The Nike ‘swoosh’ logo
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Nike stock jumped nearly 6% in pre-market trading on Monday, after the athletic giant’s reported fiscal second quarter earnings on Friday that once again beat analysts’ estimates, showing its ongoing appeal during the pandemic.
Nike (ticker: NKE) said it earned 78 cents a share on revenue that rose 7% year over year on a constant-currency basis to $11.2 billion. Analysts expected per-share earnings of 63 cents on revenue of $10.55 billion.
The company said it saw strength across geographies, led by a continuing rebound in China from previous pandemic weakness. Nike’s direct sales jumped 30%, excluding currency fluctuations, to $4.3 billion, with double-digit growth worldwide. Nike brand digital sales surged 80%, led by triple-digit growth in North America.
The company said inventories declined 2% in the quarter and “have returned to healthy levels globally.” While some stores remain closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 90% of its bricks-and-mortar locations are currently open.
Nike stock ended lower in regular trading Friday, but rose 4.7% to $143.73 in late-trading. It has gained 37.5% year to date through Friday’s close.
Nike, like many retailers, felt the pinch of Covid-19 earlier in the year, but has since recovered as consumers spend freely on athleisure and fitness. That has led the stock to reach new highs in recent months.
This quarter was again comfortably ahead of top- and bottom-line expectations—showing that even as hopes for a vaccine grow, Nike remains popular with consumers and has easily overcome prior weakness in key markets like the U.S. and China. Investors were likely also pleased to see that its online and direct-to-consumer strategy continues to pay off.
Write to Teresa Rivas at [email protected]
