Nike Shares Up 5% After Q1 Results Beat Wall Street View

(RTTNews) - Shares of Nike Inc. (NKE) rose 5% in extended trading session Tuesday after the athletic shoes and apparel maker reported a first-quarter profit that trumped Wall Street estimates as revenues also trounced expectations.

Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike reported first-quarter profit of $1.37 billion or $0.86 per share, compared with last year's profit of $1.09 billion or $0.67 per share. On average, 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.70 per share for the quarter.

The company said profit growth was driven largely by strong revenue growth and gross margin expansion.

Revenues for the quarter rose 7 percent to $10.66 billion from $9.95 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $10.44 billion for the quarter.

Gross margin rose to 150 basis points to 45.7 percent, driven mainly by higher average selling prices and margin expansion in Nike direct.

Revenues for the Nike Brand were $10.1 billion, up 10 percent, while Converse were $555 million, up 8 percent.

"Our strong start to FY20 highlighted the depth and balance of NIKE's complete offense," said Mark Parker, Chairman, President and CEO, NIKE, Inc. "NIKE's strong product innovation, combined with our industry-leading digital experiences, continue to deepen our consumer relationships around the world."

North America sales rose 4 percent to $4.29 billion, while Europe, Middle East and Africa sales increased 6 percent to $2.77 billion. China sales jumped 22 percent to $1.68 billion, while Asia Pacific and Latin America sales rose 6 percent to $1.35 billion.

NKE closed Tuesday's trading at $87.18, down $0.51 or 0.58%, on the NYSE. The stock however, gained $4.42 or 5.06% in the after-hours trade.