Nike Looks Undervalued Here and Could Reward Long-Term Investors

There is a moment in every great brand's story when the stock gets cheap enough that patience becomes the most profitable strategy. Nike (NYSE: NKE) may be in that moment right now.

The stock trades near $40, down more than 35% year to date. The consensus Wall Street price target from analysts is $59.88, implying roughly 50% upside from here. Remember, other people's opinions alone don't make a stock a buy, but when you combine them with what is happening inside the company and in global sports culture right now, the case starts to feel more urgent.

Elliott Hill is putting his own money down

When CEO Elliott Hill took the job in October 2024, he inherited a brand that had spent years chasing lifestyle fashion at the expense of its sports roots, trained consumers to expect perpetual discounts, and quietly lost wholesale relationships that generate steady, predictable volume. He has been rebuilding all three, and he's repositioning product around performance, ending the promotional cycles, and rebuilding shelf space at Dick's Sporting Goods, Foot Locker, and international retailers.

This past April, Hill bought $1 million in Nike stock with his own money at $42.27 per share -- a 10% increase in his personal position. CEOs buy stock for one reason: They believe the price is going up. When the people who know this business better than anyone are putting their own capital in at current prices, investors should take notice.

Image source: Getty Images.

The World Cup is Nike's stage

Here is the part of the Nike story that rarely gets credit in the bear case: The FIFA World Cup 2026 is being played across the United States, Canada, and Mexico right now -- the first time North America has hosted since 1994. Adidas is the official FIFA sponsor and supplies the tournament ball. Nike has never paid to be an official sponsor, and it really doesn't need to.

Nike is outfitting 12 national teams in the tournament. Its "Rip Up The Script" campaign, featuring Kylian Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo, Vinícius Jr., Erling Haaland, and LeBron James, has accumulated 78 million YouTube views against Adidas' 7 million. Nike launched two new Mercurial soccer cleats this month and refreshed soccer merchandise across more than 5,000 retail doors worldwide. The brand has built World Cup momentum without spending a dollar on official sponsorship fees, which says something about the strength of the relationship between Nike and the sport itself.

Nike at $41 with a CEO buying stock personally, a World Cup underway on its home continent, 12 national teams in Nike kits, and a performance product line being rebuilt from the ground up, has a different risk profile than Nike at $100. This is one of the three or four most durable consumer brands ever built, trading at a level that assumes the recovery never comes. I think it's coming.

Micah Zimmerman 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.