adidas AG

What does adidas own?
adidas owns the adidas brand, which encompasses performance athletic products (running, football, training, basketball), lifestyle products (Originals, Sportswear), and specialty lines including Y-3 and Five Ten. The company sold Reebok to Authentic Brands Group in 2022. The adidas brand portfolio includes iconic footwear models such as the Superstar, Stan Smith, Gazelle, Ultraboost, and NMD.

Is adidas publicly traded?
Yes, adidas AG is publicly traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ADS. The company is a component of the DAX index, Germany's primary blue-chip stock market index. adidas has been publicly traded since 1989.

Who founded adidas?
adidas was founded by Adolf "Adi" Dassler on August 18, 1949, in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. Dassler had previously operated a shoe business with his brother Rudolf, who left to found Puma. Adolf Dassler named the company by combining his nickname "Adi" with the first three letters of his surname.

Where is adidas headquartered?
adidas is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany, where the company was founded in 1949. The company's global headquarters campus, known as the World of Sports, is located in Herzogenaurach and houses the company's executive leadership, design studios, and corporate functions.

How many brands does adidas own?
adidas operates primarily under the adidas master brand, with sub-brands including adidas Originals, adidas Sportswear, adidas Performance, Y-3, and Five Ten. The company sold Reebok in 2022 and no longer owns that brand.

Who owns adidas?
adidas is publicly owned with no controlling shareholder. Institutional investors collectively hold the majority of outstanding shares, with BlackRock, Vanguard, and various European investment funds among the largest holders. No individual, family, or private equity firm holds a controlling interest.

What is adidas's revenue?
adidas reported preliminary full-year 2025 revenues of approximately EUR 24.81 billion, up from EUR 23.68 billion in 2024. Operating profit was approximately EUR 2.05 billion, with an operating margin of 8.3%. The company plans to release detailed results and 2026 guidance in early March 2026.

What happened with the Yeezy partnership?
adidas terminated its partnership with Ye (formerly Kanye West) in October 2022 following his antisemitic public statements. The Yeezy collaboration had generated approximately EUR 1.5 billion in annual revenue. The termination left adidas with approximately EUR 1.2 billion in unsold inventory, which the company sold in multiple tranches through 2024, donating a portion of proceeds to anti-discrimination organizations.

The origins of adidas trace to a family shoe business established in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, in the early 1920s. Adolf Dassler and his brother Rudolf Dassler began making athletic shoes together in 1924 under the name Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik. The brothers supplied shoes to German athletes at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where American sprinter Jesse Owens won four gold medals wearing their footwear, providing significant international visibility for the brand.

The partnership between the brothers deteriorated during and after World War II, culminating in a permanent split in 1948. Rudolf Dassler left to found a competing company that would become Puma, while Adolf Dassler registered adidas on August 18, 1949, combining his nickname "Adi" with the first three letters of his surname. The two companies established their headquarters on opposite sides of the Aurach river in Herzogenaurach, creating a rivalry that divided the town for decades.

adidas achieved its first major international breakthrough in 1954, when the West German national football team wore adidas boots with removable screw-in studs to defeat Hungary 3-2 in the FIFA World Cup final in Bern, Switzerland. The victory, known in Germany as the Miracle of Bern, was widely attributed in part to the traction advantage provided by the adidas studs on a wet pitch. The event established adidas as the dominant supplier of football footwear and launched the company's long association with the sport.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, adidas expanded its product range and global distribution, introducing iconic models including the Stan Smith tennis shoe in 1965 and the Superstar basketball shoe in 1969. The company became the official supplier of footwear and equipment to multiple Olympic Games and FIFA World Cups, cementing its position as the reference brand in competitive athletics.

Adolf Dassler died in 1978 and was succeeded by his son Horst Dassler, who expanded the company's marketing and sponsorship activities significantly. Horst Dassler died in 1987, and the company subsequently faced financial difficulties and management instability. In 1989, the Dassler family sold adidas to French businessman Bernard Tapie, and the company went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Robert Louis-Dreyfus acquired adidas in 1993 and initiated a turnaround that repositioned the brand as a premium athletic and lifestyle company. The company's partnership with designer Yohji Yamamoto, which produced the Y-3 line in 2002, was an early signal of adidas's intention to compete in the fashion and lifestyle market alongside its athletic heritage.

In 2005, adidas acquired Reebok for approximately $3.8 billion, intending to strengthen its position in the North American market and compete more effectively with Nike. The Reebok acquisition did not achieve its intended strategic objectives, and in 2022 adidas sold Reebok to Authentic Brands Group for approximately EUR 2.1 billion.

A significant disruption came in October 2022, when adidas terminated its partnership with rapper and designer Ye (formerly Kanye West) following antisemitic public statements. The Yeezy collaboration had been one of the most commercially successful in the company's history, generating approximately EUR 1.5 billion in annual revenue. The termination left adidas with approximately EUR 1.2 billion in unsold Yeezy inventory. The company subsequently sold the inventory in multiple tranches through 2024, donating a portion of proceeds to anti-discrimination organizations. The final Yeezy inventory was sold by the end of 2024.

Bjorn Gulden became CEO of adidas in January 2023, succeeding Kasper Rorsted. Gulden, who had previously led Puma, initiated a strategic reset focused on rebuilding brand momentum, improving product quality, and restoring profitability. Under his leadership, adidas achieved currency-neutral revenue growth of 13% in both 2024 and 2025, with operating margins improving from 5.6% in 2024 to 8.3% in 2025.

For full-year 2025, adidas reported preliminary revenues of approximately EUR 24.81 billion and operating profit of EUR 2.05 billion. The company announced a EUR 1 billion share buyback program to begin in February 2026, citing strong brand momentum, a solid balance sheet, and robust cash flow generation.