Nike surges after earnings beat as Wall Street cheers turnaround plan
The sneaker giant is spending more on athletes and is better braced to handle tariffs.
Nike shares jumped 15% Friday after the sneaker giant beat Wall Street’s earnings expectations and laid out a clearer game plan for its comeback.
UBS analysts raised their price target from $56 to $63 (though they maintained a “neutral” rating), citing a better-than-expected sales outlook and less margin pressure from tariffs. Nike signaled it could absorb more of the tariff impact than investors had anticipated.
The Street cheered Nike’s revenue forecast, which called for a mid-single-digit decline this quarter, softer than the 7% drop expected by the Street. Nike also boosted marketing spend by 15% last quarter, leaning into its roots with a bigger focus on athletes and sports.
Analysts also said the company is taking a more strategic approach by delaying splashy launches (like the upcoming Nike x SKIMS collab) to better time performance-led campaigns.
“We remain on track for a healthy and clean marketplace by the end of the first half of 2026. And, as I highlighted, North America and EMEA have made more progress,” CFO Matthew Friend told investors during the earnings call.
Nike shares are down about 2.5% year to date.
