NEW YORK, December 31, 2025, 12:20 ET — Regular session
- Nike shares rose about 4% in midday trading after CEO Elliott Hill disclosed a roughly $1 million stock purchase.
- Hill bought 16,388 Nike Class B shares on Dec. 29 at an average $61.10, an SEC filing showed.
- Investors remain focused on margins, tariff costs and demand in China after Nike’s December results.
Nike (NKE) shares rose 4.1% to $63.72 in midday trading on Wednesday after a regulatory filing showed CEO Elliott Hill bought about $1 million of stock. The Form 4 filing, which discloses insider transactions, said Hill bought 16,388 Nike Class B shares on Dec. 29 at an average $61.10, lifting his direct holding to 241,587 shares.
Investors have been looking for signs that Nike’s turnaround is gaining traction after margin pressure and a slide in demand in parts of the business. Insider purchases can matter because they put executives’ own money behind that narrative.
The disclosure landed in thin holiday trading, when single-stock catalysts can have an outsized impact on price moves. For Nike, the buying comes after weeks of focus on whether the company can stabilize profitability while reigniting growth.
The purchase follows other late-December insider buying at Nike. A Form 4 showed board member Timothy Cook bought 50,000 shares on Dec. 22 at $58.97, while director Robert Swan bought 8,691 shares the same day at $57.54.
Nike has been trying to reset its product mix and clear older inventory, but the shift has weighed on profitability. On Dec. 18, the company reported second-quarter revenue of $12.43 billion and said gross margin fell 300 basis points, while forecasting another 175 to 225 basis-point decline in the current quarter. Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend said tariffs on key Southeast Asian sourcing countries would cost Nike $1.5 billion this year, and Hill said the company was “in the middle innings” of its recovery. Reuters
Greater China is still the sore spot. Sales there fell 17% in the same quarter, and Hill told investors the company needed to reset its approach, as domestic rivals such as Anta and Li-Ning press price-sensitive shoppers. Nike shares hit a seven-month low of $58.71 on Dec. 19 as investors digested the China weakness and margin squeeze.
In North America, Nike has leaned on wholesale partners and a stronger running pipeline to hold demand, but discounting and inventory clearance remain in focus.
Gross margin is the share of sales left after making and shipping products; falling margins often signal heavier promotions or higher costs. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Traders will watch for updates on holiday-quarter sell-through, inventory levels and whether Nike can reduce promotions without losing volume. Any fresh disclosure on sourcing shifts or tariff impacts could also steer the stock.
Nike’s move came as U.S. stocks traded slightly lower in thin year-end volumes, with markets closed Thursday for New Year’s Day.
