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Nike tops earnings estimates but shares fall as China sales plunge, tariffs hit profits

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Nike tops earnings estimates but shares fall as China sales plunge, tariffs hit profits


A shopper carries Nike bags in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Nike on Thursday posted quarterly earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s estimates, as strength in North America helped to offset a plunge in China sales.

The company’s stock slid more than 6% in extended trading Thursday, as investors digested the weakness in China and the sustained hit Nike is taking from higher tariffs.

Here’s what Nike reported for its second fiscal quarter of 2026, according to consensus estimates from LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: 53 cents vs. 38 cents expected
  • Revenue: $12.43 billion vs. $12.22 billion expected

The athletic apparel retailer said sales in North America rose 9% to $5.63 billion. But revenue in its Greater China market dropped 17% to $1.42 billion.

The sneaker company is just over a year into CEO Elliott Hill’s turnaround strategy, focusing on regaining its growth and market share, clearing out old inventory and investing in wholesale relationships.

“Fiscal year ’26 continues to be a year of taking action to rightsize our classics business, return Nike digital to a premium experience, diversify our product portfolio, deepen our consumer connection, strengthen our partner relationships and realign our teams and leadership,” Hill said on a call with analysts. “And I say we’re in the middle inning of our comeback.”

“We’re nowhere near our potential,” he added.

Hill said Nike’s improvements in its China market are “not happening at the level or the pace we need to drive wider change,” though he said the country remains one of the company’s most powerful long-term opportunities.

Nike expects fiscal third quarter revenues to fall by a low single digit percentage, with modest growth in North America. It also anticipates gross margins will drop 1.75 to 2.25 percentage points – including a 3.15 percentage point hit from tariffs.

The company said wholesale revenues climbed 8% to $7.5 billion during the quarter. But direct sales — which were a focus for Nike in the years before Hill took over and moved away from the strategy — fell 8% to $4.6 billion.

Nike has also been feeling the impact of tariff increases. It said Thursday that its gross margin decreased by 3 percentage points and inventories dropped 3% primarily due to higher tariffs.

The sneaker company has been reporting weakness in its Converse brand, too. In its first fiscal quarter, Nike said Converse sales dropped 27% – on Thursday, it reported a 30% drop in revenues for the sneaker brand.

Despite the weakness in some parts of Nike’s business, the company highlighted some areas of strength and new initiatives ahead. CFO Matt Friend said on the call that Nike.com posted its best Black Friday ever this year, partially driven by its Air Jordan “Black Cat” launch.

Nike also plans to launch a new footwear platform in January called Nike Mind, which aims to help athletes prepare for performance and competition, Hill said on the call.

Nike has been making larger internal changes under Hill.

Earlier this month, Nike underwent leadership changes to “remove layers,” according to Hill. Under its “Win Now” strategy, the company announced that Chief Commercial Officer Craig Williams would leave the sneaker giant.

Hill called the shakeup a move “about growth and offense.”

“Collectively, these changes amount to us eliminating layers and better positioning Nike to continue to have an impact the way only Nike can,” Hill said in a statement at the time.

Nike shares have dropped more than 13% this year as of Thursday’s close.



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Government grant to reopen CO2 plant amid fears of Iran-linked shortages

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Government grant to reopen CO2 plant amid fears of Iran-linked shortages



A mothballed carbon dioxide plant is to be reopened with a Government grant of up to £100 million amid fears of shortages caused by the Iran war.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle signed off the grant to reopen the Ensus plant on Teesside, according to the Financial Times.

It is understood the grant will pay to get the plant up and running again for an initial three-month period.

The plant was mothballed last year after a trade deal with the US cut tariffs on bioethanol, its main product.

It will be reopened due to its ability to produce CO2 as a by-product. The gas is vital for several sectors, including drinks and the nuclear industry, but supply has been disrupted thanks to soaring energy costs on other sources such as fertiliser factories.

The grant for the Ensus plant is the first major intervention by the UK Government aimed at tackling possible shortages caused by the Iran conflict.

But fears range much wider than CO2, with former BP executive Nick Butler telling Times Radio the UK could face oil and gas shortages in two to three weeks.

He said: “There will be shortages and I think the Government now should be seriously planning how they’re going to handle that and part of that is maximising supply.”

On Tuesday, Shell chief executive Wael Sawan issued a similar warning at an industry conference.

Ministers continue to insist the supply of petrol remains reliable.

Energy minister Michael Shanks told MPs on Wednesday the Government was “absolutely not” planning for blackouts or petrol rationing, insisting the UK had a “strong and diverse range of supplies”.

The key question remains how long Iran’s effective blockade of the vital Strait of Hormuz will last.

On Thursday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will urge Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as she travels to the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in France.

She will make clear that the UK will help ensure safe passage for ships through the strait and provide an additional £2m in humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

Ms Cooper is expected to hold talks with counterparts, including US secretary of state Marco Rubio, France’s Jean-Noel Barrot, and Germany’s Johann Wadephul.

The strait remained closed on Wednesday evening, despite Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi claiming it was open to “non-hostile” shipping.

The conflict continued with Washington saying it would hit Iran “harder” if Tehran refused to accept it had been “defeated militarily”.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt insisted “productive” talks were continuing between Washington and Tehran.

But Mr Araghchi said in a message on his Telegram channel, translated from Farsi, that there had been “no negotiations or discussions with the American side” and suggested the US had effectively admitted defeat.

He said: “Didn’t they talk about ‘unconditional surrender’ before? What happened now that they are talking about negotiations and calling for them?

“I will explain that there are no negotiations, but the fact that they are mobilising their highest officials to negotiate with the Islamic Republic indicates their acceptance of defeat.”



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Video: How Kharg Island May Change the Trajectory of the Iran War

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Video: How Kharg Island May Change the Trajectory of the Iran War


new video loaded: How Kharg Island May Change the Trajectory of the Iran War

Kharg Island exports 90 percent of Iran’s crude oil. It has also become a potential U.S. target. Peter Eavis, our Business reporter, examines how the small island in the Persian Gulf has become a strategic target with significant risks.

By Peter Eavis, Gilad Thaler, Edward Vega, Lauren Pruitt and Joey Sendaydiego

March 25, 2026



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Oil prices volatile as Trump talks up Iran negotiations

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Oil prices volatile as Trump talks up Iran negotiations



Crude rose back above $100 a barrel as the US and Iran clashed over bringing the conflict to an end.



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