Nike Stock Heads Toward Its Worst Year Ever Amid Sales Slump
Nike is staring down what could be a record bad year for its stock as sales keep sliding in key markets.
If you own Nike shares, you might want to sit down for this one. The athletic apparel giant is on track for what analysts are calling potentially its worst year ever in the stock market, and the pain doesn't look like it's letting up anytime soon.
The company has been fighting headwinds on two major fronts: China and its core sneaker business. China, once a growth engine that investors drooled over, has turned into a serious drag on Nike's results. Meanwhile, the sneaker segment — pretty much the whole reason Nike exists — has been struggling to find its footing (pun intended).
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For everyday investors, this is a good reminder of how even the most iconic consumer brands can hit rough patches. Nike's swoosh is still one of the most recognized logos on the planet, but brand recognition doesn't automatically translate into quarterly revenue beats. When your two biggest growth levers — an enormous emerging market and your flagship product category — are both sputtering, Wall Street notices fast.
What makes this stretch particularly rough is that there's no clear quick fix on the horizon. Rebuilding consumer demand in China takes time, especially in a complicated geopolitical and economic environment. Reinvigorating a sneaker lineup that shoppers have started to tune out isn't something you solve with a single product launch. Turnarounds at companies this size are measured in years, not quarters.
So where does that leave Nike fans who are also shareholders? Watching carefully and hoping the brand's deep roots are enough to weather the storm. Continue reading at MarketWatch.com.
