Nike's future orders miss expectations; stock drops

Employees chat inside a Nike Inc. store in Jaipur, India, in October. Nike reported a profit of $655 million, or 74 cents a share, in the quarter that ended Nov. 30.
Employees chat inside a Nike Inc. store in Jaipur, India, in October. Nike reported a profit of $655 million, or 74 cents a share, in the quarter that ended Nov. 30.

Shares of Nike Inc. fell the most in almost nine months Friday after future orders trailed analysts' estimates, hurt by slowing demand in western Europe and emerging markets.

Orders for the world's largest sporting-goods maker for delivery from December through April rose 11 percent, excluding the effects of foreign-currency exchange-rate fluctuations, the Beaverton, Ore.-based company said Thursday in a statement. Analysts estimated an 11.3 percent gain, according to Consensus Metrix.

The shares slumped $2.24, or 2.3 percent, to close Friday at $94.84 in New York. Earlier, they dropped as much as 4.4 percent for the biggest intraday decline since March 21.

Orders are closely watched because investors view them as a proxy for future sales. While the shares dropped in reaction to Thursday's results, they had jumped to an all-time high earlier this year as the company's athletic wear becomes more fashionable and part of everyday wardrobes -- a trend that's been dubbed athleisure.

"Expectations were pretty high going in" because of the run-up in the stock and how Nike has performed this year, said Rob Plaza, an analyst at Key Private Bank in Cleveland. "When you are playing that game, you can't just meet, you've got to beat."

In North America, Nike's largest market, orders rose 13 percent, compared with an estimate of 13.1 percent. In western Europe, they also increased 13 percent, trailing an estimate of 15 percent. Orders in emerging markets advanced 1 percent while the estimate was 7 percent.

Shares of retailers that sell Nike products also fell. Foot Locker Inc. slid 6.1 percent to $54.34 while Finish Line Inc., which reported an unexpected third-quarter loss Friday, plunged 19 percent to $23.27.

Nike's net income in the quarter through Nov. 30 rose 23 percent to $655 million, or 74 cents a share, from $534 million, or 59 cents, a year earlier, the company said. The average of 27 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg was 70 cents.

Revenue jumped 15 percent to $7.4 billion, beating analysts' projections of $7.15 billion.

Adidas AG, the world's second-largest sporting-goods maker, posted sales and profit for the quarter through October that topped analysts' estimates. Income fell 11 percent while revenue rose 6.2 percent. These results came after the company cut its annual profit forecast in August on weak demand for golf gear. Adidas stock had sunk 39 percent this year through Thursday.

Business on 12/20/2014

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