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LEVI vs NKE
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI) vs. Nike, Inc. (NKE) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- LEVI shares have shown strong momentum in recent market activity, rising approximately 18% over the past month amid earnings beats and direct-to-consumer (DTC) growth.
- NKE has faced significant pressure, with shares down sharply year-to-date and hitting 52-week lows due to weak quarterly results and restructuring efforts including layoffs.
- LEVI trades at a more attractive trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 16.4 compared to NKE's 29.2, highlighting relative value.
- Both companies operate in the competitive apparel and footwear sector, but LEVI demonstrates superior recent revenue (14% YoY) and earnings growth (30% YoY).
- NKE's larger market cap provides scale, yet return on equity (ROE) lags at 16% versus LEVI's 25%.
- Sentiment favors LEVI on analyst upgrades and positive catalysts like raised fiscal outlooks.
Introduction
Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI) and Nike, Inc. (NKE) are prominent players in the apparel and footwear sector, catering to consumer discretionary spending on clothing and athletic wear. This stock comparison examines their recent performance, financial metrics, and market positioning amid shifting consumer trends toward heritage brands and sportswear. Traders seeking momentum plays or value opportunities, and investors evaluating relative strength in a volatile sector, will find insights into price behavior, growth drivers, and risk factors. With broader economic pressures influencing retail, understanding these contrasts aids informed decision-making in the current market environment.
LEVI Overview and Recent Performance
Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI) is a global leader in denim apparel, known for its iconic jeans and casual wear sold through wholesale, DTC channels, and e-commerce. In recent weeks, LEVI shares have climbed, reflecting positive sentiment from its first-quarter fiscal 2026 results that beat estimates on both revenue and earnings. Key drivers include robust DTC growth and e-commerce expansion, prompting an upward revision to its full-year outlook. Analysts, including UBS, have raised price targets to as high as $34, citing sustained momentum. The stock's beta of 1.34 indicates moderate volatility, with shares trading near the upper end of their 52-week range amid favorable heritage consumption trends.
NKE Overview and Recent Performance
Nike, Inc. (NKE) dominates the athletic footwear and apparel market, with a vast portfolio of brands and global distribution. Recent market activity has pressured NKE shares, which have declined sharply, approaching 52-week lows around $44. This follows third-quarter fiscal 2026 results showing stagnant revenue growth and a 35% earnings drop year-over-year, compounded by restructuring measures like 1,400 job cuts to refocus on wholesale partnerships. Analyst sentiment is mixed, with some downgrades reflecting prolonged share price weakness and challenges in direct sales execution. With a beta of 1.32, NKE exhibits similar volatility but lacks the near-term catalysts boosting peers.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
While both LEVI and NKE compete in consumer apparel, LEVI emphasizes premium denim with a narrower focus, versus NKE's broader athletic ecosystem. Growth drivers diverge: LEVI benefits from DTC acceleration (14% quarterly revenue growth), while NKE grapples with flat sales and wholesale pivots. Recent momentum strongly favors LEVI, up significantly in recent months, against NKE's multi-year decline. Risk factors include shared consumer spending sensitivity, but LEVI's higher debt-to-equity (105%) contrasts NKE's 79%, offset by superior ROE. Market sentiment tilts toward LEVI on valuation (lower P/E and price/sales) and stability in heritage trends.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron's AI models currently lean toward LEVI over NKE, based on stronger trend consistency, earnings acceleration, and relative valuation attractiveness. LEVI's recent beats and upward analyst revisions signal positive catalysts, positioning it better amid apparel sector rotation. While NKE offers scale and potential turnaround, its momentum lags, suggesting higher near-term risk. This probabilistic edge favors LEVI for traders eyeing relative performance.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full Disclaimers and Limitations.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is LEVI is a Hold and NKE is a StrongBuy.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
LEVI’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whileNKE’s FA Score has 2 green FA rating(s).
- LEVI’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- NKE’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
LEVI’s TA Score shows that 5 TA indicator(s) are bullish while NKE’s TA Score has 3 bullish TA indicator(s).
- LEVI’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 4 bearish.
- NKE’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 7 bearish.
Price Growth
LEVI (@Apparel/Footwear) experienced а -1.83% price change this week, while NKE (@Wholesale Distributors) price change was -4.45% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Apparel/Footwear industry was -1.13%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +4.29%, and the average quarterly price growth was +10.64%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Wholesale Distributors industry was -6.70%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -0.78%, and the average quarterly price growth was +2.20%.
Reported Earning Dates
LEVI is expected to report earnings on Jul 02, 2026.
NKE is expected to report earnings on Jun 30, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Apparel/Footwear (-1.13% weekly)Apparel/footwear might be slightly more ‘cyclical’ in the largely non-cyclical category of non-durables. While digital giants like Amazon have been rapidly expanding their presence, traditional clothing/footwear retailers have also been bulking up their online presence in recent years, to milk the burgeoning trend of online shopping among consumers across the globe. The apparel and footwear retail market was valued at around $ 360 billion in 2018, and this figure was expected to reach about $386 billion by 2020 (according to a Statista report). NIKE, Inc, V.F. Corporation and Under Armour, Inc. are some of the companies with the largest U.S. stock market caps in this segment.
@Wholesale Distributors (-6.70% weekly)Companies in this industry handle the wholesale shipments for the manufacturer of a product. They have warehouses and distribution centers, and they ship products directly to the retailer. Digitization, increasing competition, emerging customer demand, and product innovation are some of shifts that the industry has been facing in recent times – something that is potentially creating needs/opportunities for business model revisions or transformations. Data, analytics, and technology are becoming increasingly important for whole distributors in anticipating and analyzing consumer needs, and therefore planning their business strategies accordingly. Fastenal Company, W.W. Grainger, Inc., Genuine Parts Company and Pool Corporation are some of the largest names in the business.
| LEVI | NKE | LEVI / NKE | |
| Capitalization | 9.08B | 64B | 14% |
| EBITDA | 949M | 3.6B | 26% |
| Gain YTD | 15.281 | -31.148 | -49% |
| P/E Ratio | 17.36 | 28.41 | 61% |
| Revenue | 6.5B | 46.5B | 14% |
| Total Cash | 812M | 1.69B | 48% |
| Total Debt | 2.32B | 11.2B | 21% |
LEVI | NKE | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 22 | 21 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 26 Undervalued | 5 Undervalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 100 | 100 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 34 | 55 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 42 | 61 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 65 | 24 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
NKE's Valuation (5) in the Apparel Or Footwear industry is in the same range as LEVI (26). This means that NKE’s stock grew similarly to LEVI’s over the last 12 months.
NKE's Profit vs Risk Rating (100) in the Apparel Or Footwear industry is in the same range as LEVI (100). This means that NKE’s stock grew similarly to LEVI’s over the last 12 months.
LEVI's SMR Rating (34) in the Apparel Or Footwear industry is in the same range as NKE (55). This means that LEVI’s stock grew similarly to NKE’s over the last 12 months.
LEVI's Price Growth Rating (42) in the Apparel Or Footwear industry is in the same range as NKE (61). This means that LEVI’s stock grew similarly to NKE’s over the last 12 months.
NKE's P/E Growth Rating (24) in the Apparel Or Footwear industry is somewhat better than the same rating for LEVI (65). This means that NKE’s stock grew somewhat faster than LEVI’s over the last 12 months.
| LEVI | NKE | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 78% | 1 day ago 79% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 80% | 1 day ago 70% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 74% | 1 day ago 61% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 67% | 1 day ago 69% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 72% | 1 day ago 68% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 70% | 1 day ago 52% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 14 days ago 69% | 14 days ago 57% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 6 days ago 67% | 6 days ago 70% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 71% | 1 day ago 82% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 71% | 1 day ago 62% |
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LEVI and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, LEVI has been loosely correlated with SHOO. These tickers have moved in lockstep 59% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if LEVI jumps, then SHOO could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To LEVI | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEVI | 100% | -0.38% | ||
| SHOO - LEVI | 59% Loosely correlated | -3.30% | ||
| RL - LEVI | 55% Loosely correlated | -0.51% | ||
| CAL - LEVI | 55% Loosely correlated | -3.58% | ||
| PVH - LEVI | 54% Loosely correlated | +1.17% | ||
| CROX - LEVI | 54% Loosely correlated | -1.00% | ||
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NKE and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, NKE has been loosely correlated with COLM. These tickers have moved in lockstep 56% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if NKE jumps, then COLM could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To NKE | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NKE | 100% | -4.45% | ||
| COLM - NKE | 56% Loosely correlated | -2.51% | ||
| UA - NKE | 53% Loosely correlated | -2.39% | ||
| LEVI - NKE | 52% Loosely correlated | -0.38% | ||
| UAA - NKE | 51% Loosely correlated | -2.48% | ||
| OXM - NKE | 50% Loosely correlated | +4.09% | ||
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