Companies and Brands

What to Expect When Nike Reports on Thursday

Chris Lange

Published: March 21, 2018 12:25 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 2:13 am

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is scheduled to release its fiscal third-quarter financial results after the markets close on Thursday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for $0.53 in earnings per share (EPS) on $8.85 billion in revenue. In the same period of last year, Nike said it had EPS of $0.68 and $8.43 billion in revenue.

This firm has been the subject of much scrutiny recently after it released an internal memo detailing an investigation into workplace behavior, as well as announcing that a few of its high-level executives would be departing.

According to the memo, Nike management has become aware of reports of behavior occurring within its organization that does not reflect its core values of “inclusivity, respect, and empowerment.” In a sense, this is highlighting what many perceive as sexual harassment. And this comes at a strange time.

The memo detailed Nike’s plan for investigating and evaluating these claims going forward:

We are going to be doing a comprehensive review of our HR systems and practices along with elevating our complaint process for matters of respect issues. We will increase and invest more heavily in our diversity and inclusion teams and networks and additionally will immediately put in place an enhanced process to encourage our employees to speak up and make their voices heard.

So far in 2018, Nike stock has outperformed the broad markets, with its shares up about 7%. Over the past 52 weeks, its stock is more in line, just up about 14%.

A few analysts weighed in on Nike ahead of the report:

• Merrill Lynch has a Sell rating with a $42 price target.
• Canaccord Genuity has a Hold rating and a $60 price target.
• Telsey Advisory Group has an Outperform rating with a $77 target.
• B. Riley has a Hold rating.
• Credit Suisse has an Outperform rating with a $78 target price.
• Wedbush has an Outperform rating and a $74 price target.
• JPMorgan has a Neutral rating with a $58 price target.

Shares of Nike were last seen at $67.09, with a consensus analyst price target of $68.68 and a 52-week range of $50.35 to $70.25.