Nike (NKE) shares fell in extended trading Thursday after the athletic apparel giant warned sales could take a hit in the current quarter under the company’s turnaround plan, with new tariffs adding to uncertainty.
Nike CFO Matt Friend told investors fiscal fourth-quarter sales are projected to fall by a percentage in the low end of the “mid-teens range” compared to the same period a year earlier, according transcript provided by AlphaSense. Consensus estimates from Visible Alpha show Wall Street analysts had expected sales to fall about 12%.
“We believe that the fourth quarter will reflect the largest impact from our win now actions,” Friend said, adding the company is also “navigating through several external factors that create uncertainty in the current operating environment, including geopolitical dynamics, new tariffs, volatile foreign exchange rates and tax regulations, as well as the impact of this uncertainty and other macro factors on consumer confidence.”
Nike shares initially ticked higher, before giving back gains to drop 5% in after-hours trading Thursday following the earnings call. They’ve lost more than one-quarter of their value over the past 12 months through the closing bell.
Sales Dropped in Q3, But Not as Much as Expected
The warning for the fourth quarter came as Nike reported third-quarter sales fell from a year ago, but not as much as analysts expected.
The athletic apparel giant saw its third-quarter revenue drop 9% year-over-year to $11.27 billion, though the figure topped the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha. Earnings of $794 million, or 54 cents per share, declined from $1.17 billion, or 77 cents per share, a year earlier, a narrower drop than Wall Street expected.
The better-than-expected quarter represents Nike’s second under new CEO Elliott Hill, who took over in October. Earlier this month, Oppenheimer analysts suggested Hill’s efforts to revitalize Nike appear to be “taking shape,” based on quarterly results from Foot Locker (FL), which sells Nike apparel.
During the company’s earnings call Thursday, Friend suggested headwinds from Nike’s efforts to shift its portfolio would likely start to ease after the fourth quarter.
UPDATE—March 20, 2025: This article has been updated since it was first published to include additional information and reflect more recent share price values.