Adidas Beat Nike in the First Quarter, Warburg Says

Adidas's strong first-quarter figures suggest sales at the German sneaker and sports-apparel maker grew faster than at rival Nike, Warburg Research analyst Joerg Philipp Frey says in a research note. The company raised its guidance for the full year after first-quarter sales grew 8% excluding currency movements, outgrowing Nike by about eight percentage points, Warburg said. The first-quarter performance and expectations that currency headwinds will abate somewhat and that its product mix will have positive effects in the second half give Warburg confidence that Adidas's gross margin will substantially beat expectations, the analyst says.