Our Share

Global stock markets were volatile in 2022 and ended the year significantly below prior-year levels. The DAX and the EURO STOXX 50 decreased by 12% each, while the MSCI World Textiles, Apparel and Luxury Goods Index was down 24% as a result of severe macroeconomic challenges and geopolitical tensions. In this generally negative market environment, the adidas AG share underperformed the broader stock market and ended 2022 with a decrease of almost 50% compared to the prior year.

Global stock markets significantly lower at the end of 2022

After heightened volatility throughout the year, global stock markets were significantly lower at the end of 2022 compared to 2021. The war in Ukraine and the continued negative impact of the covid-19 pandemic as well as their economic consequences severely impacted investor sentiment. Global central banks addressing multi-year high inflation levels with interest rate hikes also weighed on financial markets. Against this negative backdrop, the DAX and the EURO STOXX 50 lost 12% each in 2022, while the MSCI World Textiles, Apparel and Luxury Goods Index decreased by 24%. In addition to general market pressure, the adidas AG share underperformed the broader stock market and ended 2022 with a decrease of almost 50% compared to the prior year. Apart from severe macroeconomic challenges and geopolitical tensions, a further deterioration of traffic trends in Greater China, significant inventory build-up also in major Western markets, the incurrence of several one-off costs as well as the negative impact from the termination of the Yeezy partnership weighed on the development of the adidas AG share.

Level 1 ADR underperforms common stock

Our Level 1 ADR closed 2022 at US $ 67.74, representing a decrease of 53% versus the prior year level (2021: US $ 144.00). The more pronounced decrease of the Level 1 ADR price compared to the ordinary share price was due to the valuation of the US dollar versus the euro in 2022. The number of Level 1 ADRs outstanding decreased to 9.5 million at year-end 2022 compared to 10.9 million at the end of 2021. The average daily trading volume increased to around 172,000 ADRs in 2022 (2021: around 65,000). Further information on our ADR program can be found on our website. ADIDAS-GROUP.COM/ADR

adidas AG share member of important indices

The adidas AG share is part of a variety of high-quality indices around the world such as the DAX, the EURO STOXX 50 Index as well as the MSCI World Textiles, Apparel and Luxury Goods Index. At December 31, 2022, our weighting in the DAX was 2% (2021: 3%) and we ranked 19 on market capitalization (2021: 12).

Five-year share price development¹

Dividend proposal of € 0.70 per share

The adidas AG Executive and Supervisory Boards will recommend paying a dividend of € 0.70 per dividend-entitled share to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on May 11, 2023 (2022: € 3.30). The total payout of € 125 million (2022: € 610 million) reflects a payout ratio of 49.2% (2022: 40.9%) of net income from continuing operations. This is at the upper end of the target range of between 30% and 50% of net income from continuing operations as defined in our dividend policy.

adidas returns more than € 3,100 million to shareholders in 2022

In December 2021, adidas had introduced its latest multi-year share buyback program. The first tranche of this program launched on January 10, 2022 and was completed on February 22, 2022. During that period, the company bought back 4,156,558 shares for a total amount of € 1,000 million. In addition to the company’s regular buyback activities and against the background of the formal closing of the Reebok divestiture on February 28, 2022, adidas launched a second share buyback program to return the cash proceeds from the Reebok divestiture to its shareholders. As a result, between March 14 and October 10, 2022, adidas bought back 8,978,138 shares for a total consideration of € 1,500 million. Taking into account both share buybacks, adidas bought back 13,134,696 shares for a total amount of € 2,500 million in 2022. Including the dividend payment of € 610 million in May 2022, the company returned more than € 3,100 million to its shareholders in 2022. After the completion of both share buybacks in 2022, adidas decided to cancel a total of 12,100,000 treasury shares, reducing the company’s share count and stock capital accordingly.

Strong international investor base

Based on our share register, the adidas AG currently has more than 169,000 shareholders (2021: more than 125,000). The higher number of shareholders was mainly driven by an increase in the number of German retail investors. In our latest ownership analysis conducted in December 2022, we identified almost 100% of our shares outstanding. Institutional investors represent the largest investor group, holding 80% of shares outstanding (2021: 81%). Private investors and undisclosed holdings account for 19% (2021: 19%). Lastly, adidas AG currently holds 0.8% of the company’s shares as treasury shares (2021: 0.3%). This increase is mainly driven by our share buyback activities.

Shareholder structure by investor group¹

In terms of geographical distribution, the North American market currently accounts for 36% of institutional shareholdings (2021: 31%), followed by the UK and Ireland with 26% (2021: 26%). Identified German investors hold 9% of institutional shareholdings (2021: 12%). Institutional investors from other continental European countries account for 27% (2021: 28%) and 2% of institutional shareholders were identified in other regions of the world (2021: 3%). 

Shareholder structure by region^1,2

Majority of analysts with a neutral rating of the adidas AG share

37 analysts from investment banks and brokerage firms regularly publish research reports on adidas. As at December 31, 2022, 57% of analysts recommended investors to ‘hold’ our share (2021: 31%), 32% advised investors to ‘buy’ our share (2021: 63%), and 11% recommended to ‘sell’ our share (2021: 6%).

adidas AG high and low share prices per month¹ in €

Voting rights notifications published

All voting rights notifications received in 2022 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. ADIDAS-GROUP.COM/VOTING_RIGHTS_NOTIFICATIONS SEE NOTE 26

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. ADIDAS-GROUP.COM/S/MANAGERS-TRANSACTIONS