NKE up as much as 8.4% AH
Sep 24, 2015 4:25 PM EDT Updated 5:56 PM
bloomberg.com
Nike Inc. shares rose as much as 8.4 percent in late trading after the world’s largest maker of athletic gear beat first-quarter earnings estimates, helped by higher prices and a lower tax rate.
Profit rose to $1.34 a share, excluding some items, the Beaverton, Oregon-based company said Thursday in a statement. Analysts estimated $1.19 on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Chief Executive Officer Mark Parker, who was tapped this year to succeed Nike co-founder Phil Knight as chairman, has expanded the shoemaker’s offerings of women’s apparel and bolstered its online operations. The company also increased its gross profit margin last quarter, with help from higher selling prices, and benefited from broad-based revenue growth. Nike’s effective tax rate was 18.4 percent, compared with 21.7 percent a year earlier.
“They’ve had a really nice run,” said Rob Plaza, an analyst at Key Private Bank. Investments the company has made in cutting production and distribution costs are paying off, and expanding the gross margin has been “a big driver of the stock.”
The shares rose as high as $124.40 in extended trading after the results were released. Nike had already climbed 19 percent this year through Thursday’s close.
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Latest 123.40 +$8.61 |
