However, the athletic footwear/apparel maker’s  gross-margin fell shy of estimates, partly due to U.S.-China tariff war. For its fiscal second quarter, Nike’s earnings came in at 70 cents a share,  which exceeded analysts’ forecasts of 58 cents a share.The figure was alo higher than the year-ago quarter’s  52 cents . Sales climbed +10% to $10.32 billion, compared to analysts’ estimates of $10.09 billion. The company achieved its first-ever billion-dollar quarter, on the back of strong market for limited-edition Jordan sneakers as well as interest in other brands including women’s soccer. Nike’s gross margin increased 20 basis points year-over-year to 44% in the quarter, missing analysts' estimates of 44.1%.

Walvis  also raised her price target to $112 from $95. According to Walvis, a bottom-up analysis led the team to believe that  Nike’s revenue growth in China could be in  high-teens digits.Direct-to-consumer is the biggest driver, reaching 50% of the region’s revenue on the analyst’s estimates by 2023. “Chinese activewear market will deliver double-digit growth," Walvis said.

Nike is focusing more on boosting its own online platform instead. The news comes just ahead of one of the biggest holiday shopping seasons, and marks the end of a pilot program that started in 2017.Under the pilot program, Nike acted as a wholesaler to Amazon, instead of selling via third-party merchants. “As part of Nike’s focus on elevating consumer experiences through more direct, personal relationships, we have made the decision to complete our current pilot with Amazon Retail,” Nike said in a statement.

Nike shares climbed after-hours ,following its report of earnings and revenue that surpassed analyst expectations. The sports footwear &apparel maker’s fiscal-first-quarter earnings came in at 86 cents a share, beating  analysts’ estimates of 70 cents a share.The figure was also higher than the year-ago quarter’s 67 cents. Revenue increased +7% year-over-year in the quarter to $10.66 billion, compared to analysts’ expectation of  $10.44 billion.  Revenue growth in China surged +22% to $1.68 billion, thereby exceeding analyst expectations. Chief Financial Officer Andy Campion emphasized that even amidst volatile macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions,  Nike expects “strong, broad-based growth” across its global portfolio.

Casual shoe manufacturer Crocs (Nasdaq: CROX) has not been participating in the 2019 rally, at least it hasn’t up until now.The indicators have since turned lower and made a bearish crossover on June 11. The Tickeron Trend Prediction Engine generated a bearish signal for Crocs on June 10 and the signal showed a confidence level of 75%.

Nike reported lower-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter, but beat estimates on sales. The footwear/sportswear behemoth’s adjusted earnings for the three months ending in May came in at 62 cents per share, falling short of the Street estimates of 66 cents.Sales from the Nike brand, which excludes Converse merchandise, climbed +10% from the same quarter last year to $9.7 billion. The company said that its profit margins were squeezed during the quarter in part due to investments needed to sell more directly to consumers and less through wholesalers. In fiscal 2019, Nike’s revenues from its direct-to-consumer division touched $11.8 billion, thanks in large part to a +35% surge in online sales and a +6% jump in same-store sales , according to the company.  

Analyst Rafe Jadrosich also upped his price target to $180 from $150. In a note to investors, Jadrosich mentioned earnings per share growth opportunity from Decker’s share buybacks, and low-to-mid single digit revenue growth (largely driven by the company’s HOKA brand) as factors behind the analyst’s optimism.According to the analyst, HOKA is expected to grow +40% in fiscal year 2019, thanks to new product offerings and market share gains in the running specialty segment.  Jadrosich  believes that gross margin of Decker’s brand UGG could be at its peak, and that there is operating margin opportunity from cost savings and improving HOKA margins.

Over 170 shoe retailers including major ones like Nike (NKE), Under Armour (UAA), Adidas, Foot Locker (FL), Ugg, and Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse have sent a letter requesting President Donald Trump to consider removing the additional tariff on footwear imported from China. The request follows the release of a fresh list of about $300 billion in Chinese goods on which 25% tariff would be added if Trump decides to prolong the U.S.-China trade dispute.The list includes every aspect of footwear-from sneakers to sandals, golf shoes, rain boots, and ski shoes. The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) has estimated a loss of more than $7 billion each year for the shoe industry if the tariffs are imposed and continued. According to FDRA, a popular type of canvas “skate” sneaker, currently retailing for $49.99, with a 25% tariff, could increase to $65.57.

Shares of Deckers have overall rose more than 4% to around $144 per share, with the stock generally rallying about 45% during the course of past year. The shoe line is gaining fast popularity among youngsters who now prefer to wear running shoes not just to the gym but all-day.Further, its partnerships with upcoming retailers like Engineered Garments and Outdoor Voices have also added visibility of the product to millennials. Recently rapper Kanye West was spotted wearing a Hoka boot and the image raked up online sales to another level.

Adidas reported a 17% rise in first-quarter net profit on Friday, even as sales growth slowed as it suffered from supply chain issues in the North American market it had already flagged, as well as a decline in Europe. Read More...

Shares of footwear company Skechers (NYSE:SKX) slumped on Thursday following a first-quarter report that left investors wanting more.A combination of unfavorable currency translation effects, the timing of the Easter holiday, and what CFO John Vandemore called "challenging conditions" led to weak revenue growth that missed expectations. Read More...

The company also warned that revenue growth could slow during the fourth and current quarter. The shares of the sneaker giant closed on Thursday at record high of $88.01, after climbing more than 32% over the past 12 months. Andy Campion, Oregon-based Nike’s CFO, told analysts on Thursday evening that it expects sales during its fiscal fourth quarter will be up a high-single-digit rate, on a constant currency basis.But currency headwinds are expected to reduce that growth by about 6 percentage points, therefore resulting in low-single-digit gains compared with a year ago. For the quarter ending on February 28, the company reported an EPS of $0.68 versus an EPS estimate of $0.65.

Nike’s domestic business apparently continues to feel pressure from rival companies like Under Armour, Adidas and Vans. Growth in international sales fared better.Sales grew +14% in Asia Pacific and Latin America. According to Nike, its revenue from Converse shoes declined -2% year-over-year to $463 million, largely due to softening sales in the U.S. and Europe. Nevertheless, the company’s total adjusted earnings of 68 cents per share surpassed analysts’ estimates of 65 cents per share (based on Refinitiv data).

Vera Bradley shares jumped more than +11% on the news, during pre-market trading. The maker of luggage, handbag and fashion accessories raked in earnings of 25 cents a share, beating analysts’ estimates of 26 cents.The figure was also substantially greater compared to the 35-45 cents per share annual guidance that the firm provided around this time last year, according to the company. Net sales came in at $416.1 million, compared to $454.6 million in fiscal 2018.

Puma, the third largest athletic shoe company in the world, is set to take on arch rival Nike and launch its auto-lacing smart shoe called the Fit Intelligence (Fi) in Spring 2020.Priced at a competitive $330, Fi is cheaper than Nike’s Adapt BB—a comparable self-lacing smart basketball shoe--by nearly $20. This new variety of sports shoes can be connected to an app, from which the laces can be adjusted with a swipe of a finger.

The European Commission said on Thursday that it had opened an in-depth investigation into the tax treatment of Nike Inc in the Netherlands, saying this may have given the U.S. sportswear maker an illegal and unfair advantage.Read More...

Crocs raised its fourth quarter as well as full-year guidance. The casual footwear company's latest revenue estimate for the fourth-quarter is in the range of $211 million to $214 million, up from prior guidance of $195 million to $205 million.  For the full year, Crocs now expects revenue to grow about 6%, compared with prior guidance of 4% to 5%. Andrew Rees, president and CEO, has indicated that e-commerce and wholesale growth would cushion the effect of reduced number of physical stores."We had one of our best fourth quarters in years," said Rees.

Shares of the world’s largest sportswear company, Nike Inc., soared nearly 8% on Friday after the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations. The athletic apparel company reported an earnings of 52 cents per share compared to Wall Street’s expectation of 46 cents.In terms of revenue, the company reported a revenue of $9.37 billion against analyst expectations of $9.18 billion. Despite concerns surrounding the impact of the controversial ad campaign and the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, the company reported strong numbers along with an upbeat outlook and an expectation of higher revenue growth than previously planned. China recorded Nike's most robust growth during the quarter, with sales climbing 26% to $1.54 billion. According to the company, strong global sales and substantial improvement in the digital business is what helped it report such numbers.

Nike Inc., the American multinational footwear manufacturer, has opened a new cutting-edge 68,000 square foot flagship store in New York City.The new store is expected to change the way consumers shop for their favorite sneakers and apparel. Named as the “House of Innovation 000”, this six-level store would give its customers an enthralling shopping experience by combining traditional shopping with a futuristic shopping experience through the app. Heidi O’Neill, president of Nike Direct, said that the store would offer an experience which would be personal and responsive, but at the same time would be as easy and fast as a mobile shopping experience. Revolving around the innovation theme, the store would offer the following innovative and unique solutions to its customers. First, using Nike’s app, shoppers can scan QR codes on mannequins and apparel to see whether size and color of their choice is available, then send the items to a fitting room or pick up spot -- freeing custome

Its stock is down 29%, and the tariffs imposed by President Trump have reportedly cost the company $1 billion, as the company is in the midst of a reorganization.Now, the company is announcing layoffs. Article found on Yahoo Finance