Adidas Raises Profit Outlook After Record Quarter and a Big Tariff Refund

Adidas raised its profit outlook for the full year on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, after a record third quarter in which sales and profit both beat the levels the company had expected. The German sportswear maker released the figures early, in an unscheduled update ahead of its full results on Oct. 29, and investors marked the shares higher on Wednesday morning.

Third quarter revenue rose 9 percent to a record 7.252 billion euros. Without currency changes, revenue grew 7 percent. Operating profit climbed 37 percent to 1.008 billion euros, up from 736 million euros a year earlier and the highest quarterly figure the company has recorded. Gross margin widened by 2.5 percentage points to 54.3 percent.

A tariff refund and full price sales

Part of the margin gain came from money coming back. Adidas said it received the majority of its United States tariff claims during the quarter and booked a refund of about 200 million euros, which helped lift the margin. The company said healthy full price sales also drove the margin higher, while unfavorable currency moves worked in the other direction.

Chief executive Bjorn Gulden pointed to strong and profitable growth in soccer, running and training, and said demand for the company's apparel collections remains high, the Wall Street Journal reported. Reuters noted that Adidas, which competes with Nike, has benefited this year from demand for its retro apparel and from a soccer World Cup boost as it rolls out new styles.

How the new forecast is built

Adidas kept its full year forecast for currency neutral revenue growth at 9 percent to 10 percent, and said that growth should now bring about 100 million euros more operating profit than it had assumed before. Adding the tariff refund of about 200 million euros would have taken full year operating profit to about 2.6 billion euros.

The company then chose to put money back into the business. It will reinvest about 100 million euros in the fourth quarter in steps meant to give it greater operating leverage in the future, in line with the mid term profitability targets it has already set out. After that reinvestment, the new forecast is operating profit of about 2.5 billion euros for 2026, up from about 2.3 billion euros before.

Shares and analysts react

Reuters reported on Wednesday, Oct. 21, that Adidas shares were seen rising 3.3 percent in premarket indications at Lang and Schwarz after the guidance increase. Analysts cited by Reuters were positive on the quarter. Metzler analysts saw the update as evidence of continued market share gains and profitable growth, and analysts at J.P. Morgan said gross profit and underlying operating profit beat market expectations once the tariff effects were removed.

The numbers are preliminary. Adidas will publish its final third quarter results on Oct. 29, 2026, with the full breakdown behind the record quarter and the refund. For now, the update gives the company a higher profit target for the year, a record quarter behind it, and a clear choice to spend part of the gain in the fourth quarter rather than bank all of it.