Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods

Lululemon has become one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com, with shares down 9.3% over the past month against a 1.4% gain for the Zacks S&P 500 composite while the Zacks Textile - Apparel industry lost 2.5%. For the current quarter, Lululemon is expected to post earnings of $0.97 per share, a decline of 62.6% from the year-ago quarter, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate unchanged over the last 30 days. For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $9.55 points to a change of -28% from the prior year and has moved +1.2% over the last 30 days, while the next fiscal year's estimate of $8.62 indicates a change of -9.7% and has fallen 5.7% over the past month. The consensus sales estimate of $2.31 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of -10%, with $10.5 billion and $10.58 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicating changes of -5.5% and +0.8%, respectively. Lululemon reported revenues of $2.42 billion in the last reported quarter, a year-over-year change of -4.3%, with EPS of $2.06 versus $3.1 a year ago, and the recent change in the consensus estimate along with three other factors has resulted in a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) for Lululemon.

Nike reported a 5% currency-neutral revenue decline to $11.2 billion in its latest quarter, with Greater China down 26% and Nike Sportswear and Jordan remaining major drags, while its performance business grew at a high-single-digit rate. CEO Elliott Hill is steering Nike back toward sport, with running, football, training, basketball, tennis and golf all showing growth, and the company nearly tripling its share of the max-cushioning category over the past year. Nike Sportswear, which accounted for just under half of quarterly revenue, fell by low double digits as the company deliberately reduces supply of the Dunk and cuts back some Jordan retro releases to restore scarcity. Management expects China to worsen before it improves, with the reset continuing for multiple seasons, and its Pace restructuring program is expected to generate about $2.5 billion in savings, most of which are not expected until fiscal 2029 and 2030. Nike expects fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS of only $1.15 to $1.35, excluding about $0.15 of restructuring impact, and at 21.01x forward earnings investors are paying for a recovery that has yet to materialize, making November's Investor Day, where management will provide a five-year financial framework, the key test. Hedge fund sentiment weakened in the second quarter, with 56 hedge funds holding Nike, down from 71 in the first quarter, while the value of those positions rose slightly from $1.31 billion to $1.35 billion.

Nike launched Caitlin Clark's signature collection worldwide on October 1, the same day it reported quarterly earnings. The line includes the Caitlin 1 shoe, priced at $140 for adults with kids' versions at $105 to $115, plus an 18-piece apparel collection. On the earnings side, EPS came in at $0.48, above the $0.43 estimate, but revenue declined 4%, and for the full fiscal year Nike expects revenue to decline by a high single-digit percentage with adjusted EPS between $1.15 and $1.35. The stock trades at a forward P/E of about 21.0x, roughly 28% below its recent historical average of 32.97x, while EPS is forecast to drop 14.38% this fiscal year before recovering. Hedge fund ownership of Nike slipped from 71 funds at the end of Q1 2026 to 56 funds at the end of Q2 2026, and short interest remained high at 8.98% of float as of September 15, 2026.

Berenberg downgraded Nike to Sell from Hold and slashed its target price by 44% to $27.50, implying 19% further downside, with analyst Nick Anderson's team saying the market structure has "shifted irreversibly against Nike." The call follows fiscal first-quarter results in which lingering weakness in Jordan, sportswear, and China overshadowed double-digit gains in performance categories including golf, tennis, running, and basketball. Berenberg said Nike's plan to organize sportswear around smaller focus areas reads as an admission that the company has accepted a smaller place in sportswear. The analysts flagged inventory management as another challenge, estimating the clean-up will drag on past 2027, and said Nike's exclusion of any gross margin guidance for FY27 signals significant risk from inventory uncertainty. Berenberg does not expect benefits from the latest restructuring plan until FY29 and cut its revenue and EPS estimates for the next three years. Nike shares, down 47% year to date, were under pressure into Tuesday's open.

Citizen Watch announced on the 6th that a server at a contractor company was subjected to unauthorized access, and that the stored personal information of approximately 100,000 customers may have been leaked. No secondary harm has been confirmed, the company said. According to Scalar Communications, which Citizen had entrusted with handling customer inquiries, the unauthorized access occurred between the night of October 2 and the morning of October 3, and the names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and other data of about 100,000 people may have been leaked. The company said that if bank account or credit card information had been entered in the inquiry details field, it may also have been compromised. The affected parties are users of the websites for the Citizen, Bulova, and Frederique Constant brands, and no unauthorized access to Citizen itself has been confirmed.

Nike reported a 4% year-over-year decline in first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue, which came in at $11.2 billion, while gross margin expanded 60 basis points to 42.8% and diluted earnings slipped to $0.48 per share from $0.49 a year earlier. Revenue in China fell 26% year over year, though North America revenue rose 2% even as NIKE Direct revenue in the region declined 6%. Management guided full-year topline to contract at a high-single-digit rate and projected adjusted diluted earnings of $1.15 to $1.35 per share, and introduced its multiyear Pace Transformation Plan, which aims to yield cumulative savings of around $2.5 billion through fiscal 2031. The stock closed at $35.15 on October 1, down 52.53% over the last 52 weeks against a 13.93% gain for the S&P 500, with a market capitalization of $53.55 billion. Hedge fund holdings in Nike fell to 56 by the end of the second quarter of 2026 from 71 in the prior quarter, short interest stood at 6.29%, and BlackRock was the largest institutional investor with 81.81 million shares, or 6.81% of outstanding shares.

Sanyo Shokai announced on the 6th that its consolidated interim results for the fiscal year ending February 2027, covering the March-to-August period, showed a net loss of 555 million yen. The year-earlier period posted a loss of 299 million yen, and the shortfall widened beyond the company's previous forecast of a 480 million yen loss. Unseasonable weather persisted in June, late in the spring-summer selling season, weighing on the market as a whole, and weak sales of full-price merchandise left the company's June revenue at only 90 percent of the year-earlier level. From July onward it pushed sales at regular prices and curbed discount selling, but could not make up for the slump through June. In August the company had revised its interim net income forecast down from a 400 million yen profit to a 480 million yen loss. It left its consolidated full-year forecast for the fiscal year ending February 2027 unchanged.

Nike, Inc. reported first-quarter 2026 sales of US$11,213 million and net income of US$712 million, while guiding for a high-single-digit revenue decline in fiscal 2027. The softer quarterly results combined with the explicit outlook for lower future revenue have raised fresh questions about whether Nike's repositioning efforts can support earnings without further margin pressure. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.41 per share, payable October 1, 2026, a payout that is not well covered by free cash flow but that management chose to maintain as it balances shareholder returns against investment in product, marketing, and channel health. Nike's longer-term narrative projects US$48.5 billion in revenue and US$3.7 billion in earnings by 2029, requiring 1.5% yearly revenue growth and roughly a US$0.6 billion increase from US$3.1 billion in earnings today. Some of the most optimistic analysts had expected Nike's earnings to climb toward about US$5.7 billion with stronger margins, a view that contrasts sharply with the new revenue guidance.

Nike reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of $11.21 billion, down 4% year over year and below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.4 billion, while earnings of $0.48 per share beat the 44-cent consensus even as they slipped from $0.49 a year ago. Gross margin expanded 60 basis points to 42.8%, but Nike Direct revenue fell 8% on a reported basis, including a 13% decline in digital sales, Greater China revenue plunged 26% on a currency-neutral basis, and Converse revenue dropped 28%. Management now expects fiscal 2027 revenue to decline at a high-single-digit rate and adjusted earnings of just $1.15 to $1.35 per share, a 27% to 14% decline from EPS of $1.58 in FY26, and is restructuring its Sportswear, Jordan Brand, and Greater China businesses with corrective actions stretching beyond FY27. The new Pace initiative targets roughly $2.5 billion in cumulative savings through fiscal 2031 but is expected to generate about $1 billion in pretax restructuring charges. Nike pays a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, or $1.64 annually, for a yield of nearly 5%, and has raised its dividend for 24 consecutive years, though Q1 operating cash flow of $135 million fell short of $199 million in capital expenditures and roughly $610 million in dividends, against $8.36 billion in cash and equivalents. The Nike Caitlin 1 signature shoe for WNBA star Caitlin Clark launched globally on Oct. 1 at $140 and sold out in nearly every size within roughly two hours, a bright spot as Nike faces intensified competition for top athletes, including the recent loss of Kylian Mbappé to On Holdings. NKE carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Nike's dividend yield has climbed to 4.87%, roughly matching the 4.85% yield on the 2-year Treasury note, after a stock crash that has left the athletic-wear maker trading at record lows. The move follows Nike's earnings report late last week, in which CEO Elliott Hill suggested the weak sportswear market will continue in the medium term, forcing the company to discount slow-moving product, while full fiscal-year earnings guidance came in well below analyst estimates. Quarterly results showed Nike Brand sales fell 4%, online sales plunged 13%, Converse sales tanked 28% and China sales crashed 26%, and the company signaled a fresh round of major layoffs was coming. Nike stock is now down 47% year to date and 77% over the past five years. Jefferies analyst Randy Konik said that for investors willing to look beyond near-term volatility, Nike offers both income and recovery potential, while Stifel analyst Peter McGoldrick said he is not ready to call a bottom with shares trading at 28x P/E at the midpoint of FY27E guidance.

S&P Global Ratings has downgraded Nike Inc's credit rating to 'A' from 'A+', citing a prolonged turnaround across its key lifestyle segments and severe top-line deterioration in Greater China. The agency warned that the apparel giant faces negative cash flow generation over the next two to three years as restructuring costs and necessary reinvestments weigh on profitability. S&P expects Nike's consolidated revenue to contract by more than 7% in fiscal 2027 and weaken further in fiscal 2028, compounded by an incremental $1 billion in restructuring charges tied to an ongoing corporate overhaul. A steep downturn in Greater China remains a central driver, highlighted by a 26% top-line plunge in the first fiscal quarter, with the agency forecasting China revenue to fall approximately 30% for the full fiscal year, a dramatic retreat for a market that generated more than a fifth of total company sales at its peak. Nike maintains $11.4 billion in total liquidity, and S&P expects it to absorb a projected $1.2 billion annual cash burn after dividend outlays by suspending share buybacks, scaling back capital expenditures, and using cash reserves to satisfy upcoming debt maturities through early 2027, while the negative outlook flags the potential for further cuts over the next 12 to 24 months.

NIKE, Inc. is pursuing a newly announced Pace program expected to generate approximately $2.5 billion in cumulative savings through fiscal 2031, primarily by streamlining its organization, modernizing the supply chain, simplifying decision-making and improving productivity. The program is expected to incur about $1 billion in pre-tax charges, in addition to roughly $300 million of severance costs recorded in fiscal 2026. NIKE continues to prioritize growth-oriented investments rather than broadly cutting spending, with selling and administrative expenses declining 3% year over year in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 while demand-creation spending increased 5%. The company expects fiscal 2027 revenues to decline in high single digits as it makes deliberate portfolio adjustments across NIKE Sportswear, the Jordan Brand and Greater China, and reduces excess supply in key areas of the marketplace. Shares of NIKE have lost 21.6% in the past six months against the industry's decline of 16.9%, and the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of 10 European luxury stocks, assigning Buy ratings to just four, as it argued that muted sector growth will not last and that 2027 will mark a turning point after three years of post-COVID normalization. Analysts led by Erwan Rambourg said the slowdown in sales has been driven less by macro headwinds than by aggressive pricing and a slower pace of innovation, both potentially linked to a degree of strategic inertia, noting that traditional luxury brands raised prices by about 60% between mid-2019 and mid-2026. Goldman forecasts organic sales growth for its coverage rising from 6% in 2026, on depressed 2024 and 2025 comparisons, to 7% in 2027, with the sector reverting to mid-single-digit growth, and expects U.S. outperformance to extend into 2027 and beyond, a mechanical rebound in the Middle East and stabilizing sales in China, while Europe stays muted apart from American tourist flows. The four Buy-rated stocks are Richemont, LVMH, Moncler and Prada, with price targets of CHF225, €500, €62 and HK$52 respectively. Goldman initiated Kering, Burberry and Brunello Cucinelli at Neutral and kept Zegna at Neutral, while starting Hermes and Swatch at Sell.

UBS downgraded French luxury goods maker Hermès International to "sell" from "neutral" on Monday and cut its 12-month price target to €1,168 from €1,695, saying the brand's growing scale is reducing scarcity and making demand more cyclical. The bank cut its earnings-per-share estimates for 2026, 2027 and 2028 by 1%, 10% and 11%, respectively, citing weaker sales, lower benefits from scale and a higher assumed long-term tax rate of 33%, up from 28.5%. Its 2027 EPS forecast of €43.98 is 11% below consensus of €49.22, while its 2028 forecast of €46.53 is 14% below the €53.98 consensus. UBS expects Hermès' 2027 operating margin to fall to 38.3%, down 100 basis points from the prior year, and forecasts 5% organic sales growth in 2027, including 7% growth in leather goods. For third-quarter results due on Oct. 22, UBS expects sales of €4.1 billion, up 5% organically, with leather goods sales up 10%, silk and textiles up 8%, other activities up 7%, ready-to-wear and accessories up 1%, while watches and beauty decline 5%.

NIKE paired softer first quarter results with a warning that fiscal 2027 revenue is expected to decline in the high single digits. The stock fell 3.64% on the day of the update and is down 11.80% over the past month and 46.48% year to date, with a 1 year total shareholder return decline of 51.36%. The most followed valuation narrative pegs fair value at $36.83, a touch above the latest close at $33.87, implying the shares are 8% undervalued. NIKE runs with an operating margin above the roughly 10% mark and projects revenue growth of about 3% over the next couple of years, slightly below the broader economy. The revenue reset guidance and the 51.36% one-year total return decline leave little room for disappointment if NIKE stumbles again on demand or margins.

Morgan Stanley cut its Nike price target to 27 from 31, with analyst Alex Straton saying the company's first quarter is likely this year's high watermark rather than the low. Straton, who went underweight on the stock late last year, said Nike's guidance embeds a high single digit sales decline and that reaching full-year targets requires both top-line and earnings trends to degrade from here. She attributed the pressure to excess inventory in North America and a similar dynamic in China, the two biggest sportswear markets in the world, compounded by a challenging macro backdrop. Straton flagged three problem areas for the company: Sportswear, which makes up almost two-thirds of the portfolio and roughly 30 billion dollars in revenue, the Jordan brand, and a material change in the China outlook. She said she has not seen the bottom in negative revisions and that Nike may face a shrink-to-grow story, with further de-rating possible if the company settles into a lower-growth, lower-margin multiple. Nike holds an investor day in November, where Straton said the company needs to clarify the right revenue size for Sportswear, Jordan and China before investors can gauge when growth and historical margins might return.

Nike shares fell 5.5% in the morning session after the athletic apparel brand reported a 4% sales decline and issued weaker-than-expected full-year profit guidance. The company guided fiscal 2027 revenues to decline by high single digits and estimated adjusted diluted earnings per share between $1.15 and $1.35, missing analyst expectations of $1.68 per share amid product challenges and an ailing China business. For calendar Q3 2026, which is fiscal Q1 2027, sales fell 4.3% year on year to $11.21 billion, short of revenue expectations, while GAAP profit of $0.48 per share came in 9.9% above analysts' consensus estimates and gross margin expanded 60 basis points to 42.8% on lower logistics costs. Chief Financial Officer Dave Denton warned on the call that China's revenue will worsen for the balance of the year as Nike cleans up promotional distribution, and Chief Executive Officer Elliott Hill said deliberately reducing Dunk production by nearly half created a roughly $200 million headwind in Sportswear. Denton also noted that the bulk of savings from the Pace operating model transformation, which targets approximately $2.5 billion in cumulative savings through fiscal 2031, will not ramp until fiscal 2029 and 2030.

Nike reported first-quarter revenue slipped 5% on a currency-neutral basis to $11.2 billion, with management guiding the full year to a high single-digit decline. The performance portfolio grew high single digits, and would have grown low double digits without the China reset, as running, global football, tennis and golf all posted double-digit gains, while sportswear, just under half of revenue, fell into the low double digits and Jordan Brand, at 13% of the business, fell by the mid-teens. China revenue dropped 26% to $1.18 billion, Converse sank 28% to $263 million, and Nike Direct fell 9% with its digital arm down 13%. Gross margin improved 60 basis points to 42.8% and SG&A fell 3% to $3.9 billion, while the company unveiled a restructuring program called Pace targeting roughly $2.5 billion in savings for about $1 billion in costs, with most of the benefit arriving in fiscal 2029 and 2030. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.15 to $1.35 for the year exclude about $0.15 of Pace costs, and management warned the resets could spill into fiscal 2028, with the next catalyst set for the November Investor Day.

Corporate upheaval and strategic announcements drove sharp moves in several stocks this week. MongoDB plunged 18.5% on Monday and is on course to end the week down around 14.7% after President and CEO Chirantan Desai resigned with immediate effect to lead a new AI initiative at Meta Platforms; former chief executive Dev Ittycheria returns as interim CEO, and the company reaffirmed its third-quarter and full-year guidance. Synopsys surged 12.8% on Thursday and has gained around 9.2% over the week after setting long-term targets at its 2026 Investor Day in New York, projecting fiscal 2027 revenue of $11.1 billion to $11.2 billion, roughly 15% growth at the midpoint, non-GAAP earnings of $19.04 to $19.12 per share, free cash flow of around $3.1 billion, and plans to repurchase approximately $1 billion of stock, alongside a partnership with OpenAI on GPT-Synopsys and a multi-year IP agreement with Amazon. Mattel jumped 18.8% on Thursday and is on course to close the week up 13.6% after The Wall Street Journal reported that Authentic Brands Group has approached the toy maker with an offer that could value it at more than $20 per share, or around $6 billion or more. Nike fell 5.3% over the week to its lowest level since 2013 after mixed fiscal first-quarter results, with adjusted earnings of 48 cents per share topping expectations of 44 cents but revenue of $11.21 billion missing estimates of $11.35 billion and falling 5% on a currency-neutral basis. Fair Isaac is down 22.7% for the week after Bloomberg reported that the Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to require lenders to use credit data from only two of the three major bureaus for mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Nike Inc. is cutting jobs and embarking on a sweeping overhaul of the business as results deteriorate and test Wall Street's patience with Chief Executive Officer Elliott Hill. Sportswear, roughly 50% of Nike's business, is still down, Jordan is down, and China plunged 26% in the latest quarter, according to Bloomberg Intelligence senior US e-commerce and retail analyst Poonam Goyal. Goyal credited Hill with fixing North America and the performance business, which grew high single digits in the latest fiscal quarter, but said the turnaround will take more than 12 months and that investors will hear more at the analyst meeting in November. Nike already has a 2.5 billion dollar cost-savings plan in place that carries 1 billion dollars in restructuring costs, she said, adding that the remaining problem is product-led. Jordan, which Goyal said is 13% of Nike's sales and a 7 billion dollar business, suffered from flooding the marketplace with retro product, eroding the exclusivity, selection and scarcity that make the brand work.

Nike shares have fallen to multi-year lows near $32 after the company's fiscal first-quarter results showed an earnings beat driven by margins but an $11.2 billion revenue haul that was over 4% lower than a year earlier. Analysts have continued cutting estimates and price targets, with the consensus EPS estimate for full-year FY 2027, which ends in May, dropping from $1.67 to $1.61, representing annual growth of just 1.9%. On the earnings call, CEO Elliott Hill said the company is prioritizing marketplace health over near-term volume, noting that performance categories are gaining traction while Sportswear, Jordan Brand and Greater China remain under pressure. CFO David Denton introduced a clearer financial framework including full-year guidance and a multiyear cost program, while warning that restructuring pressure will extend into fiscal 2028. The article was originally published on Zacks Investment Research.

Nike's fiscal first quarter results disappointed, and CEO Elliott Hill's remarks on the earnings call left Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi expecting the business to struggle for another two years. Sozzi called the situation one of the worst meltdowns he has seen in retail in some time, though he noted the company remains profitable and still has lots of sales. He outlined four areas Nike must focus on to follow through on its turnaround plan: sell Converse, stop selling sneakers everywhere to restore exclusivity, stop dragging its feet on cost cuts, and tell an AI story to an AI investing world. On cost cuts, Sozzi said Hill is likely to enact a large amount of layoffs soon, with a first wave possibly before year end, and pointed to the company's new CFO who cut a lot of costs at his prior company. He also noted Nike's online business was down 13%, saying AI is not helping the business at all.

Nike used its fiscal first-quarter 2027 earnings call to warn that restructuring pressure will extend into fiscal 2028, even as performance categories gain traction. Earnings per share of $0.48 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.43, while revenues of $11.21 billion missed the $11.40 billion consensus. CFO David Denton said fiscal 2027 revenues are expected to decline in the high-single-digit range, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.15-$1.35 excluding about $0.15 of impact from the Pace program, and second-quarter growth facing roughly 400 basis points of pressure from prior-year Cyber Week comparisons in EMEA and North America. CEO Elliott Hill said NIKE Performance grew in the high single digits after reaching $16 billion in fiscal 2026, but Sportswear, just under half of quarterly revenue, fell low double digits, with a planned nearly 50% reduction in Dunk revenues creating an approximately $200 million headwind, while Jordan Brand at 13% of the global business declined in the mid-teens and Greater China revenues fell 26%. Denton said the Pace operating-model program is expected to generate about $2.5 billion in savings against approximately $1 billion of implementation costs, with most savings in fiscal 2029 and fiscal 2030 and full realization continuing into fiscal 2031, and Hill said Pace will establish a new campus in Bengaluru, India. Denton said the dividend remains a significant capital-allocation priority, and Nike plans to provide a longer-term financial algorithm at its November Investor Day.