BEAVERTON, Oregon, June 30, 2026, 14:04 PDT
- Nike’s fiscal fourth-quarter revenue was $10.97 billion, ahead of the $10.86 billion LSEG estimate, but down 1% from a year earlier.
- A $986 million expected tariff recovery added 52 cents to EPS and about 900 basis points to gross margin.
- Wholesale rose 4%; Nike Direct fell 7%, with Nike Brand Digital down 12%.
- The stock feed last showed Nike at $41.05, 45 cents below its previous close, with the latest trade at 20:48 UTC.
NIKE, Inc. NYSE:NKE beat quarterly revenue estimates on Tuesday, but the cleaner read for investors was less kind: most of the profit jump came from tariff recovery, while Nike’s own stores and digital channel kept falling.
Revenue was $10.97 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter ended May 31, down 1% on a reported basis and down 4% on a currency-neutral basis. Nike reported diluted EPS of 72 cents, including a 52-cent benefit tied to expected recovery of International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs. The company said the recovery became probable after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling found those tariffs unauthorized.
The tariff line changes the quality of the beat. On a simple subtraction basis, EPS was about 20 cents before the benefit, and gross margin was about 40.2%, nearly flat with last year’s 40.3%.
| Q4 metric | Reported | Ex-tariff recovery estimate | Year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diluted EPS | $0.72 | About $0.20 | $0.14 |
| Gross margin | 49.2% | About 40.2% | 40.3% |
| Gross profit | $5.39 bln | About $4.41 bln | $4.47 bln |
That matters because investors are paying for a turnaround in demand and product heat, not a refund. Nike’s gross profit, stripped of the $986 million recovery, was slightly below last year despite lower cost of sales.
The channel split was also hard to call clean. Wholesale revenue rose 4% to $6.6 billion, a sign that Chief Executive Elliott Hill is repairing retail relationships. Nike Direct fell 7% to $4.1 billion, hurt by a 12% drop in Nike Brand Digital and a 7% fall in Nike-owned stores.
| Area watched by investors | Q4 revenue | Reported change | Currency-neutral change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | $6.6 bln | +4% | +1% |
| Nike Direct | $4.1 bln | -7% | -9% |
| North America | $4.83 bln | +3% | +3% |
| Greater China | $1.30 bln | -12% | -17% |
| Converse | $244 mln | -32% | -34% |
Hill said Nike still faces “top-line headwinds” but cited progress in performance products. Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend said “sell-through remains challenged” and Nike is cutting costs for better efficiency. Business Wire
Greater China stayed weak. Revenue in the region fell 17% on a currency-neutral basis, better than the 20% drop Nike had projected in March but worse than the prior quarter’s 10% fall, Reuters reported. Greater China is Nike’s third-largest market and about 15% of annual sales; local rivals Anta Sports Products HKG:2020 and Li Ning (HKG:2331) have added pressure.
Inventories were $7.5 billion, flat from a year earlier, as higher units were offset by product mix shifts. Cash, equivalents and short-term investments were $9.0 billion, down about $100 million from last year. Nike returned $609 million through dividends in the fourth quarter; full-year buybacks were only $123 million under its $18 billion authorization.
The latest stock feed showed a $60.8 billion market value and a last price of $41.05, below the previous close, after regular results timing. Reuters said Nike shares were down 35% this year before the post-results move.
For investors, the next test is narrow: whether wholesale strength can grow without more pressure in Nike Direct, and whether the China decline slows before the tariff benefit drops out of the comparison.
