US sportswear giant Nike saw its revenues drop by 9% year-on-year (on a reported basis) during its 2025 fiscal third quarter.
The heavyweight brand secured Q3 revenue of $11.3 billion during the three months up to February 28 this year, as opposed to $12.4 billion the prior year. Its gross profit, meanwhile, came to $4.6 billion, down from $5.5 billion in 2024.
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These financials did, however, beat analyst expectations – these had only predicted revenue of $11.01 billion.
Regarding the ongoing fourth fiscal quarter, meanwhile, Nike’s financial chief Matt Friend has said he expects a sales decline of at least 10%.
In terms of net income, this amounted to $794 million in Q3, down significantly (32%) from $1.1 billion for the equivalent quarter in early 2024.
In terms of Nike’s financials by geography, all regions – North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Greater China, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America – saw revenue fall.
The Greater China region, in particular, endured a difficult Q3, seeing income drop by 17% year-on-year, from just over $2 billion to $1.73 billion.
In North America (the brand’s biggest market), revenue decreased from $5.07 billion to $4.86 billion. This came despite a 10% year-on-year rise in equipment revenue.
The footwear sector saw significant revenue decreases across all regions, including 17% in Greater China, 12% in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, and 9% in North America.
Apparel-based income, meanwhile, dropped off year-on-year in every market outside North America.
On the Greater China revenue drop, Nike chief executive Elliott Hill has been quoted as telling analysts: “I spent some time over there in December. I hadn’t been over there in a while. The competition is a bit more aggressive than what I remembered. So we’ve just got to accelerate our pace.”
However, some of the regional revenue numbers were still better than those predicted by analysts – predicted revenues in North America, for example, were $4.53 billion.
In terms of the looming Q4 issues, on an earnings conference call with analysts, Friend (reportedly) said that “the fourth quarter will reflect the largest impact … and that the headwinds to revenue and gross margin will begin to moderate from there.”
He is cited as commenting that “we are also navigating through several external factors that create uncertainty in the current operating environment, including geopolitical dynamics, new tariffs, volatile foreign exchange rates, and tax regulations, as well as the impact of this uncertainty and other macro factors on consumer confidence.”
Analysts had forecast a drop in sales revenue by 11.4% during Q4, which concludes at the end of May.
By the close of the financial markets on Thursday, Nike’s shares had fallen by more than 4% in extended trading.
Hill has been Nike’s chief exec since October last year, when he formally returned to the brand, replacing John Donohoe.
In terms of the company’s overall financial picture, he said: “I’m proud of the progress we made against the key actions we committed to 90 days ago. While we met the expectations we set, we’re not satisfied with our overall results. We can and will be better.”
Nike’s Q2 results, made public in late December, showed a 26% year-on-year decline in net income and a 3% drop in wholesale revenues on a reported basis.
Hill originally held a range of senior leadership positions at Nike before retiring in 2020 – he was there for 32 years in his first stint, eventually rising to become the president of consumer marketplace.
