(Image credit: Michael Owens/Getty Images)
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to kick off in mid-June, will determine which of the planet’s 200-plus national men’s teams get to call themselves the world’s greatest for the next four years.
But this isn’t Sports Illustrated. The reason you’re reading about the World Cup at Kiplinger is that the tournament could have a financial impact on numerous publicly traded companies.
Big sports is big business, and there’s no bigger sports spectacle than the World Cup. Not the Super Bowl. Not even the Olympics. And this year’s edition is expected to top the rest, in part because the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been significantly expanded, from 32 teams previously to a whopping 48.
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The tournament, which will be held across 16 host cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, will play out across more than five weeks — from the June 11 opener between South Africa and our southern neighbor’s “El Tri” in Mexico City to the July 19 final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium (temporarily renamed New York/New Jersey Stadium to comply with FIFA regulations).
And the World Economic Forum estimates that the tournament and its wild 104 matches “could create more than $40 billion in global GDP.”
Today, we’ll talk about Wall Street’s views on the stocks that could enjoy some of that World Cup windfall.
Will the World Cup runneth over … into these companies’ bottom lines?
We’ll be clear: The World Cup generally isn’t expected to make or break the financial fortunes of companies worth tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars. In virtually all cases of the stocks we’ve looked at, Wall Street views the World Cup as one of several drivers.
Still, a surprise earnings beat here or a whiff there can make a material difference, which is why many equity researchers have spent the past few months weighing in on how the soccer tournament could influence a variety of publicly traded companies.
Let’s examine some of the companies they’ve been talking about.
Coca-Cola and Visa
The most obvious connection between companies and sporting events is the corporate sponsorship. In the case of the World Cup, companies working with FIFA will enjoy a variety of marketing rights, including brand exposure in stadiums, digital platforms and publications, fan experiences, hospitality opportunities and more.
The spotlight will shine brightest on FIFA Partners*, which represent the top tier of association with FIFA. Coca-Cola (KO) and Visa (V) are the two most prominent U.S. names, and they’re joined by Aramco, Lenovo, Adidas, Qatar Airways, ADI Predictstreet and Hyundai/Kia.
In a February note, Morgan Stanley Research looked at the most important points that Coca-Cola’s then-CEO-elect, Henrique Braun, and Chief Financial Officer John Murphy made during an appearance at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY).
(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for NYCWFF)
“Braun cited upcoming FIFA World Cup activations [in other words, campaigns] as an example of a consumer-centric focus, with activations in NY focused around new experiences, recruitment, and European influence, vs. activations in Houston focused on Latin American influence, and tailored tie-ins, packaging, and marketing by city,” a team of Morgan Stanley analysts wrote.
They view Coca-Cola as “a strong long-term compounder with sustained higher organic sales growth than peers,” but didn’t explicitly cite World Cup optimism in their Overweight call (equivalent to Buy) on the Dow Jones stock. But BNP Paribas (Outperform, equivalent to Buy) did in May, saying that the company’s upcoming World Cup activations should support its momentum in both the carbonated soft drink and sports drink categories.
Morgan Stanley also wrote in late April that “increased FIFA World Cup-related client enthusiasm for travel and marketing services” was one of several reasons Visa management raised its full-year 2026 outlook.
That said, “operating expense guidance was also raised to low-double digit to low teens, largely reflecting increased FIFA-linked marketing services spend.” Morgan Stanley Research also has an Overweight rating on the blue chip stock, believing the durability of the payment-card provider’s network is “underappreciated.”
Nike and Adidas
No one should be surprised that Nike (NKE) and German rival Adidas (ADDYY) are in the spotlight, given that together, they account for a vast majority of the global soccer market.
Back in March, Bernstein Research said it believed Nike and Adidas could each see a 3% to 4% bump in global sales, with the World Cup driving demand for jerseys, shoes and other gear. The firm has Outperform ratings on both consumer discretionary stocks.
(Image credit: Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
However, Bernstein cut its price target on NKE (to $80 from $85 previously) in early April following a merely modest top- and bottom-line beat in its fiscal third-quarter earnings report. Later in the month, it lowered its price target on Adidas to $132.50 from $137.91.
Still, “with both stocks down YTD and sentiment washed out, a strong World Cup showing and a boost in sales and brand heat could also drive investor interest and re-rating over the next few months,” Bernstein said.
BNP Paribas researchers (Underperform, equivalent of Sell) threw some cold water on the World Cup’s effect on NKE, saying that the estimated revenue benefit from the event would be “small and one-time in nature.”
Stifel analysts (Hold) see World Cup sell-in adding 2 percentage points of lift to Nike’s fiscal fourth-quarter revenues.
DraftKings
Wall Street is much more emphatic about the potential for a World Cup boost for online sportsbook DraftKings (DKNG).
“We think the World Cup (spread between Q2/Q3) could be a roughly $1 billion of handle opportunity for DKNG, which would be bigger than the Super Bowl,” say Truist analysts Barry Jonas and Patrick Keough, who rate the stock at Buy.
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
DraftKings’ management is excited about the potential opportunity from its app’s Spanish-language functionality, which rolled out late last year. Morgan Stanley (Overweight) adds that the World Cup could help “[drive] incremental wagers during a low period over the next few months.”
Both firms also nod to the potential for DraftKings’ prediction market offerings, also launched in late 2025 to take on the likes of Kalshi and Polymarket.
Wingstop
BNP Paribas (Outperform) and Stifel (Buy) also like what a month-plus of international soccer could do for chicken slinger Wingstop (WING).
The former lays out a difficult environment for the restaurant stock, including financial pressure on its core consumers, poor weather to start the year and higher gas prices. But “looking ahead, easier comparisons and catalysts like the World Cup could help support improving demand as the year progresses.”
Stifel calls the World Cup “a potential demand driver this summer,” but arguably a more interesting and significant driver is the company’s march toward the “10-minute unlock.”
(Image credit: John Keeble/Getty Images)
In 2025, Wingstop began to roll out a system designed to dramatically accelerate its speed of service (SoS) from 20 minutes to just 10. While the initiative has taken longer than expected, the company is making progress, Stifel says; for instance, 46% of the system is consistently hitting a 10-minute SoS on Friday and Saturday nights (up from 30% in the prior quarter).
“We believe the brand is currently transitioning from a niche, sports-centric fan favorite into a cultural mainstay,” Stifel’s analysts write. “The cornerstone of that evolution is the 10-minute service time unlock, which would expand Wingstop’s relevance across a broader range of dining occasions.”
* This is the top tier of association with FIFA. It shouldn’t be confused with FIFA World Cup Sponsors, which include Anheuser-Busch, Bank of America, Frito-Lay, Hisense, McDonald’s, Mengniu Dairy, Unilever (Dove) and Verizon. I couldn’t tell you which are merely FIFA World Cup Sponsors, and which belong to FIFA World Cup Sponsor Plus.
And I beg you not to mistake FIFA Partners and FIFA World Cup Sponsors for Tournament Supporters, which include Airbnb, Diageo, DoorDash, Globant, The Home Depot, Marriott Bonvoy, Rock-It Cargo and Marriott Bonvoy.
But it should be easy to discern the FIFA Partners, FIFA World Cup Sponsors and Tournament Supporters from the FIFA Women’s Football Partners, FIFA Women’s World Cup Sponsors, FIFAe Finals Presenting Partners, FIFAe Finals Tournament Sponsors and FIFAe Finals Regional Tournament Supporters. Maybe. Truth be told, I don’t know. They could be the same exact companies.
And no, I’m not kidding. It really is that stratified.