Nike Press Release

A partnership with Kim Kardashian is Nike’s best idea since swapping its CEO

Nike shares spring higher after the athletic giant announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Kim Kardashian’s Skims.

Nia Warfield

2/18/25 12:54PM

Just Skim it.

Shares of Nike jumped over 4% after the athletic giant announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Kim Kardashian’s Skims. The collaboration, dubbed NikeSkims, will merge Nike’s performance apparel expertise with Skims’ $4 billion shapewear empire. The stock is poised for its best session since September 20th, the day CEO John Donahoe announced that he’d soon be stepping down.

The initial women’s apparel line is set to launch this spring, with footwear and accessories to follow. It will be available on Skims and Nike websites as well as in select US stores, with a global rollout planned for 2026. While exact product details remain skimpy, reports suggest the line will focus on workout apparel and incorporate performance fabrics like Nike’s Dri-Fit.

“It’s this great clash of performance products — athlete tested, athlete inspired — with Skims’ incredible attention to the female form and inclusivity,” said Heidi O’Neill, Nike’s president of consumer, product, and brand.

Skims, which launched in 2019, quickly gained popularity among millennials and Gen Z for its comfort-driven designs that cater to diverse body types and skin tones. The brand has since expanded through high-profile collaborations with the NBA, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Swarovski, and The North Face. In 2022, Skims even hired former Nike executive Andy Muir to be its chief financial officer.

The partnership comes at a pivotal moment for Nike, which has struggled with declining sales both in-store and online. With growing competition from brands like Deckers Outdoor, Hoka, Adidas, and Lululemon, Nike is looking to reinvigorate its women’s business. In December, the company appointed longtime executive Elliott Hill as CEO, signaling a shift in leadership and strategy.

Nike reports third-quarter earnings in late March.

Max Knoblauch4h

Ford says it will take $19.5 billion in charges in a massive EV write-down

The EV business has marked a long stretch of losing for Ford, and today the automaker announced it will take $19.5 billion in charges tied, for the most part, to its EV division.

Ford said it’s launching a battery energy storage business, leveraging battery plants in Kentucky and Michigan to “provide solutions for energy infrastructure and growing data center demand.”

According to Ford, the changes will drive Ford’s electrified division to profitability by 2029. The company will stop making its electric F-150, the Lightning, and instead shift to an “extended-range electric vehicle” that includes a gas-powered generator.

The Detroit automaker also raised its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes outlook to “about $7 billion” from a range of $6 billion to $6.5 billion.

Ford’s write-down is one of the largest taken by a company as legacy automakers scale back on EVs, giving EV-only automakers a market share boost.

Max Knoblauch6h

GM adds Apple Music to select new vehicles, racing to fill the gap left by CarPlay’s absence

Earlier this year, General Motors said it plans to end support for in-vehicle phone projection systems like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all of its vehicles (a big expansion of the move it announced for its EVs back in 2023).

Now, the automaker appears to be stocking its replacement system with native apps to fill the void. On Monday, GM announced it was rolling out Apple Music to select 2025 Chevrolet and Cadillac models.

Losing CarPlay is a sore subject for many drivers: 39% of respondents to an American Trucks survey this month said a lack of the system (or Android Auto) is a “deal-breaker” when it comes to buying a new vehicle.

Many automakers appear willing to risk alienating those potential customers in exchange for access to lucrative data. Others, including Tesla, are working to allow CarPlay to boost sagging sales, according to reporting by Bloomberg.