nike On Tuesday, the company posted quarterly profits and sales that beat Wall Street expectations, even as sales declined again in its key Chinese market.
Here’s what Nike reported in its fiscal fourth quarter compared to analyst expectations, according to LSEG consensus estimates.
Earnings per share: 20 cents adjusted, 13 cents expected; Revenue: $10.97 billion, $10.86 billion expected.
Nike stock made up most of its losses after falling as much as 8% in extended trading on Tuesday.
The company said its gross profit margin increased 8.9% in the quarter, largely due to expected tariff refunds of nearly $986 million after the Supreme Court struck down much of President Donald Trump’s global mandate. Tariff refunds contributed 52 cents to Nike’s earnings per share in the quarter.
Analysts excluded this gain from their adjusted earnings estimates.
Nike had collected more than $300 million in cash related to tariff refund claims at the end of this quarter, company executives said on a conference call with analysts.
Nike’s net income was $1.07 billion, or 72 cents per share, compared with $211 million, or 14 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Revenue increased to $10.97 billion, down 1% from $11.1 billion in the same period last year.
Sales in North America, Nike’s largest market, rose 3% to $4.83 billion. According to street accounts, the revenue fell short of analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion.
Nike’s sales in the Greater China market fell 12% to $1.3 billion. Still, the company beat Wall Street’s expectations for revenue of $1.24 billion.
Chief Executive Officer Elliott Hill said on a call with analysts that the company is “fully committed” to winning back the Chinese market.
“Overall, the results are still in,” Hill said. “We know we are not reaching our full potential as sell-through continues to be a challenge, particularly for Nike sportswear and Jordan streetwear, impacting both current discounts and future orders.”
For the full year 2026, Nike reported net income of $3.11 billion, or $2.10 per share, compared to net income of $3.22 billion, or $2.16 per share, in the prior year.
Looking forward, the company is reiterating the guidance it gave last fiscal quarter and expects earnings to be “flat” through the first two quarters of fiscal 2027, Friend said. Nike also expects gross margins to be slightly positive in the first quarter of 2027.
The gains come as Hill is repositioning Nike for growth amid sluggish sales. The company previously warned that performance would not be linear as certain parts of the business improved at different rates.
Hill previously said the segments Nike initially focused on turning around are starting to show “momentum.”
This rebuilding effort also counters macroeconomic uncertainty caused by tariffs, war in the Middle East, and rising gasoline prices. CFO Matt Friend said on a call with analysts that Nike consumers are “under pressure around the world,” which has had a huge impact on sportswear, which resulted in double-digit revenue declines in the quarter.
Nike implemented major layoffs in April, eliminating 1,400 roles across the organization, the second round of layoffs this year.
Last week, the company announced plans for a CFO change. pfizer Executive David Denton will take over from Friend on August 17th.
Still, Nike caused a boom at the World Cup, which was held across North America this summer. Although not an official sponsor, the company’s advertising significantly outperformed its sneaker rivals. adidas And it gets a lot of attention across social media.
“What feels different this time around is that we’re not treating the tournament as a blip, we’re using it to reinvent our business, telling stories that connect over time, engaging different communities in the right way, and building momentum that lasts beyond the tournament,” Hill said on a conference call with analysts.
