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Nike finds out what happens when woke meets earnings, stock price tumbles

April 2, 2026 | | Print Article

“Woke” Nike suffered another devastating setback this week, with its stock plummeting by 10 percent after a “mediocre” earnings report.

While the latest earnings report published after the close of business on March 31 contained “earnings that topped the average Wall Street analyst estimate and sales that were in line with the consensus target,” according to The Motley Fool, the guidance was very underwhelming.

“Nike says that it expects fiscal Q4 sales to decline between 2% and 4% on an annual basis,” the Fool noted.

This contradicts past remarks from Nike’s management signaling that performance would improve later this year, not get worse.

Nike further said that it expects sales from China in particular to drop by 20 percent year over year in the fourth quarter. This is especially problematic because “[f]or years, expansion in China had been a central component of Nike’s growth story,” according to the Fool.

The latest news inspired the CNBC Investing Club to downgrade Nike’s rating.

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“We’re downgrading Nike to our hold-equivalent 2 rating after another disappointing earnings report,” CNBC reported Wednesday. “While the headline earnings and sales beat the consensus, the main problem is that Nike’s weak guidance is once again forcing Wall Street to lower its future expectations.”

Analysts at JPMorgan and Bank of America have also downgraded Nike.

Nike CEO Elliott Hill isn’t happy about any of this.

“I’m so tired, and I know you are too, of talking about fixing this business,” he said during a company meeting Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. “I want to move to inspiring and driving growth and having fun.”

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He also bashed management for their prior optimistic outlook, saying, “You can’t just sit there and say everything’s great. Frankly, it needed to be different.”

Elliott has been in charge since October of 2024, when he took over with the task of restoring Nike to greatness. That year, Nike began mass layoffs that some blamed on the brand’s decision to embrace transgender madness:

But even with Hill at the helm, Nike continued making “woke” decisions, eventually prompting Jennifer Sey, a former Levi’s executive, to launch a clothing apparel brand of her own known as XX-XY.

In one of its first moves, the brand published a video to social media showing a number of female athletes telling Nike how they felt about its flagrantly pro-transgender activism

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“If I had a chance to talk to Nike, my message to Nike would be women’s sports aren’t just a marketing tool,” the women in the video said. “Think about your daughters. It’s a huge brand. You should stand for truth and integrity. Think about the next generation. You’re saying that you’re supporting women, but you’re not actually doing anything.”

“As a female athlete, my message to Nike would be ‘Why is this issue not talked about?” the women continued. “Nike is ignoring the real issue. This is real women, real careers, and real dreams on the line. I had dreams of playing in college, but those were all taken away from me by a man. You are using us when it’s convenient for you, but in private, you’re not doing anything about it. If we let men and boys continue to invade, women’s sports will be erased.”

“If I had a chance to talk to Nike, I’d tell them to just do it,” the women concluded. “That’s their slogan, isn’t it, Nike? And when I say it, I mean the right thing — and that’s defending women and biological reality.”

Vivek Saxena
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