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NKE vs UA
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Nike (NKE) vs. Under Armour (UA) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- NKE, the global athletic apparel leader, trades near its 52-week low around $44 with a market cap of $65.75 billion, reflecting ongoing turnaround efforts amid a year-to-date (YTD) decline of approximately 28%.
- UA, a smaller performance gear specialist, shows stronger momentum with shares around $6 and a YTD gain of about 27%, outperforming NKE significantly in recent months.
- Both stocks face sector headwinds like shifting consumer preferences, but NKE's recent layoffs and wholesale pivot contrast with UA's brand reset and cost efficiencies.
- NKE boasts a trailing price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 29.21 versus UA's negative earnings (trailing PE unavailable), highlighting Nike's profitability edge despite momentum lag.
- Relative performance favors UA over the past 12 months (+14% vs. NKE's -21%), driven by restructuring gains.
Introduction
In the competitive athletic apparel and footwear sector, NKE and UA represent contrasting profiles: a dominant global giant versus a nimble challenger. This stock comparison analyzes their recent market positioning, performance trends, and key drivers amid evolving consumer demands and economic pressures. Traders seeking short-term momentum or investors eyeing long-term stability in consumer discretionary stocks will find value in understanding their relative strengths, risks, and sentiment shifts in the current environment.
NKE Overview and Recent Performance
Nike, Inc. (NKE) stands as the world's largest designer and seller of athletic footwear, apparel, and equipment, with a vast global footprint bolstered by iconic brands like Air Jordan and strong direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels. In recent market activity, NKE shares have hovered near 52-week lows around $44, down sharply from pandemic-era peaks and reflecting a YTD decline of about 28%. Key influences include restructuring under the "Win Now" strategy, such as slashing 1,400 jobs to streamline operations, challenges in China sales, and a pivot from DTC emphasis toward wholesale partnerships. Despite beating recent quarterly earnings estimates, persistent inventory pressures and softer demand have weighed on sentiment, with shares dropping 16% in the prior month.
UA Overview and Recent Performance
Under Armour, Inc. (UA) focuses on performance-oriented athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories, targeting athletes with innovative fabrics and technology. Shares trade around $6 within a 52-week range of $3.95 to $7.91, supported by a robust YTD gain of approximately 27% and market cap of $2.59 billion. Recent developments feature a brand reset initiative emphasizing cost efficiencies and restructuring to enhance focus amid footwear category weakness. While posting adjusted earnings beats in some quarters, ongoing losses (TTM EPS of -$1.22) and higher volatility (beta of 1.82) temper gains. Momentum has improved in recent weeks on operational tweaks and anticipation for fiscal 2026 results, contrasting broader sector struggles.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
Both NKE and UA operate in the athletic apparel sector but differ sharply in scale: Nike's diversified portfolio and global dominance provide moat-like advantages over Under Armour's niche performance focus. Growth drivers highlight Nike's innovation in lifestyle products versus UA's push for cost discipline amid footwear declines. Recent momentum strongly favors UA with superior YTD and 12-month returns, while NKE exhibits greater stability through positive earnings. Risk profiles diverge, with UA's higher beta (1.82 vs. 1.32) amplifying volatility and losses, against Nike's profitability buffer. Market sentiment leans cautious on both due to consumer spending slowdowns, though analysts cover NKE more extensively with an average price target implying upside.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron's AI models currently lean toward UA in this matchup, citing its superior relative performance, including a 27% YTD gain versus NKE's comparable decline, alongside positive momentum from restructuring catalysts. While NKE offers trend stability and scale for longer horizons, UA's recent positioning suggests higher near-term probability of outperformance in volatile apparel markets.
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 NKE is a StrongBuy and UA 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).
NKE’s FA Score shows that 2 FA rating(s) are green whileUA’s FA Score has 0 green FA rating(s).
- NKE’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
- UA’s FA Score: 0 green, 5 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.
NKE’s TA Score shows that 3 TA indicator(s) are bullish while UA’s TA Score has 5 bullish TA indicator(s).
- NKE’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 7 bearish.
- UA’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 3 bearish.
Price Growth
NKE (@Wholesale Distributors) experienced а -4.45% price change this week, while UA (@Apparel/Footwear) price change was -2.05% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Wholesale Distributors industry was -5.91%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -1.32%, and the average quarterly price growth was +1.78%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Apparel/Footwear industry was -0.77%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +5.08%, and the average quarterly price growth was +11.33%.
Reported Earning Dates
NKE is expected to report earnings on Jun 30, 2026.
UA is expected to report earnings on Aug 06, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Wholesale Distributors (-5.91% 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.
@Apparel/Footwear (-0.77% 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.
| NKE | UA | NKE / UA | |
| Capitalization | 64B | 2.48B | 2,578% |
| EBITDA | 3.6B | 74.2M | 4,849% |
| Gain YTD | -31.148 | 19.375 | -161% |
| P/E Ratio | 28.41 | 20.05 | 142% |
| Revenue | 46.5B | 4.97B | 936% |
| Total Cash | 1.69B | 309M | 548% |
| Total Debt | 11.2B | 1.94B | 577% |
NKE | UA | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 21 | 84 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 5 Undervalued | 65 Fair valued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 100 | 100 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 55 | 98 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 61 | 45 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 24 | 67 | |
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 somewhat better than the same rating for UA (65). This means that NKE’s stock grew somewhat faster than UA’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 UA (100). This means that NKE’s stock grew similarly to UA’s over the last 12 months.
NKE's SMR Rating (55) in the Apparel Or Footwear industry is somewhat better than the same rating for UA (98). This means that NKE’s stock grew somewhat faster than UA’s over the last 12 months.
UA's Price Growth Rating (45) in the Apparel Or Footwear industry is in the same range as NKE (61). This means that UA’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 UA (67). This means that NKE’s stock grew somewhat faster than UA’s over the last 12 months.
| NKE | UA | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 79% | 2 days ago 79% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 70% | 2 days ago 77% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 61% | 2 days ago 78% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 69% | 2 days ago 81% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 68% | 2 days ago 76% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 52% | 2 days ago 69% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 15 days ago 57% | 12 days ago 69% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 7 days ago 70% | 8 days ago 77% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 82% | N/A |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 62% | 2 days ago 74% |
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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% | ||
More | ||||
UA and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, UA has been closely correlated with UAA. These tickers have moved in lockstep 99% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if UA jumps, then UAA could also see price increases.