Nike Shares Blast to An All-time High After Beating on Earnings

Shares of athletic apparel and sneaker company Nike were soaring on Tuesday after the company reported earnings that topped expectations.

Nike saw its stock price hit an all-time new high, topping its previous all-time high of $90. Shares rose over 5% in after-hours trading as first quarter earnings beat expectations.

The company reported earnings per share of 86 cents, way ahead of the 70 cents expected by analysts based on a poll by Refinitiv. Revenue at $10.66 billion was also better than the $10.44 billion that was expected.

Nike additionally reported that sales in North America saw a growth of 4% while sales in Greater China were up 27% during the first quarter.

The company said footwear sales for its namesake brand were up 11%, equipment sales were up 11% and apparel sales climbed 9% overall. Sales at Converse saw a growth of 8%.

Nike CEO Mark Parker said on the earnings call, “We feel very good about our performance in the first quarter of fiscal year ’20, growing revenue 10% on a currency neutral basis. It was a quarter that proved the depth and balance of our complete offense, building on the strengths of our foundational business drivers and capitalizing on the untapped dimensions of our portfolio.”

He added, “For the quarter, this is reflected in the broad-based growth in all geographies, led by our international business, which grew 16%; in double-digit growth in our women’s business off the back of an incredible summer of celebrating female athletes; in both footwear and apparel with our strong lineup of innovation and style which continues to feed the growing consumer demand for comfortable athletic product; and in digital which grew a very strong 42% showing the power of more personal relationships with the consumer.”

Nike has projected that revenue growth for the year will be up a high-single-digit range. Analysts are calling for earnings per share in a range of $2.73 to $3.00, on sales of $42.09 billion for the current fiscal year.

“I think there is an expectation the numbers get better from here,” Liz Dunn, founder and CEO of Pro4ma, told CNBC.

Nike will be a part of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) and have not been compensated for this article.