The Nike logo is displayed at a Nike store in Austin, Texas on February 5, 2026.
Brandon Bell | getty images
Nike It’s expected to report a sharp decline in quarterly profit and flat sales on Tuesday as the sneaker giant continues to work through a massive turnaround under CEO Elliot Hill.
Nearly a year and a half into his tenure, Hill has made progress in overhauling parts of the business, but it’s clear it will take time to revamp the entire company given the retailer’s scale and complexity.
When reporting fiscal second-quarter results in December, Nike said sales in North America, its largest market, rose 9%. But the good news was overshadowed by a sharp decline in China, where revenue fell 17%.
Throughout the transition, the company has warned that progress will not be linear and that some parts of the business will improve faster than others, making it difficult for investors to estimate how long the recovery will take.
Nike’s turnaround effort was already coming at a difficult time as the global trade war had hampered its efforts to improve profitability and boost sales from inflation-weary shoppers. But now the athletic company must contend with a new war in the Middle East, which is already driving up gas prices and is expected to push consumer prices even higher, causing shoppers to cut back on nicer items like new clothes and shoes to save money elsewhere.
The upside is that Nike will benefit from several major sporting events, including the recent Winter Olympics held in the Milan region and the World Cup in North America this summer.
Given its position in the sports world, Nike expects to benefit from these events, but perhaps not as much as its peers Adidas and Puma, Third Bridge analyst Patrick Ricciardi said in an email note.
Nike is expected to provide its financial guidance during a conference call with analysts at 5 p.m. ET, where investors will look for any updates on its turnaround plan, its current quarter outlook and any color on the coming fiscal year.
Here’s what analysts are expecting from the world’s largest sneaker company, according to LSEG consensus estimates:
- earnings per share: 28 cents
- Income: $11.24 billion
Another key area of ​​focus for investors will be the company’s progress in North America during the holiday quarter, its busiest season of the year. Last quarter, Nike saw gains in the region, but some investors wondered whether consumers had stepped up purchases because of tariffs and whether the huge gains in wholesale revenue were sustainable as the retailer repairs relationships with key partners.
