When Nike brought Elliott Hill out of retirement almost two years ago to helm the sports conglomerate, it was with the intention of turning the brand’s strained relationships with athletes and retailers around in what Hill would later call a “sport offense.”
That offensive strategy seemed to pay off—in North America at least—when Nike’s quarterly earnings exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. The company reported an adjusted 20 cents earnings per share, compared to the 13 cents expected. It also reported $10.97 billion in revenue, a $130 million increase from the expected $10.86 billion. And thanks to a nearly billion dollar tariff refund ($986 million), the company’s gross margin increased 8.9% during the quarter—even if analysts excluded the gain in their earnings expectations.
