Nike Inc. Reports Earnings; Shares Pop (NKE)

Nike Inc. NKE reports Q3 earnings of $1.14 versus consensus of $1.01. Nike Inc. reports revenues of $5.20 billion versus consensus of $5.22 billion. Revenues increased 8% year over year. Worldwide futures orders were up 10 percent, up 13 percent excluding currency changes. "We had a great first quarter. It demonstrates the power of our growth strategy, which is to create innovative products, amazing brand experiences, and premium retail destinations wherever consumers connect with NIKE," said Mark Parker, President and CEO, NIKE, Inc. "Going forward we'll continue to maximize the flexibility, balance and alignment that we have built into our portfolio of brands and categories. Those strengths will help us navigate the continued uncertainty in the macro-economic picture. More importantly they help us leverage the global appetite for sports and innovation, which has never been stronger. That's how we continue to grow our businesses, strengthen our balance sheet and increase our returns to shareholders over the long term." During the first quarter, the company repurchased a total of 7.3 million shares for approximately $517 million as part of the company's four-year, $5 billion share repurchase program, approved by the Board of Directors in September 2008. Shares of NKE are trading higher by 2.50% in the after-hours.