Sportswear maker’s shares are back to levels last seen in 2014, down 77% from record.
👟 Earnings Win, Stock Says "Nah"
- Nike shares slipped 3% after hours despite delivering a better-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter. The sportswear giant earned 20 cents a share on revenue of $10.97 billion, comfortably beating Wall Street forecasts of 12 cents and $10.85 billion.
- Revenue dipped 1.1% from a year earlier, showing the turnaround still has work to do. Investors appeared more focused on the underlying sales picture than the headline earnings beat.
- It's another rough chapter for the stock. Nike shares have now fallen roughly 77% from their all-time high and more than 35% this year, taking them back to price levels last seen in 2014.
💰 Tariff Refund Gives a Boost
- Gross margin — a measure of how much profit a company keeps after production costs — jumped thanks to an expected $986 million tariff refund after the Supreme Court struck down many of President Trump's global import duties.
- That refund added 52 cents per share to quarterly earnings, helping lift net income to $1.07 billion, or 72 cents per share, versus $211 million, or 14 cents per share, a year earlier.
- While refunds helped pad the numbers, investors know one-off benefits don't last. The bigger question is whether Nike can generate stronger profits once those temporary tailwinds fade.
🌏 China Still Needs Fixing
- North America, Nike's biggest market, grew 3% to $4.83 billion but narrowly missed analyst estimates. Greater China remained the weak spot, with revenue falling 12% to $1.30 billion, though that still topped expectations.
- CEO Elliott Hill struck an optimistic tone, saying Nike is "fully committed to winning" back Chinese consumers — a key market for any long-term recovery story.
- For fiscal 2026, Nike earned $3.11 billion, or $2.10 per share, slightly below the previous year's results. The company beat expectations this quarter, but Wall Street is still waiting for proof that sales momentum — not accounting boosts — can carry the brand back into the race.