Nike’s Q1 FY2027 Earnings Beat Couldn’t Hide Weak Sales

Nike’s fiscal first quarter delivered a split result: earnings per share topped analysts’ expectations, but revenue fell year over year and came in below estimates. Growth in performance products could not offset weakness in Greater China and key lifestyle businesses. Nike’s forecast for another sales decline, alongside a multiyear overhaul, shows that CEO Elliott Hill’s recovery effort has more ground to cover. 157

Nike’s revenue missed, while earnings beat expectations

For the quarter ended August 31, 2026, Nike reported revenue of $11.21 billion, down 4% from a year earlier. Analysts’ revenue estimates varied slightly across reports, but clustered around $11.3 billion—above Nike’s result. Adjusted earnings were $0.48 per share, ahead of analyst expectations of roughly $0.43–$0.44, but below the prior-year figure of $0.49. 17914

The earnings beat did not mean the business had returned to growth. Nike’s sales decline—and its outlook for the rest of the year—pointed to continued pressure across major parts of the company.

Performance growth wasn’t enough to offset weaker brands and China

Nike said its performance portfolio grew at a high-single-digit rate, with strength in running, global football and basketball. Hill said those gains were not yet large enough to make up for pressure in Nike Sportswear, Jordan Brand and Greater China. 53438

Greater China was a particularly large drag: revenue there fell 22% on a reported basis and 26% on a currency-neutral basis, to $1.18 billion. Nike has been cleaning up its digital distribution in the region, a process management indicated would weigh on near-term results. 715

Converse also remained weak. Revenue fell 28% to $263 million, with declines across all territories. 715 The available reporting identifies declines in Sportswear and Jordan Brand but does not provide enough detail to attribute those declines to a single cause. Nike has described its actions to reduce supply in parts of the marketplace as deliberate, which is one factor behind its cautious near-term sales outlook. 415

Nike forecasts a high-single-digit sales decline for FY2027

Nike expects fiscal 2027 revenue to decline by a high-single-digit percentage and adjusted earnings per share to land between $1.15 and $1.35. That outlook reinforces that the company expects its business resets and marketplace changes to continue weighing on results in the near term. 56

The company also introduced Pace, a multiyear operating-model transformation that includes job reductions and organizational changes. Nike expects the program to generate about $2.5 billion in cumulative savings through fiscal 2031. Those savings are a target, not evidence that the sales recovery has already arrived. 153241

What the quarter says about Hill’s turnaround

Hill has pointed to progress in performance products while acknowledging that Sportswear, Jordan Brand and Greater China still need work. That distinction matters: the quarter showed momentum in some categories, but not broad-based improvement across Nike’s business. 537

Nike shares fell sharply after the results and outlook were released. The reaction underscored how the sales miss and forecast weighed on the market’s view of the recovery, despite the quarterly earnings beat. 113 For now, Nike’s results support a measured conclusion: performance products are gaining traction, but the company’s broader turnaround remains unfinished.