Nike's Higher Product Expenses

Today is Friday, June 30, 2023.

The Early Bird Index today is 56.87.

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Nike's Higher Product Expenses

Nike (NYSE: NKE) dropped 4.40% in after-hours trading on Thursday after posting mixed financial results.

Financials: The footwear and apparel giant reported earnings of 66 cents per share in the past quarter, which was below estimates. Revenue reached $12.8 billion, which was better than expected.

Details: Revenue shot up 5%, including revenue for NIKE Direct jumping by 15%. Sales in China did better than expected.

But: The gross margin decreased 140 basis points to 43.6%. The company attributed the decline to higher product input costs and elevated freight and logistics costs. There were also higher markdowns.

Also: Wholesale revenues dropped by 2% in the quarter. Meanwhile, expenses for sales and for administrative uses increased by 8%.

Quote: “Nike’s strong results make clear that our strategy is working.” - John Donahoe, President & CEO of Nike.

Stock Price: Nike is down 4% this year, but the stock is up 6% in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: While it is great that Nike is turning things around in China, the drop in gross margin is a big concern. The company is also dealing with inventory issues again.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ).

Notable IPOs Today: Corporación Inmobiliaria Vesta, S.A.B de C.V. (NYSE: VTMX), Litman Gregory Funds Trust (NYSE Arca: BDVG), Exchange Traded Concepts Trust (NYSE Arca: MUSQ).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Bohemian Club (Mainvest), Emerald City Plant Shop (Mainvest), SDVOSB Materials Technology & Supply (TruCrowd), Hydro Hash (Republic), iHealthScreen (StartEngine), The Cube Cowork (Mainvest).

Notable Economic Events Today: Core PCE Price Index (8:30 a.m. ET), Personal Spending (8:30 a.m. ET), Chicago PMI (9:45 a.m. ET), Michigan Consumer Expectations / Sentiment (10:00 a.m. ET).

Solana Surges Above Bad News

The price of the cryptocurrency Solana jumped by over 16% on Thursday, as most other coins stayed flat.

Price: Overall, Solana is up 7% in the past week. In 2023, it is up over 75%.

Powering the Story: It seems that cross-chain bridge deBridge released a new tool on Thursday to let Solana users access applications on other blockchains, according to CoinDesk. This new feature might explain the jump in price.

But: Solana’s Cardinal protocol announced it is closing operations on Wednesday. On the same day, fintech company Revolut announced it was ending support for Solana. Despite the bad news, Solana is thriving.

Final Thoughts: Solana is in the middle of an impressive year. But just like other cryptos, it is hard to trust it as an investment because of the volatility.

AbbVie Gets New President, COO

Abbvie (NYSE: ABBV) named Robert A. Michael, the company’s vice chairman, as the president and chief operating officer late Thursday.

Final Thoughts: The news did not impact the stock price, which is down 17% so far in 2023.

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Trends to Watch

New Name, Who Dis: Online retailer Overstock rebranding as Bed Bath & Beyond (Reuters)

Liftoff: Virgin Galactic finally flies its first commercial space tourism mission (The Washington Post)

Still Growing: The US economy is a lot stronger than Wall Street thought (Yahoo! Finance)

Here We Go Again: Fidelity Refiles Bitcoin ETF Application With SEC as BlackRock Renews Hope (Decrypt)

Jumping on the Electric Bandwagon: Electrify America is the next big charging network to adopt Tesla’s ‘standard’ EV plug (The Verge)

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