NEW YORK, January 2, 2026, 08:26 ET — Premarket
Nike (NKE.N) shares were indicated up about 0.5% in premarket trading on Friday after Chief Executive Elliott Hill disclosed buying about $1 million of the stock. The shares last closed at $63.71, up 4.1% in the final session of 2025, and were quoted around $64.04 before the bell.
Insider buying is closely watched on Wall Street because executives typically put their own money to work only when they think the market is missing something. Hill’s purchase lands as Nike tries to steady demand and rebuild profitability after a stretch of margin pressure and uneven sales trends.
Nike said on Dec. 18 that fiscal second-quarter revenue rose 1% to $12.4 billion, while Nike Direct revenue fell 8% and gross margin dropped 300 basis points — three percentage points — to 40.6%, citing higher tariffs in North America. “NIKE is in the middle innings of our comeback,” Hill said in that earnings release, which also showed inventories down 3% and marketing-related “demand creation” spending up 13%.
In a Form 4 — the SEC document insiders file to disclose stock transactions — Hill reported buying 16,388 Class B shares on Dec. 29 at a weighted-average $61.10, lifting his direct holdings to 241,587 shares. The filing said the shares were bought in multiple transactions between $61.09 and $61.10 and flagged Nike’s policy limiting executives’ market trades to set windows, unless they use a 10b5-1 plan, a pre-arranged trading program.
The company-specific catalyst comes as broader markets start 2026 on a firmer footing, with U.S. equity futures higher after late-December losses. Deutsche Bank analysts cautioned that “the first trading day has been an incredibly poor guide” to how the year ultimately plays out, while investors look to fresh economic data and the Federal Reserve’s rate path.
For Nike, the timing matters because the stock has been quick to react to any sign of confidence in the turnaround plan. A CEO’s open-market purchase tends to resonate more than option-related trades because it is a direct bet with personal cash.
The buy does not change Nike’s near-term fundamentals, but it sharpens the focus on execution. Investors want evidence that higher marketing outlays are lifting full-price demand rather than forcing deeper promotions that squeeze margins.
Key watchpoints include whether Nike can stabilize its direct-to-consumer business — particularly digital — while keeping inventories clean enough to avoid discounting. Traders will also track how quickly Nike can balance its wholesale channel against its own stores without giving up pricing power.
Nike has traded between $52.28 and $82.44 over the past 52 weeks, leaving it closer to the low end of that range even after the late-December rebound.
Any follow-through will be tested at the opening bell as investors digest macro headlines and the latest read on risk appetite. Nike’s size in major indexes can amplify moves when a single catalyst attracts momentum trading.
