• by Sarah Mahoney , August 3, 2026

To say that Adidas is pleased with the payoff from its massive investment in the World Cup is kind of a FIFA-sized understatement. CEO Bjorn Gulden, who has spent the last four years steering the company back to growth mode, says the financial results from this year's tournament "was like a fairy tale for me … I do not think we could have scripted it better."

Gulden's remarks came in presenting the company's second quarter results, with currency-neutral revenues climbing 14% to €6.7 billion (about $7.73 billion). That includes a 25% gain in direct-to-consumer growth, and double-digit increases in all markets.

Gulden gave plenty of credit to the company's marketing initiatives, anchored by the five-minute "Backyard Legends” film. That "brought back the love for the game the way we used to play it in the streets," he said. Then, two of the 14 teams Adidas sponsored -- Argentina with Lionel Messi and Spain with Lamine Yamal -- made it to the finals. The cherry on top was "that they played with our adidas Trionda ball, and that also the referees for the first time in history wore Three Stripes," Gulden said.

In return for that marketing spending -- an increase of about 30% -- Adidas says its World Cup efforts delivered more than 9 billion views and over 400 million engagements across the brand's digital ecosystem, making it the most successful campaign in the brand's history.

Investors, on the other hand, were less enthusiastic, initially sending share prices lower. Because of the higher spending on marketing in the quarter -- an additional $280 million, with the total marketing bill for the quarter reaching $1.07 billion -- operating profit rose just 5%, below forecasts.

Some analysts say that's an overreaction. "We think investors are overly concerned that Adidas' recent gains are due to short-term trends," writes David Swartz, who follows the company for Morningstar, "and underestimate Gulden's reforms."

While the company's forecast for the second half projects post-tournament sales will slow somewhat, "we think Adidas' upgrades in product design, distribution, and direct-to-consumer operations will allow for less sales volatility than in the past," Swartz writes.