NEW YORK, December 31, 2025, 16:39 ET — After-hours
- Nike shares outperformed the broader market in late trade after a CEO insider-buying filing.
- Elliott Hill reported buying 16,388 shares at about $61.10 each, an SEC filing showed.
- Investors are watching for clearer signs of margin stabilization and demand improvement into 2026.
Nike, Inc. (NKE) shares rose 4.2% to $63.71 in after-hours trading on Wednesday after a regulatory filing showed CEO Elliott Hill bought about $1 million of company stock. Nike traded between $61.96 and $64.19 during the session and volume topped 35 million shares. The S&P 500 ETF SPY fell 0.7% and the consumer-discretionary ETF XLY slid 0.8%.
Insider buying can sway sentiment because executives are seen as having a clearer view of the business than outside investors. Nike is down about 19% for the year, and Guggenheim analyst Simeon Siegel said the purchases were encouraging even with pressure from falling margins and weaker China sales, Reuters reported.
The disclosure arrives as traders look for signs that Nike’s turnaround is starting to take hold after a volatile December. Investors have focused on the pace of inventory cleanup and whether demand is stabilizing across key regions ahead of the next quarterly update.
In a Form 4 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, Hill reported buying 16,388 Class B shares on Dec. 29 at a weighted-average $61.10. The filing said the buys were executed at prices ranging from $61.09 to $61.10 and lifted his direct holdings to 241,587 shares. It also noted that, under company policy, market transactions are permitted only during a post-earnings trading window unless done under 10b5-1 plans—pre-set trading instructions designed to limit the risk of trading on material non-public information.
Nike’s last results showed why investors have been cautious. In its Dec. 18 release for fiscal second-quarter results, the company said revenue rose 1% to $12.4 billion while net income fell 32% to $792 million, and gross margin—a key profitability measure—fell 300 basis points, or three percentage points, to 40.6% on higher tariffs in North America. “We are making the shifts required to position our portfolio for a full recovery,” Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend said. Nike Investors
The stock fell about 11% after those results, Barron’s reported, before stabilizing into year-end.
Traders say the next test is whether Nike can lift gross margin without leaning on heavy discounts. Updates on inventory levels and demand in Greater China remain central to that call.
The rebound on insider buying underlines how sensitive the stock remains to incremental signals about the turnaround. The shares have tended to move sharply this year on any change in expectations for margins and regional demand.
Nike has not announced the date for its next earnings report. The next release is expected around March 19, according to Zacks Investment Research.
With liquidity thinning late in the year, traders will watch whether Wednesday’s move holds once regular volumes return in January. For Nike, any follow-through will hinge on evidence that margins are stabilizing and regional demand trends are improving.
