Can NIKE's "Sport Offense" Reignite Growth Across Key Markets?

After a period marked by uneven demand, channel imbalances and pressure on its core franchises, NIKE Inc. NKE is turning to “Sport Offense” as the central lever to reset momentum. The strategy represents a deliberate shift back to sport-led, athlete-driven innovation, organizing the business around key sports, cities and athletes rather than broad lifestyle narratives. By anchoring product creation, storytelling and marketplace execution more tightly to sport moments, the company aims to rebuild brand heat, restore premium positioning and create a more consistent pipeline of newness across footwear, apparel and equipment.

Early signals suggest the approach is gaining traction, particularly in North America, where performance categories like Running and Basketball are leading growth. The Sport Offense emphasizes faster innovation cycles, clearer segmentation by sport and price point, and tighter collaboration with wholesale partners to elevate in-store and digital experiences. This has helped NIKE improve sell-through, reduce excessive promotions and rebalance its portfolio away from overextended classic franchises. Importantly, the model is designed to scale, allowing successful concepts in one market or sport to be replicated across geographies and channels with greater speed and relevance.

That said, execution risks remain, especially in international markets. Greater China, in particular, faces a longer reset as NIKE works to reassert its premium, innovation-led identity in a highly competitive and digital-first environment. EMEA and APLA are also at earlier stages of adopting the Sport Offense framework, meaning results will likely be uneven in the near term. Still, if NIKE can consistently translate sport-driven innovation into localized, compelling consumer experiences, the Sport Offense has the potential to reaccelerate growth, strengthen brand equity and lay the foundation for more sustainable, profitable expansion across key global markets.

NKE’s Competition in the Global Arena

adidas AG ADDYY and lululemon athletica inc. LULU are the key companies competing with NIKE in the global market.

adidas is sharpening its focus on performance-led categories as it works to reaccelerate growth and rebuild brand momentum across key markets. The company is leaning more heavily into core sports such as football, running and training, using athlete partnerships and major global sporting events to reignite product relevance and consumer excitement. By streamlining its product portfolio, reducing discount dependency and tightening control over distribution, adidas aims to restore a premium brand posture while improving sell-through and margins.

lululemon continues to build on its performance DNA by anchoring growth in technical innovation, community-led engagement and category expansion beyond yoga. The brand’s focus on high-performance fabrics, fit and functionality supports strong pricing power and loyalty, while initiatives in running, training and men’s wear broaden its addressable market. At the same time, lululemon is carefully scaling internationally and enhancing its digital and experiential ecosystem to deepen consumer connections.

NKE’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of NIKE have lost 12.6% in the past three months compared with the industry’s decline of 11.4%.

From a valuation standpoint, NKE trades at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31X compared with the industry’s average of 26.36X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NKE’s fiscal 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year decline of 27.3%, while that for fiscal 2027 indicates growth of 55.5%.

NIKE stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research