Nike warns of layoffs as stock hits 13-year low

Nike told investors on Thursday to expect layoffs, weaker profitability, and fewer Jordan launches, as its stock crashed to a 13-year low.

The sporting apparel titan closed Thursday’s regular trading session at a market capitalization of $53 billion, down from $264 billion at its November 2021 peak, and immediately proceeded to crash another 9% in after-hours trading.

Nike executives are trying to halt the ongoing collapse, and unveiled a few initiatives in its most recent earnings report. In particular, they want to wind down China’s online discount web channels, cut jobs, and decrease retro product launches.

Revenue for the most recent fiscal quarter slipped 4% to $11.2 billion, shy of the $11.3 billion consensus. Profit of 48 cents a share beat the $0.43-44 estimate. 

None of those unremarkable numbers mattered, however, as Nike forecast sales decreasing by a high-single digit percentage for the full fiscal year on adjusted earnings of $1.15-1.35 per share, well below the $1.68 analysts had projected.

Jim Cramer, who spent years defending the stock on CNBC, agreed with the disappointment of investors last night, saying, “Nike guide horrendous.”

China, Converse, and a Jordan glut

The greater China area, once Nike’s growth engine, fell 26% in currency-neutral terms. Nike has decided to wind down most of the online discount channels in the area.

Indeed, CEO Elliott Hill said it was best to move on. “The majority of our partners’ physical doors in Greater China haven’t been refreshed in the past seven years.”

Corporate rot wasn’t confined to China. Nike’s Converse division collapsed 28% to $263 million, shrinking in every region. 

Nike’s own digital sales fell 13%. 

Revenue from its Jordan brand, 13% of the company last quarter, fell by a similar amount. “Simply put, we’ve been oversupplying our iconic retro product,” Hill said. The company wants to pitch fewer, rarer retro products.

Read more: Nike’s RTFKT NFT collection is losing its images

Focus on the cost savings, i.e. layoffs

Nike executives unveiled Pace, a layoff and restructuring program that Nike says will save a cumulative $2.5 billion by 2031. The overhaul includes a new India campus and folding four sales regions into three. Layoffs begin in 2027. 

Nike already cut 775 distribution center jobs in January, and announced about 1,400 more, mostly in tech roles, this April.

Threadguy, a crypto influencer, posted about Nike’s diminishing popularity, “Go to the gym and count how many people are wearing Nike shoes. Pretty alarming.”

The market has already delivered its verdict. With the stock trading back at September 2013 prices, the S&P Dow Jones index committee also removed Nike from its S&P 100 this month, effective September 21. Its 18-year tenure has ended. 

Nike stock still sits in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index, but its weight is just 0.4%, the smallest of the Dow’s 30 constituents.

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