Nike’s new CEO faces challenges

• Elliott Hill is set to take over as CEO of Nike amid declining revenue and market challenges.
• Nike’s fiscal first quarter 2025 earnings report shows a 10% drop in revenue to $11.6 billion.
• It looks like Nike is shifting its focus from retro styles to a running-focused brand.

Nike’s new CEO will have several challenges to overcome when he takes over in less than two weeks.

The sportswear giant has brought veteran employee Elliott Hill out of retirement to lead the company through troubled times, and he has his work cut out for him. Nike released its fiscal first quarter 2025 earnings report on Tuesday, and revenue fell 10% from a year earlier to $11.6 billion.

Hill, who is scheduled to start as CEO on Oct. 14, was not present for Tuesday’s earnings call. Nike withdrew full-year guidance and said it would provide quarterly guidance instead.

Shares fell as much as 8 percent as Nike delivered the results in after-market trading. Hill’s first quarter as CEO will provide some indication of how the sportswear company plans to turn around its declining sales in the coming years.

During the earnings call, Nike said it was a running brand — adding that it was “intentionally reducing the proportion of our business” that is driven by retro styles like Air Force Ones or Dunks.

“Newness and innovation” sounds like the pillars of Hill’s first few months as CEO. The start date is less than two weeks away, and he is preparing for the role amid a port strike that could send the US economy into a downward spiral if it lasts more than four weeks.

The strike has affected ports from Maine to Texas, and analysts predict it could cost the US billions each day in supply chain disruptions.

“A return to this scale takes time, but we’re seeing early wins—from momentum in key sports to accelerating our pace of newness and innovation,” said Matthew Friend, executive vice president and CFO.