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Nike shares plunge as company withdraws guidance due to CEO change

Nike shares plunge as company withdraws guidance due to CEO change

Nike (NKE) shares fell about 5% in after-hours trading on Tuesday evening as the company reported fiscal first-quarter revenue that fell short of estimates and withdrew its outlook for the year amid a CEO change.

The footwear giant reported first-quarter earnings per share of $0.70, above Wall Street's estimate of $0.52 and a 26% decline from the year-ago period. Meanwhile, Nike's revenue of $11.59 billion fell short of analyst estimates of $11.65 billion and was down 10% from the same period last year.

Nike reported a decline in sales in both its direct-to-consumer and wholesale businesses. Nike Direct revenue was $4.7 billion, down 13% from the year-ago quarter. Wholesale sales were $6.4 billion, down 8% from the same period last year.

“A comeback of this magnitude takes time, and while there are some early victories, we have yet to turn it around,” Nike CFO Matthew Friend said on the company's earnings call Tuesday evening.

Morningstar equity analyst David Swartz told Yahoo Finance that Nike's report was “pretty much in line with what people expected.”

“Nike has really been warning us since the end of last year, in December 2023, that the sportswear market wasn't very strong and that its innovation cycle wasn't looking great going into fiscal 2025 either,” Swartz said. “Right now, Nike is in a situation where it is not releasing many new products and is backtracking on some other products.”

The quarterly report is Nike's first since the company announced a CEO change amid weak sales growth. Elliott Hill, a former Nike executive who retired in 2020, will replace John Donahoe as CEO on October 14. The news initially caused Nike shares to rise by up to 10%.

Nike shares have slumped this year, falling more than 25% ahead of the CEO change announcement on September 19, amid concerns about slowing sales growth and pressure from emerging rivals in the space such as On's Hoka brand ( ONON) and Deckers (DECK) passed.

“This athletic apparel industry is much more competitive today than it was five years ago,” Swartz said. “Donahoe didn’t understand until it was a little too late.”

Friend said Nike expects its current quarter sales to fall in a range of 8% to 10%, weaker than Wall Street's original expectations of a 6.7% decline.

“Sales expectations have weakened year-to-date given Nike traffic trends, digital retail sales across the market and final spring order books,” Friend said.

Tuesday's print marked the sixth straight quarter in which Nike reported single-digit or worse sales growth. The company also announced Tuesday that its upcoming investor day has been postponed, with no future date announced.

In a note to clients Monday morning, Jefferies analyst Randal Konik wrote that he doesn't expect Hill to have an impact on Nike's performance until fiscal 2026. Therefore, Konik believes the shares are in “no man's land” and are likely to stay within their range for several quarters.

STARKVILLE, MS – SEPTEMBER 21: A general view of a Nike Florida Gators football during the game between the Florida Gators and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on September 21, 2024 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)STARKVILLE, MS – SEPTEMBER 21: A general view of a Nike Florida Gators football during the game between the Florida Gators and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on September 21, 2024 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

A general view of a Nike Florida Gators football during the game between the Florida Gators and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on September 21, 2024 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.

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