NEW YORK | September 5, 2026 | 4:30 p.m. EDT — NIKE, Inc. NYSE:NKE closed Friday at $38.40, its weakest finish in roughly 12 years. Hours later, an index review delivered another blow: the company will leave the S&P 100.
S&P Dow Jones Indices said Nike will leave the blue-chip benchmark before trading opens September 21. It remains in the broader S&P 500.
The distinction limits the mechanical damage. The $20.45 billion iShares S&P 100 ETF (NYSEARCA:OEF) held 506,524 Nike shares on Thursday, worth $19.6 million.
That position equals only 2.5% of Friday’s 20.6 million-share volume. It illustrates one tracker, not every index-linked account. Still, the removal adds an unwelcome signal to a stock down 48.0% in one year.
Fresh SEC paperwork offers a tempting counterpoint. Executive Chair Mark Parker received 180,832 stock options with a $38.12 exercise price.
That was compensation, not dip-buying. Parker paid nothing for the award, and none of it vests immediately.
Wall Street is closed for the weekend and remains closed Monday for Labor Day under the NYSE calendar. Nike lost 3.0% during the holiday-shortened week.
Nike leaves the S&P 100, not the S&P 500
The Swoosh lost almost half its market value per share
One filing, two very different signals
The grant matters because its strike now shadows the stock. Friday’s close sat only 28 cents above $38.12.
Across the full award, that spread equals $50,633 of theoretical intrinsic value against an exercise cost of almost $6.9 million.
It cannot be exercised today. The Form 4 says 25% vests on each of four grant anniversaries, starting next September.
Several summaries called the options an acquisition, while the filing’s transaction code and footnote tell the plainer story. Parker committed no cash in the open market.
A large option count is not a large purchase
$38.12Close
$38.40
The real turnaround is uneven
Nike’s sales record explains why shares sit near the option strike: fiscal 2026 revenue was $46.4 billion, flat as reported.
Currency-neutral revenue fell 2%, leaving sales 9.7% below fiscal 2024, when Nike produced $51.4 billion.
Chief Executive Elliott Hill conceded the pressure in June. “We continue to face top-line headwinds,” he said in the company’s results. He pointed to performance products as an area of progress.
The fourth quarter split in two: wholesale revenue rose 4% to $6.6 billion. Nike Direct fell 7% to $4.1 billion.
Digital sales dropped 12%, while company-owned stores lost 7% and Converse revenue sank 32%. These are operating gaps, not presentation problems.
Wholesale improved while owned channels retreated
The headline margin also needs surgery because reported gross margin jumped 890 basis points to 49.2%.
Nike attributed about 900 basis points to expected tariff recoveries, a $986 million benefit that also lifted quarterly earnings. Full-year EPS still fell 3% to $2.10.
The cleaner annual picture was subdued. Full-year gross margin improved just 20 basis points to 42.9%. Inventory remained flat at $7.5 billion.
Cheap-looking is not the same as cheap
Friday’s price equals 18.3 times fiscal 2026 earnings. The annualized $1.64 dividend yields about 4.27% at that close.
The yield provides cash income. It does not prove demand has recovered. Nike declared the latest 41-cent payment in August.
Recent analyst targets cluster near the market. JPMorgan moved to Underweight with a $40 target in August. Truist followed with Hold and $42.
RBC Capital and Stifel each sit at $45, according to recent rating records. JPMorgan analyst Matthew Boss warned that “Win Now” costs could reach fiscal 2028.
Cautious targets offer only a narrow runway
$38.40JPM
$40Truist
$42RBC / Stifel
$45
October, not the option filing, carries the evidence
Tuesday’s annual meeting comes first. Its agenda covers directors, pay, accounting and two shareholder proposals. None supplies a new quarterly sales read.
Nike reports fiscal first-quarter results on October 1 after trading closes. Direct and digital sales deserve the earliest look. Greater China and margin quality follow.
There is also an accounting transition. Chief Accounting Officer Johanna Nielsen left Friday for another opportunity. Nike said the departure involved no disagreement over operations, policy or practices.
New finance chief David Denton became interim controller, according to the company’s August 8-K. That arrangement merits attention, though the filing identifies no accounting dispute.
The risk ledger cuts both ways
Fresh performance products and repaired wholesale relationships could stabilize revenue. A clean margin gain would give the depressed valuation room to expand.
The countercase is still visible. Discounting, weaker digital traffic and China pressure can keep earnings below old levels. Competition from adidas AG (ETR:ADS), On Holding AG NYSE:ONON and Deckers Outdoor Corp. NYSE:DECK raises the bar.
Nike is priced like patience has expired. October could reward that pessimism if operating numbers turn. Until then, Parker’s grant should not be mistaken for someone buying the low.
