Nike’s Stock Falls 5% After Company Withdraws Full-Year Guidance

Shares of Nike (NKE) are down 5% after the sneaker maker reported mixed financial results and withdrew its full-year guidance.

The company, which makes running shoes and athletic apparel, reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.70 U.S., which was better than the $0.52 U.S. consensus expectation of analysts.

Revenue in what was Nike’s fiscal first quarter totaled $11.59 billion U.S., which was less than the $11.65 billion U.S. forecast on Wall Street. Sales were down 10% from a year ago.

Nike’s gross margin grew by 1.2 percentage points to 45.4%, higher than the 44.4% that analysts had anticipated. Still, profits during the quarter fell by nearly 30% year over year.

Along with its financial results, Nike withdrew is full-year guidance and canceled an investor day it had scheduled for November.

The company said the guidance was withdrawn and the investor day canceled to give new chief executive officer (CEO) Elliott Hill time to settle into his new role.

Hill is taking the top job at Nike from outgoing CEO John Donahoe on Oct. 14. A former longtime Nike executive, Hill is coming out of retirement to assume the CEO role.

The withdrawal of the full-year guidance appeared to take analysts and investors off guard. Going forward, Nike said that it will provide guidance on a quarterly basis.

The company’s previous guidance, provided in June of this year, forecast full-year revenue to be down mid-single digits.

Prior to today (Oct. 2), Nike’s stock had declined 16% so far this year and was trading at $89.13 U.S. per share. Over the last five years, the company’s share price has declined 4%.

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