Nike’s Earnings Are Another Sign Coronavirus Is Widening The Retail-Industry Divide

Nike shares jumped 13% in after-hours trading on Tuesday to an all-time high after the sneaker giant reported better-than-expected fiscal-first-quarter profit and sales, in sharp contrast to the parade of coronavirus-hastened bankruptcies and store closings hitting many of its industry peers including J. Crew, Brooks Brothers, Neiman Marcus, and J.C. Penney. As nearly all of the Nike-owned stores reopened worldwide after the COVID-19-forced shutdowns, Nike said sales in the fiscal first quarter that ended Aug. 31 dipped just 1%, to $10.6 billion, and would have been flat excluding the impact of currency translations. In comparison, sales in the preceding quarter slumped by more than a third. With consumers’ increased online purchases, the Nike brand’s fiscal Q1 digital sales jumped 82% to represent nearly a third of its total business, three years ahead of the company target. Read more at Forbes.