NIKE, Inc. Reports Fiscal 2020 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

BEAVERTON, Ore., June 25, 2020 - #nike, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) today reported financial results for its fiscal 2020 fourth quarter and full year ended May 31, 2020.

• Fourth quarter reported revenues were $6.3 billion, declining from prior year as the majority of NIKE-owned and partner stores in North America, EMEA and APLA were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• NIKE digital sales increased 75 percent in the fourth quarter, or 79 percent on a currency- neutral basis*, with strong double-digit increases across all geographies and was approximately 30 percent of total revenue.
• For the fiscal year, Greater China revenues increased 8 percent, or 11 percent on a currency-neutral basis, marking its sixth consecutive year of double-digit currency-neutral growth despite the headwinds from COVID-19 in the second half of the year.

Our fourth quarter results were significantly impacted by physical store closures across North America, EMEA and APLA, where 90 percent of NIKE-owned stores were closed for roughly eight weeks in the quarter to protect the health and safety of teammates and consumers and help slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our wholesale partners largely followed the same pattern and as a result, product shipments to wholesale customers were down nearly 50 percent resulting in lower total revenue and higher inventory. During the widespread physical store closures, we accelerated our connection and engagement with our consumers leveraging the strength of our digital ecosystem.

“In a highly dynamic environment, the #nike Brand continues to resonate strongly with consumers all over the world as our digital business accelerates in every market,” said John Donahoe, President and Chief Executive Officer, #nike, Inc. “We are uniquely positioned to grow, and now is the time to build on NIKE's strengths and distinct capabilities. We are continuing to invest in our biggest opportunities, including a more connected digital marketplace, to extend our leadership and fuel long-term growth.”**

COVID-19 Update on Operations

As of today, approximately 90 percent of NIKE-owned stores are open across the globe. Retail traffic continues to improve week-over-week with higher conversion rates as compared to the prior year.**

In Greater China, nearly 100 percent of NIKE-owned stores are open.

In North America, EMEA and APLA, approximately 90 percent of physical owned stores were closed during the fourth quarter with stores gradually reopening at different paces in each country beginning in mid-May. Today, roughly 85 percent of NIKE-owned stores are open in North America and about 90 percent in EMEA, with approximately 65 percent open in APLA or operating under reduced hours.

“As physical retail re-opens, NIKE's strong digital trends continue, a testament to the strength of our brand and the investments we've made to elevate digital consumer experiences,” said Matt Friend, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, #nike, Inc. “Amid macroeconomic uncertainty, we will continue to operate with agility, focused on optimizing marketplace supply and demand, cost management and leveraging our financial strength to drive long-term sustainable, profitable growth.”**

As we continue to reopen retail stores and increase distribution center activity, we remain focused on prioritizing the health of our teammates and consumers and have taken proactive steps to help ensure a safe environment. During the quarter, we made significant investments to provide employee pay continuity and committed over $25 million to support communities impacted by COVID-19 among other COVID-19 response efforts.

Fourth Quarter Income Statement Review

• Revenues for #nike, Inc. decreased 38 percent to $6.3 billion, down 36 percent on a currency- neutral basis, primarily due to owned and partner physical store closures across North America, EMEA and APL A due to COVID-19, partially offset by growth in Greater China.
• Gross margin decreased 820 basis points to 37.3 percent as higher full-price average selling prices, despite increased wholesale discounts, were more than offset by higher product costs including factory cancellation charges, increased inventory obsolescence reserves and the adverse rate impact of supply chain fixed costs on lower wholesale shipments primarily due to COVID-19.
• Selling and administrative expense decreased 6 percent to $3.2 billion, which included an incremental $178 million increase in bad debt expense. Demand creation expense was $823 million, down 19 percent to prior year as retail and brand marketing spend was shifted as sporting events were canceled or delayed due to COVID-19. Operating overhead expense decreased 1 percent to $2.4 billion driven primarily by lower total wages and travel and related expenses, partially offset by higher bad debt expense.
• The effective tax rate was 1.7 percent, compared to 20.4 percent for the same period last year. This is primarily due to the mix of earnings taxed in the U.S. and favorability attributable to items such as the use of foreign tax credits.
• Net loss was $790 million and diluted net loss per share was $0.51 driven by lower revenue and gross margin as a result of the COVID-19 impact on operations, partially offset by lower selling and administrative expenses.

Fiscal 2020 Income Statement Review

• Revenues for #nike, Inc. fell 4 percent to $37.4 billion, down 2 percent on a currency-neutral basis due to the impact of COVID-19 on business operations, primarily in the fourth quarter. In the first half of fiscal 2020, prior to COVID-19, #nike, Inc. revenue was up 9 percent, or 11 percent on a currency-neutral basis, reflecting strong, broad-based consumer demand, higher full-price sales realization and a double-digit increase in digital sales.
  • In fiscal 2020, digital sales increased 47 percent, or 49 percent on a currency-neutral basis, with all geographies growing strong double-digits.
  • Greater China revenues increased 8 percent, or 11 percent on a currency-neutral basis, marking its sixth consecutive year of double-digit growth on a currency-neutral basis.
• Gross margin decreased 130 basis points to 43.4 percent as higher full-price average selling prices, despite higher discounts due to COVID-19, were more than offset by higher product costs including tariffs in the U.S., as well as factory cancellation charges, increased inventory obsolescence reserves and the adverse rate impact of supply chain cost on a lower volume of wholesale shipments in the fourth quarter.
• Selling and administrative expense increased 3 percent to $13.1 billion. Demand creation expense was $3.6 billion, down 4 percent to prior year primarily due to lower retail, brand and sports marketing expenses as sporting events were postponed or canceled and a majority of physical stores were closed globally during the fourth quarter. Operating overhead expense increased 7 percent to $9.5 billion driven primarily by higher wage-related expenses to support our continued investments in end-to-end digital capabilities and higher bad debt expense, partially offset by lower travel and related spend.
• The effective tax rate was 12.1 percent, compared to 16.1 percent for the same period last year due to increased benefits from discrete items such as stock-based compensation.
• Net income was $2.5 billion and diluted earnings per share was $1.60, down 36 percent, driven by lower revenue and gross margin impacted by COVID-19 in the fourth quarter and higher selling and administrative expenses, partially offset by a lower tax rate and a lower average share count. This also includes the one-time, non-cash charge associated with the strategic distributor partnership transition in South America, which reduced earnings per share by $0.25.

May 31, 2020 Balance Sheet Review

• Inventories for #nike, Inc. were $7.4 billion, up 31 percent compared to the prior year period, primarily reflecting the impact of NIKE-owned store closures in North America, EMEA and APLA as well as lower wholesale shipments in the fourth quarter due to COVID-19.
• Total liquidity at May 31 was $12.5 billion with robust cash and equivalents and short-term investments of $8.8 billion, $4.1 billion higher than last year primarily due to proceeds from a $6 billion #corporate bond issuance in March, partially offset by share repurchase activity in the first ten months of the year, cash dividends and investments in infrastructure. In addition, #nike secured a new $2 billion credit facility adding to the existing credit facility of $2 billion to ensure appropriate liquidity and flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shareholder Returns

NIKE has a strong track record of investing to fuel growth and consistently increasing returns to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases including 18 consecutive years of increasing dividend payouts. In fiscal 2020, the Company returned $4.5 billion to shareholders, including:

• Dividends of $1.5 billion, compared with $1.3 billion in fiscal 2019, reflecting a lower share count offset by an 11 percent increase in the dividend per share.
• Share repurchases totaling $3.0 billion for fiscal 2020 reflecting 33.5 million shares retired as part of the four-year, $15 billion program approved by the Board of Directors in June 2018.
• During the fourth quarter, #nike, Inc. repurchased 1.9 million shares for approximately $159 million before suspending share repurchase activity in March to maximize liquidity in the current dynamic environment.

As of May 31, 2020, a total of 45.2 million shares had been repurchased for approximately $4.0 billion, resulting in approximately $11 billion in remaining capacity under the 2018 share repurchase program.

Conference Call

NIKE, Inc. management will host a conference call beginning at approximately 2:00 p.m. PT on June 25, 2020, to review fiscal fourth quarter and full year results. The conference call will be broadcast live via webcast and can be accessed at http://investors.nike.com. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, an archived version will be available at the same location through 9:00 p.m. PT, July 11, 2020.