Adidas stock closed at €168.55 on Friday after a strong run into Q3, yet the real story sits in the earnings print that just landed. For the quarter, the group delivered €7.3b in revenue and a record operating profit of €1.0b, a margin rich enough to catch the eye even in premium sportswear.
In the short term, traders are reacting to a solid beat on profitability. In the longer term, investors will focus on what an EBIT uplift to €2.5b for 2026 indicates about adidas and the durability of this margin rebuild beyond a single quarter.
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Q3 2026 Earnings Summary
- Revenue (Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): €7,252m vs €6,630m (up approximately 9%)
- Net Income, excluding extra items (Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): €702m vs €458m (up approximately 53%)
- Basic EPS (Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): €4.06 vs €2.56 (up approximately 58%)
- Operating Profit (Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): €1.0b vs €734m (up approximately 36%)
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Evaluating Adidas’ Margin Story Against Q3 Reality
The bullish case leans heavily on adidas turning technical running into a long lived gross margin engine.
"The ramp up of high end printed and Hyperboost based performance footwear, highlighted by marathon wins, sub 2 hour distance projects and wider use in events like the majors, gives adidas a technical platform that can be re used in takedown models and comfort running. This can widen price points and add mix driven upside to gross margin beyond the current low 50% range."
Q3 helps that claim. Performance footwear grew 14% while underlying gross margin excluding tariff refunds sat around the low 50s. Record €1.0b operating profit and a lift in EBIT guidance to €2.5b indicate that running and broader performance product now carry more of the profit load, even as lifestyle footwear and wholesale channels remain softer.
One Narrative has put a figure on that disagreement. → See the Narrative with its higher Fair Value, assumptions and all.
Adidas Bear Case: Event Payoff Still Unproven
The cautionary view argues that big tournaments might just reshuffle demand rather than add to it.
"World Cup related product will displace other assortments on retail floors, which could cap revenue uplift and limit operating leverage on marketing spend and inventory."
Q3 shows record €1.0b operating profit and raised EBIT guidance to €2.5b, yet there is no clear read that event themed kits produced outsized operating leverage. Lifestyle footwear remains pressured and wholesale grew only modestly. That mix indicates that adidas is still some distance from demonstrating that event heavy marketing translates into structurally higher, less promotion dependent profitability.
Hunt For Mispriced Margin Stories
Adidas just showed how a single quarter can reframe a profitability debate. The real opportunity sits in finding stocks that could be undervalued before the market corrects them.
- Company 1 - 36% below our estimate - uses government-backed trade-in programs and growing recommerce acceptance to expand its device refurbishment funnel.
- Company 2 - 48% below our estimate - leans into higher-margin direct channels and tighter category focus so efficiency gains increasingly support operating profit.
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Three companies from the same screener. Open the full list of 201 companies trading below our fair value estimates →
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