After a soft Nike quarter, we have a big decision to make on the stock

Nike shares slipped Tuesday evening despite the company posting better-than-expected quarterly results. Our patience is running thin on this turnaround story. Total revenue in the company's fiscal 2026 fourth quarter dipped 1% year over year at $10.97 billion, topping Wall Street expectations of $10.86 billion, according to analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. Earnings per share (EPS) increased 42% from the year-ago period to 20 cents, beating the consensus of 13 cents, LSEG data showed. That figure does not include a 52-cent benefit to EPS from the expected recovery of the IEEPA tariffs — the levies overturned by the Supreme Court earlier this year. NKE YTD mountain Nike YTD The roughly 2% drop after-hours in shares Tuesday is sending Nike to roughly $40 per share. The stock is down about 35% year to date before factoring in the after-hours move. Bottom line We put Nike in the penalty box after the company reported disappointing earnings in March, and the results here are unlikely to improve its standing in the portfolio. While some parts of the business, namely running, have made notable progress over the past year under management's "Win now" turnaround strategy, the comeback is taking much longer than we anticipated. You could fault management for moving too slowly and not being aggressive enough with rightsizing excess inventory, China remaining a mess, product innovation lacking, or acknowledge that the sportswear competition is larger today than it was a few years ago. …