Why Bottom Line Gains at Nike Inc Left the Market Unimpressed
In this segment from Motley Fool Money, Chris Hill is joined by Jason Moser andMatt Argersinger as they cover the major takeaways from Nike's (NYSE: NKE)latest quarterly results. As the market leader in the sports apparel and footwear space, the company has plenty of advantages, but retail overall has been shaky, and weak futures orders have left shareholders skittish.
A full transcript follows the video.
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This video was recorded on March 24, 2017.
Chris Hill:Nike's third-quarter profits rose 19%, and Wall Street did not appear to be remotely impressed. Shares of Nike falling a little bit this week. This is a good report, Jason.
Jason Moser: It wasn't a bad report. I think retail in general has had a really tough go of it lately, and I'm sure that a lot of people probably felt like Under Armour'srecent shortcomings were at least partly due to Nike's fortified position; this is the market leader in the space. But Chris, nobody is immune, right? And that, I think, is what this quarter told us, because the market, I think, is really concerned less about the numbers they released and more about what they see coming down the pipe here with futures orders. For a company that historically has lobbed up these really robust, double-digit futures orders numbers, they're seeing futures orders now down 1% on a currency-neutral basis, which is a big deal for a company like this. Now, there is plenty of good there. Gross margin, while it ticked down 140 basis points, they still did a good job of bringing down the bottom line and growing earnings per share 24%. And that's what they do really well; they're able to operate in tough environments and good environments and still really realize value for shareholders, bringing that share account down. I'd love to see them raise the dividend. I feel like a 1.25% yield for a stock like this is just too low. They're doing a really good job on the share buybacks. I would love to see them raise the dividend a little bit.
Matt Argersinger: I'll just add, we have had Nike on our watch list in Million Dollar Portfolio for a little while now. We like seeing that sell-off. I'm impressed. The company is still growing double digits internationally, emerging markets. I think once we get through this North American retail malaise, this is a company that if you have a long enough time horizon, you could do really well with.
Chris Hill owns shares of Under Armour (C Shares). Jason Moser owns shares of Nike, Under Armour (A Shares), and Under Armour (C Shares). Matthew Argersinger owns shares of Under Armour (C Shares). Matthew Argersinger has the following options: long January 2019 $45 calls on Nike and short April 2017 $55 calls on Nike. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Nike, Under Armour (A Shares), and Under Armour (C Shares). The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.