Running in Place
Running is still the hot hand in athletic footwear. Here's how Nike, Adidas, Asics, On, Hoka, Brooks and New Balance stack up by growth, revenue and market performance.
Before We Get to Running...
After months of literally playing footsie with multiple athletic brands during the regular season, Stephen Curry has announced a deal with Li Ning. The deal is worth $400 million for 10 years, according to ESPN reporter Shams Charania. Independent reporter Brandon, who is well known on X for providing early information on sneaker releases but is brand new to Substack, broke down the deal's details in his debut post. One particularly fascinating item he uncovered: Li-Ning products are currently subject to a U.S. import ban tied to government allegations that the company uses cotton sourced from North Korea through forced labor programs.
Last week, I broke the news that Rihanna and Puma had parted ways, reporting that was subsequently confirmed by Business of Fashion's Mike Sykes. I also reported that Puma's relationship with A$AP Rocky is winding down. According to Sykes' sources, however, the brand has product planned with Rocky through early 2027. From what I heard, there is still product in the queue, but allegedly no new product is being designed from this point forward.
After shuttering Nike Studios earlier this year, the brand is staying in the gym but now as a partner to franchisee The Yard Gym, according to Fitt Insider. As part of the deal, Nike will outfit trainers at its 24 locations, while also taking part in activations and events.
Running by the Numbers
Most athletic brands have now reported their latest quarterly earnings, so I thought it would be useful to see how the major names that participate in the running business stack up. My focus is on running because, right now, it’s the hottest category in the space.
A few notes: Nike’s fiscal year ends in May and it will report FY26 results in June, so its numbers are slightly out of sync with competitors. I didn’t include Salomon because, while it has a lot of lifestyle heat at the moment, it’s not yet a major player in the performance running space. I also left out Skechers, which has not provided financial information since going private.
One of the most interesting dynamics in running today is that a growing share of category growth is coming not from performance footwear, but from lifestyle product inspired by current and retro running silhouettes. Shoes such as Asics’ Gel-Kayano 14 and On’s Cloud 6 have increasingly replaced classic court styles like New Balance’s 550, Adidas’ Superstar and Air Jordan 1 as everyday footwear. Even performance-running stalwart Brooks is making a push into the lifestyle category.
Investors tend to view lifestyle-driven demand with more caution because fashion-rooted trends are often viewed as having a shorter shelf life than performance-driven demand. Yet there's also a counterargument: a growing share of running's recent growth has been driven by lifestyle adoption. As a result, brands that fail to gain traction beyond performance running may also face skepticism from investors. In other words, the market is trying to determine which brands have enough lifestyle appeal to drive growth without becoming overly dependent on fashion.
Key Takeaways on Public Athletic Brands:
Nike: Looking at the numbers, Nike clearly has been roughed up this year, revenue was down in the most recent quarter and the stock is down close to 30% year to date. And yet, the brand called out the strength of performance running in its Q3 earnings call and shoe revenue in the United States is up versus last year. The bigger drag is international where it’s been dogged by fairly substantial share losses to competition.
Adidas: Adidas has racked up a lot of wins in running over the past few years, fueled by the breakout popularity of the Adizero franchise. Yet much of the company’s recent growth has come from apparel, while footwear increased only 4% CC, causing some trepidation on Wall Street, which is mirrored with slightly negative year-to-date stock growth.
Asics: Asics appears to be the clearest winner in the group, posting strong growth across all major regions, particularly Europe. Notably, a significant portion of that momentum is coming from SportStyle shoes like Gel Kayano 14 and Gel-1130, highlighting the importance of lifestyle product within the running category.
On: On is seeing similarly explosive growth figures, and yet the stock is down ~12% year to date, perhaps reflecting investor uncertainty around how much of the brand’s momentum is being driven by lifestyle adoption versus performance running.
Hoka: While Deckers is having a nice run this year, much of the enthusiasm is tied to international growth, creating some investor concern around Hoka's more modest U.S. growth and its ability to further expand into lifestyle. Addressing those concerns, management pointed to "green shoots" in lifestyle product, led by Mafate Speed 2 and Bondi 7.
Key Takeaways on Private Athletic Brands
