Nike Whiffs on the Top Line Despite Solid Earnings

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) reported fiscal third-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Tuesday. The company said it had $0.55 in earnings per share (EPS) on $8.03 billion in revenue, compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.49 in EPS on $8.20 billion in revenue. The same period from last year had $0.45 in EPS on $7.46 billion in revenue.

In this quarter revenues rose 8%, but on a currency neutral basis revenues were actually up as much as 14%. In terms of the brand breakdown, the Nike brand revenues totaled $7.6 billion up 15% on a currency neutral basis, while the Converse brand revenues only totaled $489 million down 5% on a currency neutral basis.

During the third quarter, Nike repurchased a total of 24.3 million shares for roughly $1.5 billion and concluded the previous four-year, $8 billion share repurchase program approved in September 2012. Nike has begun repurchasing shares under its new $12 billion authorization approved in November 2015. So far under this new program about $650 million was used to repurchase shares in the fiscal third quarter.
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At the end of the quarter, worldwide futures orders for Nike Brand athletic footwear and apparel scheduled for delivery between March 2016 and July 2016 were 12% higher than orders reported for the same period last year. Excluding currency changes, futures orders would have increased 17%.

Mark Parker, president and CEO of Nike, commented on earnings:

In the third quarter, NIKE delivered robust and balanced growth across our expansive, powerful portfolio. We grow by serving the athlete personally every day and, as we unveiled last week, through breakthrough innovation that gives us a foundation for growth for years to come. Combined with our strategic investments, world-class execution and financial discipline, NIKE consistently delivers value to our shareholders.

On the books, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $5.1 billion at the end of the quarter, compared to $5.4 billion in the same period from the previous year.

Shares of Nike closed Tuesday at $64.90, with a consensus analyst price target of $71.24 and a 52-week trading range of $47.25 to $68.19. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was initially down 4% at $62.29 in the after-hours trading session.