Adidas Is Dominating Nike And Under Armour This Year

There has been one clear winner in the athletic shoe race in 2016. If you guessed the golden standard, Nike Inc NKE, you’d be wrong. If you guessed upstart Under Armour Inc UA, you’d be wrong.

So far this year, adidas AG (ADR) ADDYY is putting Nike and Under Armour to shame.

In 2016, the stocks of Nike and Under Armour are down 15.0 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. At the same time, Adidas stock has surged 81 percent this year.

Nike’s fiscal Q1 earnings report out this week underscored the company’s relative weakness. Despite a big EPS beat, the market was disappointed by Nike’s guidance and weak gross margins. Morgan Stanley analyst Jay Sole called Nike’s EPS beat “low quality” and said that the stock could soon see its multiple contract along with the company’s margins.

Related Link: Just Hold It: Canaccord Stays Sidelined On Nike Shares

On CNBC, Sole explained how Adidas is capitalizing on Nike’s weakness by delivering several hot new products, including the Kanye West-inspired Yeezy shoes. According to Sole, the Yeezy 350 model, which was just released last weekend, may already have $1 billion in sales in Europe.

“Nike doesn’t have anything like that right now,” Sole concluded.

Adidas stock has now outperformed Nike stock over the past five years.