Adidas (ADDYY) Stock

The Adidas group has a truly worldwide reach; they design, produce and sell over 900 million products per year around the globe, making them one of the most ubiquitous sportswear companies. With that, the company has grown in several directions.

A Quick Look at Adidas

Here’s a breakdown of what divisions have contributed to adidas group’s success:

• Adidas Sport: Brings technology, innovation, and design together to enhance athletes’ performance across all types of sport. You’ll find this gear on NCAA athletes, Olympians, amateur athletes, and fans.
• Adidas Originals: A lifestyle brand dedicated to looking sporty, comfortable, and staying on-trend.
• Adidas NEO: Built for and inspired by teenagers, Adidas NEO is a label that's “all about being open and engaged with teenage consumers, letting them enjoy experiences only NEO can provide,” according to their website.
• Collaborations: The brand collaborates with huge designers - anyone from streetwear to Stella McCartney to Porsche.
• Five Ten: Created for participants in extreme outdoor sports, this division produces technical gear, footwear, and more.
• Reebok: The Adidas Group acquired Reebok in January 2006 for $3.8 billion.

History of Adidas Group & Adidas Group Stock

Adidas has been around forever and probably will probably stick around for a while longer, too. Here’s a brief timeline of the history of Adidas Group (OTC: ADDYY) and their stock.

• July 1924: Founded as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik in Herzogenaurach, Germany by brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, where they produced spiked running shoes for athletes.
• August 18, 1949: The company was rebranded as adidas and grew to 47 employees. Rudolph Dassler split and went on to create Puma. Puma goes on to become one of adidas’s biggest rivals.
• 1952: Adidas buys its iconic three stripes branding for two bottles of whiskey and less than 1,000 euros from Karhu Sports
• 1954: The German national soccer team uses adidas studs. They go on to win the 1954 World Cup final, making adidas a household name.
• 1970: Adidas starts making soccer balls, expanding their designs from shoes and apparel.
• September 6, 1978: Founder Adi Dassler passes away. He is replaced with his son Horst.
• 1987: Horst passes away, leaving the company with record losses and on the verge of bankruptcy.
• 1992: Robert Louis-Dreyfus becomes the new CEO, giving the company life and a new direction. He remains as the CEO until 2001.
• November 17, 1995: Adidas goes public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
• 1997: Adidas acquires Salomon, a ski-focused sports equipment company, for around $1 billion.
• 1998: Shares are admitted to the DAX and adidas Group moves its headquarters to a complex called the “World of Sports.”
• January 2006: Purchases Reebok for $3.8 billion.
• March 2015: A new five-year plan emerges: Creating the new. It has an emphasis on speed, cities, and open source.

Pros and Cons of Buying Adidas Stock

Pros of buying Adidas stock:

• The company rolled out a comprehensive and aggressive five-year strategy in 2015 an is on track to achieve their 2020 profit goals.
• Kasper Rorsted, the CEO, has extensive experience in the e-commerce and tech fields and is a promising leader. Market cap quadrupled under his leadership at his former company, Henkel.
• Willing to reach all sports and all types of consumers, from professional athletes to Instagram influencers to children.

Cons of buying Adidas stock:

• Indictments over the last few years: bribes to NCAA players to steer them to certain schools, but the stock did not fall

How to Purchase ADDYY

Pick a broker. First, if you don’t have a brokerage account, you’ll need to pick a brokerage. Consider fees, account minimums, commissions, and customer service before you dive in. Benzinga has a comprehensive guide of the Best Online Brokerages to help you out. Here’s a quick look at our picks:

How much are you willing to invest? Once you open an account, you’ll have to decide how much adidas Group stock you are going to buy. Of course, only invest what you are willing to lose and fully understand the risks before you buy.

Make the purchase. Now, all you’ll have to do is buy the adidas stock. This will look a bit different depending on your broker, but generally speaking, you will just have to determine the type of order and number of shares, then place your order.

Final Thoughts

There’s no doubt that adidas has performed well over the past few years, taking over large part of the market share in shoes, athletic apparel, and diving into other verticals. It has strong leadership, a solid growth plan, and the numbers align. But, of course, you will have to decide for yourself if adidas stock is worth investing in.