Nike (NKE) is expected to report "soft" quarterly results next week amid internal business challenges and macro pressures in key markets, Oppenheimer said Friday.
Nike is likely viewing 2026 as a restructuring year, the brokerage said in a note, adding that investor sentiment around the stock is now largely "washed out." The brokerage maintained a cautious stance, recommending investors stay on the sidelines until clearer signs of a broad-based recovery emerge.
Nike is scheduled to report its fiscal fourth-quarter results on June 30. Analysts polled by FactSet expect the company to post adjusted earnings per share of $0.13 and revenue of $10.85 billion. The brokerage expects fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $0.10 per share on revenue of about $10.8 billion.
Earlier this week, Nike said David Denton will join the company as chief financial officer, effective Aug. 17, succeeding Matthew Friend. Oppenheimer flagged the CFO transition as a potential source of near-term uncertainty. "We are concerned that a forthcoming CFO transition is likely to impact abilities of the company to update nearer-term financial guidance, effectively, thereby potentially spurring more volatility in shares," Oppenheimer analyst Brian Nagel said in the note.
"Overall, we expect more of the same, with leadership highlighting ongoing, increasingly aggressive repositioning efforts, but results, while largely in line, still soft, owing to continued internal dislocations and macro challenges in the US and abroad," Nagel wrote.
In China, Oppenheimer expects Nike's strategic repositioning efforts to continue but believes persistent market weakness will likely prevent management from outlining a clear turnaround timeline. Guidance implies China sales declined about 20% during the fiscal fourth quarter, the note said.
Oppenheimer reiterated its outperform rating on Nike but lowered its price target to $60 from $120.
Price: $40.93, Change: $+0.03, Percent Change: +0.07%