Is NIKE, Inc. (NKE) the Best Dow Stock?

We recently published a list of The Best and Worst Dow Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) stands against other Dow stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a benchmark index of the top 30 companies in the US. It represents the strength of the US economy and carries great historical significance as well.

It also acts as a reference point for analysts and investors. However, not all stocks within this elite group of companies perform equally. While some thrive on innovation and economic boom, others struggle due to various setbacks and economic trends.

We decided to break down the index and find out the best and worst stocks, looking at what was making them perform unexpectedly this year.

Methodology

In order to come up with our ranking of the best and worst Dow stocks, we first assigned a rank to each stock based on the number of hedge funds holding the stock. We then looked at the short interest in each stock and assigned the top rank to the company with the least short interest.

We then combined the two ranks to see which stock was the best on average. The list is in ascending order, with the best stock taking the number one spot.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 73

Short Interest as of Apr 30, 2025: 4.35%

NIKE, Inc. operates as a developer, designer, marketer, and seller of apparel, athletic footwear, accessories, equipment, and services. Following President Donald Trump’s social media post about a productive call with Vietnam’s leaders on trade restrictions, the company’s shares surged around 4.5%.

However, NKE is the most shorted stock on the Dow with a short interest of 4.35%.  It has lost over one-third of its value in the last year, with the company management lobbying to get an exemption from tariffs to protect American consumers.

There is reason to believe that an exemption may be on the cards. Earlier in April, Trump was approached by the Vietnamese authorities and this was how he responded:

“Just had a very productive call with To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who told me that Vietnam wants to cut their tariffs down to ZERO if they are able to make an agreement with the U.S. I thanked him on behalf of our country and said I look forward to a meeting in the near future.”

In partnership with Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS, the athletic apparel giant is preparing to launch a new brand. The firm is organizing a team of designers and executives for the launch of a new spring collection.  The NikeSkims project will include footwear, training apparel, and accessories, aiming for global expansion in 2026.

NIKE has recently announced another partnership with Ja Morant and Kraft-Heinz’s Kool-Aid brand. This deal aims to launch a new shoe collaboration, the Nike x Kool-Aid Ja 2. This partnership blends nostalgia, creativity, and sneaker culture, highlighting Ja’s personality.

Overall, NKE ranks 29th on our list of best and worst Dow stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of NKE as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NKE but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.