On the back of strong Q4 and full-year earnings, Adidas has extended CEO Bjørn Gulden’s contract through the end of 2030. The vote of confidence comes three years after Gulden joined the retailer from rival Puma.
“With his long-standing experience, his deep understanding of our industry, his strong leadership, and his clear focus on quality growth, Bjørn Gulden drove the successful turnaround of Adidas during the past three years”, Thomas Rabe, chairman of the supervisory board, said in a statement. “Under his leadership, Adidas has made tremendous operational and financial progress in a challenging environment, laying a strong foundation for further sustainable top- and bottom-line growth in the future.”
Adidas reported Q4 and full-year sales in line with its preliminary results, released in January. Revenues for 2025 hit a record of 24.8 billion euros ($28.7 billion at press time), with growth across nearly all regions, product categories and channels. North America, alone, was down 1%, though sales grew 4% in currency-neutral terms and were even higher excluding Yeezy sales from the prior year.
A more competitive position in the U.S. is one of Gulden’s priorities for Adidas. He has pushed the company to tackle each market on a local level, including freeing up the North American team to pursue a region-specific strategy.
“We are not by far where we should be, and that's not necessarily due to the American team, but more us as a company,” Gulden said on an earnings call Wednesday.
He later added that Adidas’ leadership team in basketball, in place for about a year, has been “a game-changer” and produced a host of compelling products and a robust innovation pipeline. That, along with a focus on building out its presence in college sports, should help Adidas be more competitive in the U.S. going forward. But there is a long road ahead.
“It will take time to get the visibility and credibility that we need to be fully competitive in that market,” Gulden said.
Louise Deglise-Favre, lead apparel analyst at GlobalData, called out Adidas’ second year of double-digit growth, which she attributed to “its superior fashion and technical credentials.” She also pointed out that Adidas posted the results in the midst of a stronger euro, which negatively impacted its growth metrics.
For fiscal 2026, Adidas expects currency-neutral revenues to grow in the high-single-digit range and operating profit to grow to 2.3 billion euros. In 2025, operating profit jumped 54% to 2.1 billion euros.
Adidas’ “robust” performance is the result of strength across the business, Deglise-Favre noted. Footwear, apparel and accessories all saw growth last year, while DTC and wholesale both increased 5% in 2025.
“This balanced performance demonstrates the brand’s disciplined commercial approach, maintaining strong wholesale partnerships while expanding its own direct reach and reinforcing brand control,” Deglise-Favre said.
