Latest news with #Pegasus
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Nike tops Q4 sales, profit estimates as CEO doubles down on sports focus
Nike reported a smaller-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter revenue and beat profit estimates on Thursday, as CEO Elliott Hill's strategy to focus product innovation and marketing around sports begins to pay off. The company, which has been grappling with competition in the running space, has heavily invested in running shoes and sneaker lines such as Pegasus and Vomero, and tried to cut its stock of older models such as the Air Force 1 and Air Jordan 1, through discounts. Under Hill, who joined in October last year, Nike has rekindled relationships with wholesale partners, expanding the company's presence at more physical retailers, and started selling on for the first time in six years. The company's fourth-quarter revenue fell 12% to $11.10 billion, compared with analysts' expectation of a 14.9% drop to $10.72 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Under Hill's "win now" strategy, Nike is also investing more into sport-focused marketing to regain its edge as a sports brand. The company on Thursday hosted an attempt by sponsored athlete Faith Kipyegon to run a mile in under four minutes. Paced by other star athletes in the glitzy, live-streamed event in a Paris stadium, Kipyegon fell short of the goal but set a new unofficial record. Nike reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of 14 cents, compared with analysts' average estimate of 12 cents. China continues to be a pain point in the reported quarter, the company said, as tougher economic conditions and competition hurt demand for Nike's sneakers in the country. Sales in China fell 21% in the fourth quarter, following a 17% fall in the prior three-month period. Its gross margin for the quarter ended May 31 fell 440 basis points following a 330 basis points drop in the third quarter. Nike's shares were down 2% in extended trading. They have fallen 19.6% so far this year.
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Nike shares rally as turnaround takes shape amid tariff woes
Nike shares surged 10% in premarket trading today as an encouraging forecast and plans to reduce China production for US-bound goods bolstered confidence in an ongoing turnaround effort at the sportswear giant. Major US brands have spent years shifting away from Chinese factories as political tensions between Washington and Beijing escalated, but President Donald Trump's latest import tariffs are pushing companies to hasten their retreat. Nike plans to cut the percentage of US-bound goods made in China to a "high single-digit percentage range" by the end of May 2026. China currently accounts for about 16% of the shoes it imports into the United States. Trump's sweeping tariffs could also add around $1 billion to Nike's costs, executives said on Thursday, after the company posted its worst sales decline in roughly five years but gave a better-than-feared revenue forecast for the first quarter. "There was basically no profit, China was down 20%, that's not a good result... But as usual, the markets are pricing in what's coming and not what has been in the results," said Simon Jaeger, portfolio manager at Flossbach von Storch in Cologne, Germany, which holds shares in Nike. A lot of the focus was also on how Nike's running segment was bouncing back from a stretch of sluggish demand. The recovery was partly thanks to new CEO Elliott Hill's efforts to claw back market share in the running space with new launches. Nike has invested in running shoe and sneaker lines such as Pegasus and Vomero, and cut its stock of older models including the Air Force 1 and Air Jordan 1 through discounts. Hill is also looking to rekindle relationships with wholesale partners and expand its presence in more physical retailers as part of the wider revamp. "We think longer-term investors can now start to rotate back into the stock as one of the biggest potential turnarounds in consumer," analysts at Evercore ISI said in a note. Its results also helped shares of German peers Adidas and Puma and London-listed sportswear retailer JD Sports between 3% and 7%. "Nike executives also said they were nearly done with clearing out old inventory, which is a relief for Adidas, Puma, and JD Sports, who were having to compete with aggressive discounting from the bigger sportswear brand," Jaeger said. Nike shares are down 17.4% so far this year, while its 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio is 1.90, compared with 1.58 and 0.64 for Adidas and Puma, respectively.
Business of Fashion
a day ago
- Business
- Business of Fashion
Nike Fourth-Quarter Sales Fall by Less Than Expected
Nike said it would cut its reliance on production in China to mitigate the impact from US tariffs on imports, and forecast a smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter revenue, sending its shares up 11 percent in extended trading. US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on imports from key trading partners could add around $1 billion to Nike's costs, company executives said on a post-earnings call after the sportswear giant topped estimates for fourth-quarter results. China, subject to the biggest tariff increases imposed by Trump, accounts for about 16 percent of the shoes Nike imports into the United States, chief financial officer Matthew Friend said. But the company aims to cut the figure to a 'high single-digit percentage range' by the end of May 2026 as it shifts production to other countries. Consumer goods is one of the most affected areas by the tariff dispute between the world's two largest economies, but Nike's executives said they were focused on cutting the financial pain. Nike will 'evaluate' corporate cost reductions to deal with the tariff impact, Friend said. The company has already announced price increases for some products in the U.S. 'The tariff impact is significant. However, I expect others in the sportswear industry will also raise prices, so Nike may not lose much share in the US,' said David Swartz, analyst at Morningstar Research. Running Finds Its Footing Chief executive Elliott Hill's strategy to focus product innovation and marketing around sports is beginning to show some fruit with the running category returning to growth in the fourth quarter after several quarters of weakness. Having lost share in the fast-growing running market, Nike has invested heavily in running shoes such as Pegasus and Vomero, while scaling back production of sneakers such as the Air Force 1. 'Running has performed especially strongly for Nike,' said Citi analyst Monique Pollard, adding that new running shoes and sportswear products are expected to offset the declines in Nike's classic sneaker franchises at wholesale partner stores. Marketing spending was up 15 percent year-on-year in the quarter. On Thursday, Nike hosted an event in which its sponsored athlete Faith Kipyegon attempted to run a mile in under four minutes. Paced by other star athletes in the glitzy and live-streamed from a Paris stadium, Kipyegon fell short of the goal but set a new unofficial record. Nike forecast first-quarter revenue to fall in the mid-single digits, slightly better than analysts' expectations of a 7.3 percent drop, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its fourth-quarter sales fell 12 percent to $11.10 billion, but still beat estimates of a 14.9 percent drop to $10.72 billion. China continued to be a pain point, with executives saying a turnaround in the country will take time as Nike contends with tougher economic conditions and competition. The company's inventory was flat year-over-year at $7.5 billion as of May 31. By Helen Reid and Juveria Tabassum. Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Alan Barona. Learn more: Is Nike Finally Winning With Women? With the bold marketing like the 'So Win' campaign, a revamped leadership team under new brand president Amy Montagne and star power from A'ja Wilson, Nike's long-promised women's push is starting to stick.
Channel 4
a day ago
- Politics
- Channel 4
How successful were Israel's operations against Iran and Hezbollah?
We leave the high-rise beach life of Tel Aviv and head out early morning into the countryside. It always seems, in Israel , as if everything is being built at pace all around you, and we pass through the orange groves along the motorway for an appointment with a man who, I suppose, was Israel's answer to 'Q' of sorts. Of course, he wasn't the boss of the Mossad, but was certainly, how can we put it, in a highly influential position. A position which gave him considerable influence in the key issue of how on earth Israel could penetrate physically and politically and strategically, so far and so deep inside the theocratic regime of Iran. He tells me he's still very good friends with the people he's known inside British intelligence, MI5 and 6. He's recently been at a conference in London talking about the importance of online espionage and to some degree, let's face it, sabotage. I asked him if this was all about Pegasus, the notorious spyware perfected in some measure by the Mossad. 'Of course, among other matters,' he tells me. We talk about Lebanon before the cameras are rolling, and he's relaxed, twinkly, easily moved to laughter. 'It's the psychology you see, ' he says, tapping his forehead with an index finger to represent psychological stress, 'the psychological effect.' He's just baked some pastries in the oven. As he pulls out the baking tray, he describes the operation which, it is fair to say, has left the world bedazzled in a previous phase of the three wars Israel has now fought since the October attacks . Or at least three fronts of the same war, perhaps. In Lebanon, the offensive against Hezbollah , and particularly of concern to him, the operation which involved scores of pager devices primed to detonate, killing or maiming Hezbollah militias. He wasn't directly involved in that operation of course, but I was struck by what he gleaned from it. 'It's the psychology you see, ' he says, tapping his forehead with an index finger to represent psychological stress, 'the psychological effect.' He goes on: 'Our intelligence on the ground after that was eye opening. It was the fear that it caused, the sense that no person, no place, was safe. The feeling caused of there being nowhere to go. If it is the pagers detonating this week, what next week? And that for our side was a huge payoff. I think it's fair to say more than we expected.' So we talk about more immediate affairs. I ask what the recent 12-day war against Iran tells us about the penetration the Mossad had inside Iran. He laughs again. 'So Alex, you want me to tell you? You want me to tell you about the operation. You need names, locations?' And he's laughing, of course, first off, because his knowledge is now a little bit removed, he is out of the service and into the world of interviews, lectures, academia and conferences. 'We were working in Iran,' he says, 'in fertile territory. Of course, in this society, there are many different sects, large percentages of the population completely disaffected from the regime and, shall we say, deeply unsympathetic to it. 'It's fair to say this was good ground, but this is meticulous work, and this is slow work, maybe unrewarding by its nature, over many, many years. But we knew, as is obvious, there are an awful lot of people who were willing to work with us, and not just us, I may say, towards the overthrow of the regime.' 'But,' I say, 'this isn't about regime change. This was about stopping Iran obtaining a nuclear bomb, right?' 'Of course,' he replies, 'but once these operations start, the end point is never fully decided, never fully clear and matters can, shall we say, gain their own momentum.' 'There are an awful lot of people who were willing to work with us, and not just us, I may say, towards the overthrow of the regime.' The next day, and a similar rendezvous with a senior figure retired now from the Israeli army. We talk about how Iran suddenly seems to lack so many friends. How Hezbollah has been severely weakened in Lebanon, so too Hamas over the grinding 600-plus days of warfare in Gaza. Of how Tehran's ally Bashar Al Assad in Syria is no more. And more widely, what of Moscow? What of Beijing? What have they given to support the Iranian regime in its hour, indeed in its 12 days, of need? He is up front. 'I tell you,' he says, 'Iran achieving a nuclear weapon is not what the Russians want. I have long experience of working with the Russians in the intelligence field. It's my view that, quite simply, Putin doesn't like Muslims.' 'Really?' 'I tell you, it's that simple at a certain level, he doesn't want to see any Islamic nation or any more Islamic nations join the nuclear weapon club. I know this from direct experience.' And then our third rendezvous in recent days has been with an equally curious figure. A man with a long history of running the Israeli army intelligence wing, with particular focus on Iran. Asaf Cohen, once a colonel, now strictly civilian, doesn't fit the mould in many ways. He's not been afraid in recent weeks and months to take issue with Israel's oft-repeated claim that Iranian missiles are targeted at civilian areas. He says, on the basis of long experience at a clandestine level with Iran, that the regime there has been genuinely trying to hit military targets in Israel. It's just that the hardware, the missiles themselves, are simply not particularly accurate, delivered as they are, over long distance. He says it's astonishing that for all their wish to annihilate Israel, the Iranians made fundamental strategic mistakes, as he sees it. 'How effective these 12 days of war have been lies somewhere, I am sure, in the middle of the claims and counterclaims being made by Tehran, Jerusalem and Washington.' – Asaf Cohen For instance, they decided not to upgrade and update their air force. They had no strong aerial capability at all, in fact, relying on often outdated and scarcely serviceable aircraft. 'They could have bought new, updated equipment off the shelf from the Russians. You would think but they simply didn't do it. It is baffling to me.' But he also openly accuses both sides in this war of blatant propaganda, and by that he means not just Iran trying to save face, but the US and indeed Israel as well. He says all sides are trying to prepare a narrative for this war, as all sides, of course, do in every war. It is absolutely a propaganda issue as much as a military issue. This is the essence of war. You can't argue with that, of course. 'So where does the truth lie in this current row? For instance, have the US strikes in Fordow really obliterated that nuclear site?' I ask. Obliteration is the term that Team Trump uses over and over and over again. It is a mantra, a badge. 'Well, ' he says, 'the obvious thing is, it's too early to know and just as it's virtually impossible to win any war from the air, it's impossible to assess accurately battle damage from satellite photography. You have to get people in there. You have to get people on the ground.' 'Well, given Israel's penetration of of presumably they can do that? He laughs. 'I couldn't possibly comment, but I would say this, the truth about what has happened and how effective these 12 days of war have been lies somewhere, I am sure, in the middle of the claims and counterclaims being made by Tehran, Jerusalem and Washington. The emerging truth will indeed come out, even from Iran, but that process will take many months.' In his view, the pathway to talks and negotiations with the Americans over a nuclear future in Iran for peaceful energy is now strangely reinvigorated. He's optimistic. But as ever that caveat that you hear so often in Israel. 'Of course,' he says, 'I firmly believe that, with or without negotiations, Iran will rebuild, replenish, it will go back to proceeding towards a weapon. The enrichment from 60% to 90% is relatively easy to do. They still have their 400 kilograms of enriched uranium, maybe less, maybe some has been lost. We don't know, but for sure, they will have some and they have the know-how, despite people being eliminated from the process, to pursue this knowledge forward, it will happen.' 'So what does that mean?' I ask. 'Well, it's obvious, if the talks fail, we will have to go back again, with or without the Americans, and do this again.' Watch more here: Israel cuts off aid into northern Gaza for 48 hours Uncertainty over how much damage done to Iran's nuclear programme Iran-Israel ceasefire: all sides declare victory as fragile truce holds
The Sun
a day ago
- Business
- The Sun
Nike to cut China output for US market to ease tariff blow
BENGALURU: Nike said it would cut its reliance on production in China for the US market to mitigate the impact from US tariffs on imports, and forecast a smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter revenue, sending its shares up 11% in extended trading. US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on imports from key trading partners could add around US$1 billion (RM4.2 billion) to Nike's costs, company executives said on a post-earnings call after the sportswear giant topped estimates for fourth-quarter results. China, subject to the biggest tariff increases imposed by Trump, accounts for about 16% of the shoes Nike imports into the US, chief financial officer Matthew Friend said. But the company aims to cut the figure to a 'high single-digit percentage range' by the end of May 2026 as it reallocates China production to other countries. 'We will optimize our sourcing mix and allocate production differently across countries to mitigate the new cost headwind into the US,' he said on a call with investors. Consumer goods is one of the most affected areas by the tariff dispute between the world's two largest economies, but Nike's executives said they were focused on cutting the financial pain. Nike will 'evaluate' corporate cost reductions to deal with the tariff impact, Friend said. The company has already announced price increases for some products in the US 'The tariff impact is significant. However, I expect others in the sportswear industry will also raise prices, so Nike may not lose much share in the US,' said David Swartz, analyst at Morningstar Research. CEO Elliott Hill's strategy to focus product innovation and marketing around sports is beginning to show some fruit with the running category returning to growth in the fourth quarter after several quarters of weakness. Having lost share in the fast-growing running market, Nike has invested heavily in running shoes such as Pegasus and Vomero, while scaling back production of sneakers such as the Air Force 1. 'Running has performed especially strongly for Nike,' said Citi analyst Monique Pollard, adding that new running shoes and sportswear products are expected to offset the declines in Nike's classic sneaker franchises at wholesale partner stores. Marketing spending was up 15% year-on-year in the quarter. On Thursday, Nike hosted an event in which its sponsored athlete Faith Kipyegon attempted to run a mile in under four minutes. Paced by other star athletes in the glitzy and live-streamed from a Paris stadium, Kipyegon fell short of the goal but set a new unofficial record. – Reuters
