Nike sees consumers under pressure worldwide

US sportswear group Nike Inc. sees a gloomy mood in the sportswear market overall, despite a business boost from the World Cup. “Our customers are under pressure around the world, and that is being felt in the sportswear business,” said chief financial officer Matthew Friend during a conference call with analysts.

Three months ago, Nike had already identified risks from the war in Iran, which could lead to “unplanned fluctuations” in consumer behaviour due to factors like rising oil prices. Now, the company has stated it does not expect an improvement in sentiment over the next six months.

Figures better than expected

Nike's results for the fourth quarter of 2025/26 largely exceeded average analyst expectations, although there was another decline in the important Chinese market. The company's shares fell by around 3 percent in after-hours US trading.

Nike CEO Elliott Hill also highlighted a positive effect from the World Cup, which is currently being held in the company's home market of the US, among other places. He said that at the start of the tournament, the company had already sold two and a half times more national team merchandise than at the same point during the previous World Cup in 2022. Nike is the official supplier for the US national team, among others, and will also replace Adidas as the supplier for the German Football Association (DFB) team next year.

Revenue declines expected

Nike is preparing for revenue declines in the coming months. In the last quarter, revenue fell by one percent year-over-year to 10.97 billion dollars. Analysts had expected an average of 10.86 billion dollars. The bottom line showed a quarterly profit jump from 211 million dollars in the same quarter last year to 1.07 billion dollars. A key reason for this, however, was a claim for the repayment of US import duties after orders from President Donald Trump were overturned by the country's Supreme Court.

With revenues of 4.83 billion dollars in the US, Nike was slightly below market expectations. In contrast, revenues of around 1.3 billion dollars in China were higher than the average expert forecast.

Self-inflicted slump

Nike is looking for a way out of a slump that the company manoeuvred itself into. In recent years, the group has focused heavily on direct-to-consumer sales at the expense of retail. As a result, competing brands were able to take shelf space from Nike in stores, particularly in the US market, which hurt sales. The company is now striving to improve its relationship with its retail partners.

CEO Hill has directed the Adidas competitor to focus more on athletes, after the lifestyle portion of its product range had increased in recent years. (dpa/FashionUnited)

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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