Adidas profit jumps in first quarter without Yeezy shoes

The first quarter of 2025 is Adidas’ first to not include any contribution from the Yeezy trainers that had been developed with Kanye West. Photo / Jonathan Leibson / Getty Images

German sportswear giant Adidas said on Wednesday that its profit almost doubled in the first quarter of 2025 as it turned the page on a costly split with US rapper Kanye West.

Operating profit, which excludes some expenses such as tax, rose over 80% to hit €610 million ($692 million), Adidas said in a preliminary results statement.

Adidas’ performance later in the year could be hit by tariffs slapped on imports by US President Donald Trump earlier this month.

Last year it made over a fifth of its sales in the United States, and much of its production is located in countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh, which are in the crosshairs of Trump’s tariffs.

The first quarter of 2025 is Adidas’ first to not include any contribution from the Yeezy trainers that had been developed with West. Adidas dumped him following anti-semitic comments he made on social media.

The rupture with the rapper - who now goes by Ye - led Adidas to a loss in 2023.

Further development of the lucrative Yeezy-brand line was stopped and Adidas then gave anti-discrimination initiatives a slice of the sales revenue of existing Yeezy shoes. The last of the stock was sold off in late 2024.

For the first quarter of 2025, currency-adjusted sales were up 13%, Adidas said, and up 17% if Yeezy sales from the prior year are excluded.

Adidas’ full results for the quarter, including its net profit after tax, will be published on April 29.

-Agence France-Presse