Nike Inc. shares tumbled on Friday, sending the sportswear company’s market value below $100 billion for the first time since the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic after its earnings report signalled that revenue and profitability will remain under pressure.
Its shares slid as much as 9.3 percent to hit the lowest level since March 2020. Friday’s drop erased roughly $9 billion in value, giving the company a market capitalisation of $97 billion. Nike’s shares have now declined in the session after earnings for six straight quarters. The stock is down more than 60 percent from a record high in November 2021, when the company’s market value stood around $281 billion.
Nike predicted further declines in revenue and profitability in the current quarter due to an ongoing merchandise reset that it says is necessary to revive growth. The company, which has manufacturing locations in both China and Mexico, said its outlook also reflects the estimated impact from newly implemented tariffs on imports from the countries.
The fiscal third-quarter report was the latest in a string of disappointing updates from Nike, which has been grappling with a sales slump that began under previous chief executive officer John Donahoe.
Still, some on Wall Street continue to have confidence that CEO Elliott Hill, a longtime Nike executive who came out of retirement to take the top role in October, is the right leader to guide the company back to growth.
“He’s eyes wide open and understands how much lifting is required,” said Kevin McCarthy, a portfolio manager for the Neuberger Berman Connected Consumer ETF, which holds Nike shares. “There’s a very real turnaround with a smart architect at the top, but it’s a tanker ship and it’s going to take time to move it around.”
By Katrina Compoli
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The activewear brand’s shares dropped almost 5 percent after CFO Matthew Friend said he expects fourth-quarter revenue to decline by more than analyst expectations in Nike’s third-quarter earnings call. Nike’s turnaround effort faces weak consumer spending and fallout from President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war.
