Even the greatest athletes miss from time to time. Nike (NKE) posted a rare revenue miss when it reported its third-quarter results on March 18. Nike officials, however, described the challenges the company faced in the third quarter as “short term.”
The Swoosh brand’s quarterly revenue came in $10.4 billion vs. $11 billion expected. Earnings per share came in at 90 cents vs. 75 cents and 53 cents year over year. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions served as the one-two punch that knocked the sports leader momentarily off its game.
During its earnings call with analysts, Nike CEO John Donahoe said that he was proud of the quarter’s results. He said that the company’s new 5-year purpose targets offer a “road map to 2025, outlining clear goals, action plans, and accountability.”
North America revenues declined 11% and came in at $3.56 billion vs. $4.15 billion expected. The company said this was due to supply chain issues, including global container shortages and U.S. port congestion, which impacted the flow of and timing of wholesale shipments by more than three weeks. Nike Executive VP & CFO Matthew Friend says that the brand expects to capture the delayed revenue in the fourth quarter.
Sam Poser of Williams Trading joined Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the state of the Swoosh brand.
“This is going to be worked out sooner than later, the demand for Nike products, which was noted by their billion-dollar U.S. digital business is huge,” said Poser, who said that it will take time for the brand to catch up when it comes to delayed inventory.
“I think it’s going to take some time for them to catch up on the supply. But I think a lot of that’s going to be demand-driven ... Our retail contacts are telling us anything they get in, they’re just selling out immediately. So we think that’s going to continue and just take some time to catch up. But as more inventory shows up, that’s just going to make their business stronger, and the margins stronger,” he added.
The brand also saw declines in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) to the tune of 45% due to mandatory COVID-19 related closures of Nike-owned stores during the quarter. Greater China was a bright spot for the brand. It netted $2.28 billion in revenue vs. an estimated $1.98 billion expected, representing 42% on a currency-neutral basis.
Digital sales come through for Nike again, with the company once again reaping the benefits of its Consumer Direct Acceleration strategy. Nike Direct grew 15% in the quarter as digital sales increased 59% with double-digit increases in all geographies.
When it came to offering guidance, Friend focused on the near-term rather than the long-term.
“Looking ahead to fiscal ’22, as I said earlier, we are already exceeding our pre-pandemic levels of business. And I expect the momentum we are seeing to translate into continued strong revenue growth … We can see the near-term operating environment with increasing clarity, yet we remain focused on what’s required to win for the long term. With that in mind, we are now more confident in our full-year outlook for revenue and expect low- to mid-teens growth versus the prior year,” said Friend. He told analysts that he would provide more specific guidance for fiscal ’22 during its next earnings call.
Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.
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