Nike (NYSE:NKE) ended Thursday on a strong note as the athletic apparel company reported its latest quarterly earnings results, which topped analysts’ expectations and sent shares soaring.
The Oregon-based company posted an earnings and revenue beat following three straight quarters of misses, while also announcing a new, four-year $15 billion share repurchase program. The move marked a return to growth in North America for the company, which had been a challenging area following several retail bankruptcies.
Nike said that its net income for its fiscal fourth quarter of 2018 came in at around $1.1 billion, or 69 cents per share, which marked a 10% increase over its year-ago net income of $1 billion, or 60 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, the athletic apparel maker posted earnings of 69 cents per share, beating the Wall Street consensus estimate of 64 cents per share, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.
The company added that its total sales for the period were up by 13% compared to the year-ago quarter, reaching $9.8 billion. Analysts were calling for Nike to bring in revenue of $9.4 billion, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.
The company also said that its digital business has been booming as this segment’s revenue alone gained 41% compared to the year-ago period.
NKE stock was up about 0.5% during regular trading hours ahead of its quarterly earnings report and it surged nearly 9.5% after the bell Thursday.
