Why Nike Stock Was a Major Winner on Wednesday

Key Points

• The famous athletic apparel and shoe company published its latest set of quarterly results.

• Revenue was up marginally and net income was down substantially, but both still beat the consensus analyst estimates.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nike ›

In recent times Nike (NYSE: NKE) stock has had plenty of lousy trading sessions, but Wednesday's sure wasn't one of them. After publishing its latest set of quarterly results after market close Tuesday, investors raced into the athletic apparel maker's shares to push them to a more than 6% gain. That gave the stock an easy victory over the S&P 500 index, which posted a 0.3% increase on the day.

Twin beats

For its fiscal first quarter of 2026, Nike earned revenue of $11.7 billion. That represented an increase of 1% on a year-over-year basis. Of this, wholesale revenue was a standout, as it leaped 7% higher to come in at $6.8 billion. On the flip side, the company's direct-to-consumer service Nike Direct saw its top line sag by 4% to $4.5 billion.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Image source: Getty Images.

Nike suffered a steeper fall in GAAP net income; this declined by 31% over the one-year stretch to $727 million, or $0.49 per share.

However, analysts tracking the company were expecting it to do notably worse. Their consensus estimate for revenue was just under $11 billion, and that for per-share net income was well under the actual figure, at $0.22.

Referring to Nike's turnaround program, the company quoted CEO Elliott Hill as saying that it made good "progress through our Win Now actions in our priority areas of North America, wholesale, and running."

More races to run

Hill tempered this by stating "While we're getting wins under our belt, we still have work ahead to get all sports, geographies, and channels on a similar path as we manage a dynamic operating environment."

In the conference call discussing the quarter, Nike's CFO Matt Friend proffered selected guidance for both the current (second) quarter and the entirety of fiscal 2026. For the latter period Nike is expecting the key wholesale business to get back to "modest" growth in the year, although Nike Direct likely will not see higher revenue. Friend did not get more specific.

Should you invest $1,000 in Nike right now?

Before you buy stock in Nike, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nike wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $646,567!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,143,710!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,072% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 191% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 29, 2025

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nike. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.