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Neither Nike nor adidas can be called the better buy from the available financial disclosures alone: the figures below cover different reporting periods and currencies, and no same-date share prices or valuation measures are established. Nike reported $46.398 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2026; adidas reported €24.811 billion in net sales for calendar 2025. Use their results, channels, outlooks and risks to identify which business better matches your investment priorities, then compare current valuations before making a decision.
What the latest reported figures show
The latest figures in this comparison are not for matching periods: Nike’s fiscal 2026 ended May 31, 2026, while adidas’s reported 2025 results cover the calendar year. Their revenues are also denominated in different currencies. They describe each company’s reported performance, but should not be used as a direct size ranking.
| Company and period | Revenue or net sales | Profit measure | Additional reported measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIKE, Inc., fiscal year ended May 31, 2026 | $46.398 billion in revenue, versus $46.309 billion in FY2025 | Not stated in the cited FY2026 figures | Diluted EPS of $2.10, versus $2.16 in FY2025; reported ROIC of 18.7% |
| adidas AG, calendar 2025 | €24.811 billion in net sales | €2.056 billion operating profit | Not stated in the cited 2025 outlook figures |
Nike’s FY2026 revenue was nearly flat on a reported basis versus FY2025, while its diluted EPS was lower year over year. Its reported 18.7% ROIC is a non-GAAP measure; Nike cautions that it should not be used in isolation or assumed comparable to measures with the same name at other companies. adidas’s reported operating profit gives a profitability reference for 2025, but it is not directly comparable with Nike’s EPS or ROIC.
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How the businesses reach customers
Nike: owned channels and wholesale
Nike designs, develops, markets and sells athletic footwear, apparel and equipment. Its NIKE Brand reportable geographic segments are North America, EMEA, Greater China and APLA. It sells through NIKE Direct, which includes owned stores and digital platforms, and through wholesale accounts. That mix exposes results to both the performance of Nike’s direct channels and demand from wholesale customers.
In FY2026, NIKE Brand wholesale revenue was $27.5 billion, compared with $25.9 billion in FY2025. Nike said the currency-neutral increase was driven by North America and primarily offset by lower Greater China revenue. This is a currency-neutral comparison, distinct from the nearly flat reported total-revenue comparison above.
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adidas: use disclosures to examine its own mix
The cited adidas outlook establishes its 2025 net sales and operating profit, but does not provide comparable channel figures here. To assess channel exposure, review adidas’s full annual-report disclosures rather than infer its direct-versus-wholesale mix from the headline sales total. Its 2025 Risk and Opportunity Report is a separate disclosure; the risks summarized in the outlook are not a complete catalog of adidas risks.
What management expected next
In the outlook published with its 2025 annual report, adidas forecast high-single-digit currency-neutral sales growth for 2026 and operating profit of around €2.3 billion. These are management’s forward-looking expectations, not guaranteed results, and may be revised.
That same outlook described uncertainty from macroeconomic challenges, geopolitical tensions, tariff-related developments, volatile commodity prices, pressure on real disposable incomes and subdued consumer sentiment in major markets. Those statements reflect adidas management’s risk framing, not quantified independent forecasts.
Nike’s FY2026 Form 10-K describes its strategy as pursuing “sustainable, profitable long-term revenue growth by leading with sport, creating innovative, “must-have” products, building deep personal consumer connections with our brands and delivering compelling consumer experiences through digital platforms and at retail.” This is Nike’s stated strategy, not an independent forecast or a quantified outlook comparable with adidas’s 2026 guidance.
For more recent developments, adidas’s investor-relations listing includes a second-quarter update dated July 30, 2026. Check the company’s latest disclosures before relying on annual-report guidance: adidas investor relations.
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Demand and competition
Nike says consumer preferences, product trends, the popularity of particular sports, and seasonal and geographic demand can affect results. It also identifies competition and channel mix as factors. A company can report strong total sales while facing weakness in a region, product category or sales channel; Nike’s FY2026 wholesale disclosure, with growth driven by North America and lower Greater China revenue as the primary offset, illustrates why the mix matters.
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Products, operations and external conditions
Nike identifies logistics and broader macroeconomic and operating factors as potential influences on results. adidas’s annual-report outlook highlights trade-related developments, commodity volatility, real-income pressure and consumer sentiment. For both companies, these risks can affect costs, demand or the ability to deliver expected growth, but the available figures do not quantify their individual impact.
These are selected considerations, not a complete inventory of either company’s risks. Investors should read the full filings, including adidas’s risk-and-opportunity disclosures, and consider how the companies’ actual results evolve.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to decide which stock fits your goals
- Set your criteria first. Decide whether you prioritize revenue growth, earnings, geographic exposure, direct-to-consumer strategy, or resilience to demand and cost shocks. A company’s business fit is not the same as a stock’s attractiveness at its current price.
- Compare like with like. Align reporting periods, currencies and definitions. Separate reported growth from currency-neutral growth, and do not treat Nike’s non-GAAP ROIC as directly comparable with another company’s similarly named measure.
- Read the newest outlooks and filings. Management guidance can change; compare what each company expected with what it subsequently reported. Treat forecasts as estimates, not promises.
- Check valuation using same-date data. Obtain current share prices and apply consistent measures, such as price-to-earnings or enterprise value relative to operating earnings, with clear dates and definitions. The figures in this article do not establish which stock is cheaper.
- Match the investment to your circumstances. Your time horizon, tolerance for loss, tax situation and existing portfolio affect suitability. Company disclosures can inform a decision, but cannot determine what is appropriate for an individual investor.
What Nike’s past share performance does—and does not—say
Nike’s FY2026 annual-report materials show a cumulative total return of -63.55% for NKE from May 31, 2021, through May 31, 2026, with dividends reinvested; the S&P 500 returned 93.80% over that same stated period. This is a historical, five-year comparison from Nike’s report—not a forecast and not a matched return comparison with adidas. It demonstrates why an investment case should not be inferred from brand recognition or operating results alone.
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