Sporting Goods 2022 – The top companies worldwide by sales and profit

• Which sports apparel brands and companies did the best in 2022?
• The top-performing sports footwear brands and companies in 2022
• The biggest sports equipment brands and companies in 2022
• Winners and losers in the 2022 Diversified/Retail sporting goods business
• Downloadable SGI Sporting Goods Scorecard

The Sporting Goods Industry 2022 figures at a glance

While we have represented the entrants in one of four segments – apparel (7), footwear (18), equipment (16) and diversified/retail (6) – there are a few significant observations to be taken from the group as a whole: 29 entrants reported annual revenues of €1 billion or more; 21 companies recorded annual sales of €2 billion or more; and 14 firms achieved annual revenues of €3 billion or more.

All segments had recorded lower aggregate profits for the financial year, with equipment posting the biggest drop at -81.5 percent and footwear the smallest at -16.1 percent. In total, the 47 global public companies generated an aggregate 17.1 percent increase in annual revenues to nearly €186.7 billion but realized a 26 percent year-over-year drop in profitability to nearly €11.6 billion.

It should also be noted that 25 companies, or just over half of the 47 firms, had lower year-over-year profits after what was a stellar post-pandemic 2021 for most. Nine companies suffered an outright loss for the financial year, with fitness firms Nautilus, which recently sold off its namesake brand, and Peloton Interactive, still reshaping its business under CEO Barry McCarthy, reporting the two largest year-over-year losses.

Which sports apparel brands did the best in 2022?

Overall in sports apparel, aggregate annual sales rose by nearly 13.6 percent, but profitability sank by 47.7 percent.

VF Corp., looking for a new permanent CEO and aiming to turn around the fortunes of its Vans business, still accounted for 50 percent of the segment’s revenues in FY22. Without VF’s annual profit decline, segment income would have increased by 17.7 percent. In FY21, The North Face’s parent accounted for 60.8 percent of the segment’s aggregate profitability.

Hanesbrands, which will have a new Champion Europe president in Lorenzo Moretti in July, says it “remains excited” about the long-term prospects for the Champion activewear business despite current challenges in the U.S. and China.

Under Armour, which recently saw its Austrian distributor file for bankruptcy, intends to lean more heavily into footwear, the women’s market, and a Sportstyle segmentation under new CEO Stephanie Linnartz.

The top-performing sports footwear brands in 2022

The largest segment with 18 entrants, sports footwear had both big gainers and laggards as it posted 19.2 percent year-over-year sales growth but a nearly 16.1 percent drop in annual profitability. Fifteen companies posted double-digit revenue improvement, led by 81.6 percent for On Holding and 72.9 percent for Crocs. A dozen firms reported revenue increases higher than the segment’s average gain.

Wolverine, Allbirds, and Fila each reported an annual loss, and eight entrants had year-over-year declines in profitability. Nike and Adidas, despite their respective issues over the 12 months, accounted for 61.4 percent of revenues. Nike, which intends to begin its new financial year on June 1 in a healthy inventory position, accounted for 41.4 percent of the group’s aggregate revenues. Adidas, which welcomed back its former executive Bjørn Gulden as its new CEO in January and wrestled with what it should do with excess Yeezy inventory, accounted for 20.0 percent of group revenues. 

The biggest sports equipment brands in 2022

Due to significant annual losses at Peloton Interactive and Nautilus, which sold its namesake business and trademark this spring, segment profitability slipped by 81.5 percent in the aggregate to nearly €223 million compared to a €1.2 billion profit in the year-ago period. Segment revenues rose 12.6 percent for the FY, with 10 entrants reporting an annual sales increase higher than 12 percent.

Peloton’s annual revenues declined by 17.0 percent as the connected fitness company’s annual loss narrowed. Excluding Peloton’s annual loss, the equipment segment’s year-over-year profitability would have declined by 34 percent. Topgolf, which merged with Callaway in 2022, is forecast to drive $1.9 billion in sales this year, but golf equipment sales are forecast to be flat due to the macroeconomic environment, competition and price cutting.

Winners and losers in the 2022 Diversified/Retail sporting goods business:

The smallest segment representing six companies realized 16.4 percent FY revenue growth to nearly €23.7 billion but saw annual profitability slip by nearly 21.5 percent to €2.1 billion. Foot Locker and Lululemon, with combined sales of more than €16.0 billion, representing 67.8 percent of segment FY revenues. Garmin and Lululemon combined represented more than 82 percent of segment profit. Foot Locker’s transformation plan under CEO Mary Dillon is to grow annual sales by 5 to 6 percent between FY24 and FY26 while focusing on core banners and regions. Lululemon may be seeking a buyer for Mirror, the business it acquired for $500 million in 2020.

The SGI Sporting Goods Scorecard

How we calculated these results

These are the results of our second annual survey of 47 global public companies that report their yearly results for the 12 months on or near Dec. 31. In Nike’s case, the figures represent total sales for the 12 months ended Nov. 30, which is the closing date of the company’s second fiscal year quarter. The Peloton Interactive data represents the 12 months ended Dec. 31. Figures for Under Armour, VF Corp. and Deckers reflect annual figures for the financial year ended March 31. All results not reported in euros were converted to the currency at the average rate for the 12 months.

You can find the 2022 Q4 scorecard as well as our latest stock market analysis and more on our Analysis homepage.