Nike (NYSE: NKE) stock has been suffering from a brutal downturn throughout 2026 and, already at the October 1 close, fell to its lowest price since 2023. The subsequent extended session, after a dire quarterly filing, further damaged the apparel giant and sent NKE shares down another 7.82% to $32.40.
Given the performance, any investor who placed a $1,000 long position in Nike stock at the start of the year, hoping the turnaround plan would proceed faster, would have suffered severe losses.
Specifically, NKE equity started the year at $63.28 and crashed 44.45% to $35.15, meaning a $1,000 investment would have fallen by $444.50 to $555.50 by the October 1 close. The Friday pre-market would have deepened the losses to $487.99 and decreased the position to $512.01.
Nike posts YoY sales drop, misses revenue forecast
Meanwhile, the extended session bloodbath was largely driven by Nike’s most recent earnings report. Indeed, the apparel giant not only recorded a year-over-year (YoY) revenue drop of 4%, but also, having disclosed $11.21 billion in sales, missed the analyst forecast of $11.32 billion.
Similarly, net income fell 2% from $727 million to $712 million, though earnings per share (EPS) came in higher than the expected $0.43, at $0.48.
Though Nike’s leadership emphasized progress in its recovery plan and claimed it is taking deliberate action to strengthen a series of key parts of its business, it also acknowledged suffering heavy pressure in Nike Sportswear, Jordan Brand, and Greater China.
According to the company, the decline can also be attributed to ‘a lack of energy in the lifestyle space’ and consumer caution, but it underlined that it was up to it – as an industry leader – ‘to bring more creativity to sportswear’.
Wall Street reacts to dire Nike stock earnings
Lastly, Wall Street’s reaction to the filing proved largely negative, with the vast majority of notes published after the earnings rating Nike stock as either a ‘Hold’ or a ‘Sell’.
Laurent Vasilescu from Exane BNP Paribas was a bearish outlier with an exceptionally low $19 12-month price target – a 45.94% forecasted downside from the latest close.
Robert Drbul from BTIG, on the other hand, was unique among his peers for issuing a ‘Buy’ recommendation for NKE shares and forecasting they would rally 42.25% to $50. Still, even this most optimistic note featured a price target downgrade from the previous $55.
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