Nike shares fall as pullback forecasts worry investors about time frame By Reuters

(Reuters) – NIKE (NYSE: ) shares fell about 6 percent in premarket trading Wednesday after the company withdrew its annual revenue target, keeping investors guessing about the timing of a turnaround for the sportswear giant under new CEO Elliott Hill.

The company on Tuesday also postponed its investor day, which had been scheduled for Nov. 19, and chief financial officer Matthew Friend said the withdrawal of the outlook would give Hill “much-needed flexibility to evaluate Nike’s business strategies and trends.”

“I think how quickly a change can happen is up in the air… There’s nothing I can say at this point that gives us an accurate timeline or early indications of what’s in store for the future,” Jessica said Ramírez. , senior analyst at Jane Hali & Associates.

Last month, Nike appointed veteran executive Hill as CEO, replacing John Donahoe, under whom the company has seen demand weaken as competitors including On Holding and Hoka gain market share, particularly in the footwear categories. innovative and high-performance running.

Hill is set to take over on October 14 and before the delay was announced investors were pinning their hopes on an analyst day in November for clarity on Nike’s turnaround strategy.

“Over the next few months as we get to the end of the year, (Nike) is going to leave investors with a lot more questions than answers, and we haven’t gotten any answers,” said Jay Woods, global chief strategist at investment banking firm Freedom Capital. The markets.

The parent of Air Jordan sneakers said Tuesday it needed to offer bigger promotions to help boost sales in the quarter and also signaled a weaker holiday quarter.

“Nike is deep in the abyss of change,” Bernstein Societe Generale (OTC: ) analysts wrote in a note.

“Early signs of traction in the market look positive, but cannot yet translate into concrete numbers as discounting continues to drag down sales and margins.”

Nike’s forward price-to-earnings ratio for the next 12 months, a common benchmark for stock valuation, was 27.98, compared with 27.08 for Deckers and 35.14 for Adidas ( OTC: ).