Adidas slips in Frankfurt, doubles profits but worries about tariffs impact

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Adidas slipped at the tail end of the Frankfurt stock market in the wake of chiaroscuro accounts and fears over the possible impact of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The sportswear brand's stock lost more than 7% to EUR 183 at mid-session and was the worst on Germany's main list. What penalised Adidas, despitea nearly doubled net profit in the second quarter of 2025 (+94.6% to EUR 69 million), were sales below analysts' expectations. Revenues rose 2.2% to EUR 5.95 billion, against expectations of EUR 6.15 billion. The market's biggest concerns, however, relate to the decision to maintain current guidance, which reflects 'uncertainties due to US tariffs and macroeconomic risks', according to Baader analysts. Indeed, the company - which expects to generate an operating profit of between EUR 1.7 billion and EUR 1.8 billion in 2025 - has already suffered losses of tens of millions of euros due to tariffs. And the costs associated with products for the US could reach EUR 200 million this year, emphasised the German company's CEO Bjorn Gulden.

After a successful two-year period thanks to the Samba model and the expansion of its products, the sportswear brand is experiencing a period of weakness in the wake of the braking of results in China and Europe (since the beginning of the year it has dropped 23%). This has been compounded by the tariffs challenge and, in light of the 'mixed results' for the last quarter, Rbc points out, investors are assessing whether Adidas will be able to maintain its momentum. "The fact that the annual Ebit forecast has not been revised upwards is understandable given the customs uncertainties," says Dz Bank, which notes, however, that "Adidas' business (relative to competitors) is performing excellently on a broad scale in a challenging environment." All in all, the experts have a positive outlook: the brand 'is very dynamic, the group is gaining market share, does not have to give discounts and has a solid order book'. On the other hand, Barclays - which maintains an Equal Weight rating for the stock with a target price of €231 - emphasises that despite the "slight decline in revenues, after a series of positive quarters, Adidas has nevertheless achieved the margins forecast, with EBIT 4% higher than expected". For the analysts, the company could have been 'more optimistic about guidance', but given the business uncertainty, it preferred to 'err on the side of caution'.