Our Share

Global stock markets were volatile throughout the year but ended 2019 on a positive note. The DAX-30 and the EURO STOXX 50 both increased by 25% while the MSCI World Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods Index was up 37%. The adidas AG share outperformed the broader stock market and ended 2019 with an increase of 59% compared to the prior year. As a result of the strong operational and financial performance in 2019 as well as Management’s confidence in the strength of the company’s financial position and long-term growth aspirations, we intend to propose a dividend per share of € 3.85 at our 2020 Annual General Meeting.

ADIDAS AG SHARE RISES AND OUTPERFORMS BROADER STOCK MARKET in 2019

In 2019, global stock markets ended a volatile year on a positive note, as greater optimism regarding the US-China trade situation and low unemployment gave capital markets strong impetus. In addition, interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve benefited markets further. As a result, the DAX-30 as well as the EURO STOXX 50 increased 25% in 2019. The MSCI World Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods Index closed the year with a 37% increase. Our financial results helped to further build investors’ confidence in the successful execution of our strategic business plan ‘Creating the New’ and the company’s ability to sustainably grow revenues and improve margins in the years to come. Consequently, the adidas AG share closed the year at € 289.80 and thus 59% above the prior year-end level, making it the second best performer in the DAX-30.

Five-year share price development¹

LEVEL 1 ADR PERFORMS IN LINE WITH COMMON STOCK

Our Level 1 ADR closed 2019 at US $ 162.80, representing an increase of 56% versus the prior year level (2018: US $ 104.34). The slightly less pronounced increase of the Level 1 ADR price compared to the ordinary share price was due to the appreciation of the US dollar versus the euro in 2019. The number of Level 1 ADRs outstanding increased to 10.4 million at year-end 2019 compared to 9.0 million at the end of 2018. The average daily trading volume decreased to around 43,000 ADRs in 2019 (2018: around 51,400). Further information on our ADR program can be found on our website. 

ADIDAS AG SHARE MEMBER OF IMPORTANT INDICES

The adidas AG share is included in a variety of high-quality indices around the world, most importantly the DAX-30, the EURO STOXX 50 Index as well as the MSCI World Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods Index, which comprises our major competitors. At December 31, 2019, our weighting in the DAX-30, which is calculated on the basis of free float market capitalization and twelve-month share turnover, improved to 4.99% (2018: 3.94%). Our higher weighting compared to the prior year was due to the increase in market capitalization of adidas AG. Within the DAX-30, we ranked 7 on market capitalization (2018: 9) and 9 on turnover (2018: 11) at year-end 2019. For the 20th consecutive time, adidas was selected to join the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), and was assessed to be among the global 10% best-performing companies in its industry in economic, environmental and social criteria.

DIVIDEND PROPOSAL OF € 3.85 PER SHARE

As a result of the strong operational and financial performance in 2019, the company’s robust financial position as well as Management’s confidence in our long-term growth aspirations, the adidas AG Executive and Supervisory Boards will recommend paying a dividend of € 3.85 per dividend-entitled share to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 14, 2020. This represents an increase of 15% compared to the prior year dividend (2018: € 3.35). Subject to the meeting’s approval, the dividend will be paid on May 19, 2020. The total payout of € 752 million (2018: € 664 million) reflects a payout ratio of 39.2% of net income from continuing operations (2018: 38.9%), based on the number of shares outstanding as at the date of preparation of the consolidated financial statements.This is within the target range of between 30% and 50% of net income from continuing operations as defined in our dividend policy.

Dividend proposal

€ 3.85

Second Tranche of SHARE Buyback program Completed

On March 13, 2018, adidas AG announced the launch of a multi-year share buyback program of up to € 3.0 billion in total until May 11, 2021. The program is executed by buying back shares via the stock exchange under the authorization granted by the Annual General Meeting on May 12, 2016. The authorization covers the repurchase of up to 10% of the company’s share capital on the stock exchange. The vast majority of the share buyback program will be financed through the company’s net cash position as well as the expected strong operating cash flow generation in the years ahead. Following the first tranche in 2018, in which the company bought back 5.1 million shares for a total consideration of € 1.0 billion, on January 7, 2019 adidas AG announced the commencement of the second tranche of the share buyback program. Between January 7, 2019, and December 18, 2019, the company bought back 3.2 million shares, corresponding to 1.6% of the company’s stock capital, for a consideration of € 815 million. The average purchase price per share was € 252.80. A total of 8.8 million treasury shares have been canceled since the start of the current program, reducing the company’s share count and stock capital correspondingly.

STRONG INTERNATIONAL INVESTOR BASE

Based on our share register, we estimate that adidas AG currently has more than 90,000 shareholders (2018: 80,000). In our latest ownership analysis conducted in January 2020, we identified almost 100% of our shares outstanding. Institutional investors represent the largest investor group, holding 89% of shares outstanding (2018: 92%). Private investors and undisclosed holdings account for 9% (2018: 8%). Lastly, adidas AG currently holds 2% of the company’s shares as treasury shares (2018: 1%); this increase versus the prior year mainly reflects the shares resulting from our share buyback activities which have not been canceled yet.

Shareholder structure by investor group¹

In terms of geographical distribution, the North American market currently accounts for 43% of institutional shareholdings (2018: 43%), followed by the UK with 21% (2018: 21%). Identified German institutional investors hold 10% of shares outstanding (2018: 10%). Institutional investors from Belgium account for 8% (2018: 9%) and 18% of institutional shareholders were identified in other regions of the world (2018: 17%).

Shareholder structure by region^{1, 2}

MAJORITY OF ANALYSTS WITH A neutral RATING of ADIDAS AG SHARE

Around 40 analysts from investment banks and brokerage firms regularly publish research reports on adidas. Given the strong performance of the adidas AG share in 2019, the majority of analysts now have a neutral view on our share. This is reflected in the recommendation split for our share as at December 31, 2019. 33% of analysts recommended investors to ‘buy’ our share (2018: 59%). 57% advised to ‘hold’ our share (2018: 36%) and 10% of the analysts recommended to ‘sell’ our share (2018: 5%).

adidas AG high and low share prices per month¹ in €

VOTING RIGHTS NOTIFICATIONS PUBLISHED

All voting rights notifications received in 2019 in accordance with §§ 33 et seq. of the German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz – WpHG) (§§ 21 et seq. German Securities Trading Act old version) are published on our corporate website. Information on reportable shareholdings that currently exceed or fall below a certain threshold can also be found in the Notes section of this Annual Report. See note 27

MANAGERS’ TRANSACTIONS REPORTED ON CORPORATE WEBSITE

Managers’ transactions involving adidas AG shares (ISIN DE000A1EWWW0) or related financial instruments, as defined by Article 19 of the European Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), conducted by members of our Executive or Supervisory Boards, or by any person in close relationship with these persons, are reported on our website.