preparing to launch other retro court styles and slowly transitioning toward so-called “low-profile” looks, much flatter-soled sneakers from sports like motor racing and martial arts. Gulden predicts that low-profile looks would be trending harder in 2026. Adidas competitor Puma recently said the trend hadn’t really taken off as much for them as they had thought it would.
Another emerging trend involves replica football club shirts. Adidas has noticed these shirts, formerly the domain of fervent male fans, creeping into streetwear. Now, Gulden said, football boots — the sort players usually wear on a field, complete with studs — were doing so too.
“Yes, you might think I’m crazy but you will see people are walking around in football shoes with studs,” he told journalists. “Of course, not that many [people] but very influential people.” Adidas was rolling with that trend, he explained, and had started taking soccer boot uppers and putting them on normal soles.
Adidas products in the sports performance category were also doing well. Sales of running and training gear were up 25 percent and 20 percent, respectively, Gulden noted.
Performance basketball — shoes made specifically for athletes — was also growing in double digits and Adidas’ American unit had invested heavily in signing fledgling American stars in basketball, baseball and American football out of college, over the past six months. “This will see us more visible in American sports going forward,” Gulden explained.
As a result of the successful second quarter, Adidas’ operating profit jumped 57.7 percent to 546 million euros, bringing the first-half total to 1.16 billion euros.
This means that operating profit margin is now around 9.6 percent, which is close to the ambition of 10 percent that Gulden originally set more than two years ago when he took on Adidas’ top job. It is also well on the way to Adidas’ forecast of operating profit ending up between 1.7 billion and 1.8 billion euros for the full year.
Still, despite the positive results, the company did not adjust its guidance for the full year. Adidas still expects revenues to grow at a high-single-digit rate for all of 2025 but now notes the range of possible outcomes for the full year has increased.
Gulden spent extra time during the press conference explaining why. Potential U.S. tariffs are expected to be finalized on Friday and these could add as much as 200 million euros to the cost of Adidas products in the U.S., the company said in its statement.
Adidas had looked in detail at the impact on countries where they manufacture products bound for the U.S.
The numbers they came up with are not official, Gulden said, but were the best indications based on publicly available information. For example, Adidas makes around a third of all products bound for America in Vietnam. There, U.S. tariffs on footwear could potentially go from 14 percent previously to 34 percent over the next five or so months. In Pakistan, they may rise from zero to possibly as much as 30 percent and in Cambodia, they might go from 13 percent to 49 percent.
Adidas products made in China are no longer such a concern, Gulden added, because the company is now making “in China for China” or for destinations other than the U.S. Only 2 percent of the brand’s U.S.-bound products are made there now, he noted.
Those numbers show just how volatile the situation is, Gulden said. “If you had the same product landing in April, March, May and July, you might have had three different duties — in some cases, four — that will hit the cost of your product,” he explained.
When it becomes clear what the actual tariffs are, Gulden said there will be a pricing review. Any price increases will only impact the North American market and are more likely to be placed on new products rather than established lines. Additionally Adidas won’t be the first to move with price increases in the U.S., he explained, and if they do come, they likely won’t come until 2026.
If the company were to raise prices before then, it would mean negotiating with retailers who have already placed orders, the executive explained.
All of this is why Adidas has retained its guidance for the year, Gulden concluded: “People are disappointed we haven’t raised it but when you see the uncertainty, we feel it is prudent.”
Analysts from the likes of Deutsche Bank, UBS and Jefferies noted that Adidas’ second-quarter results were actually slightly under market consensus but were in line with targets for the full year. It was possible that if things kept going in a positive direction, Adidas might actually exceed its own forecast, Deutsche Bank analyst Adam Cochrane wrote.