Should Investors Buy Nike Stock Ahead of NKE’s Q1 Earnings?

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Shares of German sportswear power Adidas (PNK:ADDYY) and upstart athleisure standout Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) have both crushed Nike (NYSE: NKE) stock in 2019. Lululemon is clearly at a much different stage than its larger peers, but Adidas is even older than NKE.

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Therefore, investors need to decide if NKE stock looks like a buy heading into its Q1 earnings results that are due out on Sept. 24.

Retail and Rival Overview

Retail can be a fickle business, but the best firms not only adapt to changing styles and shopping patterns, but also create innovation and trends. Once-powerful department stores such as Macy’s (NYSE: M) and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) have seemingly failed to meet the demands of the Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) age, while Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT) are ready to thrive.

Nike doesn’t compete with these firms, though its clothing and shoes are mainstays at Nordstrom and other wholesaler-focused retailers. Adidas is Nike’s largest direct competitor and has been able to surge over the last five years through more compelling, off-the-court offerings and high-profile collaborations.

Meanwhile, Lululemon has cemented its position as a hip, higher-end option. The Vancouver, Canada-based firm is now part of a group that also includes Puma and others, all trying to grab more sportswear market share. LULU has done what Under Armour (NYSE: UAA) has failed to do: successfully translate its gym-focused offerings into fashion.

 

 

 

 

Nike’s Pitch

Despite Lululemon’s growth, the firm is only expected to pull in $3.68 billion in revenue this year. Adidas is projected to post sales of $26.43 billion in its current fiscal year. Nike posted Q4 fiscal 2019 revenue of $10.2 billion on June 27, with full-year revenue up 7% to $39.1 billion.

We can, however, see that NKE stock has fallen far behind ADDYY and LULU over the last five years. But during the last decade, Nike’s shares have slightly outpaced Adidas. Over the past 12 months, Nike stock has climbed 5%, against the S&P 500’s 2% climb and Adidas and Lululemon’s roughly 25% expansion. In 2019, this difference is even wider. Nonetheless, NKE appears attractive for an array of reasons.

First, Nike, like everyone else, has pushed headfirst into digital. The Beaverton, Oregon-based firm expects its digital division will make up 30% of the company’s total business by 2023, compared to roughly 15% at the moment. NKE reportedly invested over $1 billion in its apps and other capabilities over the past year, which includes digital-focused supply-chain updates, RFID tags, and more.

The company in early August purchased “retail predictive analytics and demand sensing” firm, Celect. Nike noted that Celect will play a role in its broader, Consumer Direct Offense strategy. Nike’s direct-to-consumer future, which also includes an insane social media presence across platforms such as Instagram, isn’t just about e-commerce. The company continues to roll out in-store innovations in cities that it views as key to creating cultural influence around the globe.

Nike remains a powerhouse in the two biggest international sports, soccer and basketball, and just got into e-sports uniforms. In the U.S., NKE is also the official apparel sponsor of the NFL. On top of that, Nike’s fashion-focused sportswear unit is booming, as is the Jordan brand, up 21% and 12%, respectively last year on a currency neutral basis.

Q1 Outlook & Beyond

Moving on, our current Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for the company’s fiscal Q1 revenue to pop 5% from the year-ago period to $10.45 billion. That would top Q4’s 4% growth.

It is important to note that NKE does roughly 60% of its business outside of North America, with around 15% to 20% of its revenue coming from Greater China. Therefore, currency swings greatly impact Nike. In fact, the sportswear firm’s full-year revenue jumped 7% last year but climbed 11% excluding currency changes.

Meanwhile, Nike’s fiscal 2020 sales are projected to jump 7.9% to $42.21 billion, with 2021’s top line expected to come in 8.4% higher at $45.74 billion. Both of these figures represent larger growth than NKE has posted in each of the past four years. Wall Street will likely be more than pleased with these kinds of growth figures, as they help show that the company’s digital initiatives and broader direct-to-consumer push are paying off in a big way.

At the bottom end of the income statement, NKE is projected to post adjusted Q1 earnings per share of 71 cents. That would be  a 6% climb and look far better than Q4’s 10% decline. In Q4, NKE also suffered its first earnings miss in forever.

Peeking ahead, analysts, on average, expect Nike’s full-year fiscal 2020 earnings to surge 16.5%, which would be above last year’s overall earnings growth.

 

 

 

 

The Bottom Line on Nike Stock

Nike stock is trading at a lower forward earnings multiple at the moment than it has over the past 12 months, despite the fact that its stock is up 6% and just a few dollars off its 52-week highs of $90. Nike also holds an average broker rating of 1.76 (1=Buy, 5= Sell), against its industry’s 2.0 average.

NKE is also part of our Shoes and Retail Apparel industry, which rests in the top 16% of our 255 Zacks industries. This should help calm some U.S.-China trade war fears. Plus, analysts have hopefully already priced in how tariffs are likely to impact Nike’s business, though investors need to pay close attention to any updates.

On top of that, Nike pays an annualized dividend of $0.88 per share, for a yield of 1.0% at the moment (10-year U.S. Treasurys rests at 1.73%). Nike is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) that sports an “A” grade for growth in our Style Scores system. NKE certainly appears to be a stock worth considering, Nike stock could surge based on its strong, direct-to-consumer-driven growth outlook.

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Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report

Facebook, Inc. (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report

Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN): Free Stock Analysis Report

lululemon athletica inc. (LULU): Free Stock Analysis Report

Target Corporation (TGT): Free Stock Analysis Report

Walmart Inc. (WMT): Free Stock Analysis Report

Macy’s, Inc. (M): Free Stock Analysis Report

Adidas AG (ADDYY): Free Stock Analysis Report

NIKE, Inc. (NKE): Free Stock Analysis Report

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