Nike wrapped up its 2023 fiscal year with Q4 results late Thursday. Nike stock received a round of fresh price target downgrades early Friday, but inventory issues — the Dow Jones athletic shoe and apparel giant's Achilles' heel — were much improved according to one analyst. Shares traded lower Friday.
Nike Earnings
Nike earnings tumbled 26.7% to 66 cents per share while sales rose for the fourth consecutive quarter, climbing 4.6% to $12.8 billion.
FactSet analysts expected Nike earnings of 68 cents per share on $12.58 billion in revenue.
Nike's full-year earnings dropped 14% to $3.23 per share on 16% revenue growth to $52.1 billion. Wall Street expected fiscal 2023 earnings to fall to $3.24 per share on $50.98 billion in sales.
Nike's inventory stood at $8.5 billion as of May 31, flat compared to the same period last year.
"We finished the year with midteens currency-neutral revenue growth and a healthy marketplace - setting the foundation for sustainable, profitable growth in FY24 and beyond," Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend said in the earnings release.
The company did not provide an immediate outlook for its 2024 fiscal year.
Deutsche Bank analyst Gabriella Carbone called the report "better than feared." She said inventory issues appeared much improved, and signaled some relief in promotional pricing pressure. Carbone kept a buy rating, and lowered her price target to 125, from 126.
Nike Stock
Nike stock slipped 2.7% Friday following the earnings results. Shares closed 0.33% higher on Thursday, ahead of the report.
Nike shares ended Thursday just above their 200-day moving average and about 4.3% below their 50-day line. Nike stock is trading well below its 2023 high of 131.31 from the beginning of February and it has shed 5.7% so far this year.
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