Nike Q4 Earnings Highlights: Revenue Miss, EPS Beat, 'Taking Our Near-Term Challenges Head-On'

Apparel and footwear company Nike Inc NKE reported fourth-quarter financial results after the market close Thursday.

Here are the key highlights.

What Happened: Nike reported fourth-quarter revenue of $12.6 billion, down 2% year-over-year. The revenue total missed a Street consensus estimate of $12.91 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Nike Direct revenue was $5.1 billion in the fourth quarter, down 8% year-over-year. Wholesale revenues were $7.1 billion in the fourth quarter, up 5% year-over-year. Converse revenue was $480 million in the fourth quarter, down 18% year-over-year.

The company said it had growth in several regions including China, but was offset by weakness in North America.

Nike’s gross margin was up 110 basis points to 44.7% in the fourth quarter thanks to cost savings initiatives.

The company reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.01, which beat a Street estimate of 85 cents per share.

Full-year revenue of $51.4 billion for Nike is 1% higher than the prior year's $51.2-billion total.

The company ended the quarter with $7.5 billion in inventories, down 11% year-over-year. Nike ended the quarter and fiscal year with $11.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

Related Link: Nike Q4 Earnings Preview: Analyst Estimates, Olympics, Soccer, Caitlin Clark, Hyperice Partnership Top Items To Watch

What's Next For Nike: The company repurchased $1 billion in shares in the fourth quarter and repurchased $4.3 billion in shares during the full fiscal year. The buybacks are part of an $18-billion program approved in June 2022. Nike said it has repurchased $9.1 billion in shares under the plan.

"We are taking our near-term challenges head-on, while making continued progress in the areas that matter most to NIKE's future – serving the athlete through performance innovation, moving at the pace of the consumer and growing the complete marketplace," Nike CEO John Donahoe said.

Donahoe said he's confident Nike is "lining up our competitive advantages."

The company will host a conference call at 5 p.m. ET, which could include forward-looking guidance.

"We are driving better balance across our portfolio," Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend said. "While we are encouraged by our progress, our fourth quarter results highlighted challenges that have led us to update our Fiscal '25 outlook."

NKE Price Action: Nike shares are down 5% to $89.74 in after-hours trading versus a 52-week trading range of $88.66 to $123.39.

Read Next:

• How To Earn $500 A Month From Nike Stock Ahead Of Q4 Earnings