Adidas Reports Strong Q4 Sales and Profitability Gains

Adidas AG, the global sportswear giant, has reported preliminary results for the fourth quarter of 2024, showcasing impressive growth in sales and profitability. The company's currency-neutral revenues increased by 19% compared to the same period in 2023, with reported revenues growing by 24% to €5,965 million. Excluding Yeezy sales in both years, the currency-neutral revenues still saw an 18% increase, indicating that the overall growth was not significantly driven by Yeezy sales.

The company's gross margin also expanded, rising by 5.2 percentage points to 49.8% in Q4 2024, compared to 44.6% in the same period in 2023. This improvement was driven by price increases, a more favorable business mix, and lower freight costs, which largely offset negative currency effects and increased product costs. The gross margin improvement significantly contributed to the operating profit improvement for adidas, with the company reporting an operating profit of €57 million in Q4 2024, compared to an operating loss of €377 million in the same period in 2023.

Based on preliminary unaudited numbers for the full year of 2024, adidas' currency-neutral revenues were up 12%, with revenues increasing by 11% in euro terms to reach €23,683 million. Excluding Yeezy sales in both years, the currency-neutral revenues show a 13% growth. The company's gross margin improved by 3.3 percentage points to 50.8% in 2024, while full-year operating profit increased by more than €1 billion to €1,337 million.

adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden expressed his satisfaction with the company's performance in the fourth quarter and throughout 2024, noting the strong momentum for the brand and products, growing interest from consumers and retailers, and significant growth across all regions and divisions. While Gulden acknowledged that the company is not yet where it wants to be in the long term, he expressed happiness with the development, which exceeded their expectations. He also expressed optimism for the future, stating that adidas sees potential to increase market share in all markets and aims to continue growing double-digit with the adidas brand to improve operating profit further and progress towards a 10% margin target.