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How to Read Nike Earnings: EPS, Revenue, Margins, and Guidance

By Freedom251 Team · · 5 min read

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To read Nike’s earnings, compare the same fiscal quarter year over year, then connect revenue, gross margin, operating costs, net income, and diluted EPS. Keep reported results separate from management’s forecasts and adjusted figures. In NIKE’s fiscal 2027 first quarter, revenue fell while gross margin rose and diluted EPS edged down—three signals that make more sense when read together.

Start with the period and the reported results

NIKE’s fiscal 2027 first quarter ended August 31, 2026, and the company announced results on October 1, 2026. It reported revenue of $11.213 billion, gross margin of 42.8%, net income of $712 million, and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.48. Compared with fiscal 2026 Q1, revenue declined 4% on a reported basis and 5% currency-neutral; net income declined 2%, and diluted EPS was down from $0.49. Gross margin, by contrast, expanded 60 basis points, or 0.60 percentage point.

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Use the same fiscal quarter a year earlier as the basic comparison: seasonal patterns can make quarter-to-quarter comparisons misleading. NIKE’s release rounds revenue to $11.2 billion in its headline, while the financial table gives $11.213 billion; the difference is rounding, not a separate result. The company’s fiscal 2027 Q1 release is the source for these reported figures.

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How to read Nike revenue

Revenue is the sales amount before expenses are deducted. NIKE’s reported revenue declined 4%; its currency-neutral comparison declined 5%. Currency-neutral growth is a supplemental comparison intended to show results without the effect of exchange-rate changes. It is not a separate GAAP revenue figure or cash measure, so label which basis you mean.

The company’s reported detail helps show where the consolidated result came from:

Fiscal 2027 Q1 measure Result and year-over-year change
NIKE Brand revenue $11.0 billion; down 4% reported and currency-neutral
NIKE Direct revenue $4.1 billion; down 8% reported
Wholesale revenue $6.8 billion; down 1% reported

NIKE attributed the Brand decline primarily to Greater China and EMEA, partly offset by growth in North America. These channel figures are components of the company’s business reporting; they should not be added to the consolidated total as if they were separate businesses with no overlap.

What gross margin says—and what it does not

Gross profit is revenue minus cost of sales; gross margin expresses gross profit as a percentage of revenue. NIKE reported $4.798 billion in gross profit and $6.415 billion in cost of sales, with a stated gross margin of 42.8%. The margin was 42.2% in fiscal 2026 Q1.

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NIKE said the year-over-year expansion was primarily due to lower warehousing and logistics costs. That is the company’s explanation of the change, not proof that every part of its business improved. A higher gross margin also does not guarantee higher net income or EPS: in this quarter, margin rose while net income fell 2% and diluted EPS declined by one cent.

Read EPS alongside earnings and shares

EPS means earnings per share: the amount of earnings attributable to each share under the measure reported. NIKE’s fiscal 2027 Q1 diluted EPS was $0.48, compared with $0.49 a year earlier. Net income was $712 million, and diluted weighted-average shares were 1,484.2 million, versus 1,479.0 million a year earlier. The share count is relevant because EPS reflects both earnings and the number of shares used in its calculation.

Diluted EPS accounts for potential dilution from securities such as stock awards; use it when describing the diluted figure rather than swapping in basic EPS. EPS is not cash flow, a dividend amount, or a stock-price target. NIKE separately declared a $0.410 dividend per common share for the quarter, which is a different figure from the $0.48 diluted EPS. For definitions and how the income statement fits together, see the SEC’s Beginners’ Guide to Financial Statements.

Look below gross profit at expenses and operating performance

Revenue and gross margin do not show the full cost of running the business. In NIKE’s fiscal 2027 Q1 income statement, selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense fell 3% in dollars, yet increased from 34.3% to 34.9% of revenue. A dollar expense can decline while its share of revenue rises when revenue falls faster.

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The release also reported non-GAAP EBIT margin of 8.1%, compared with 7.7% a year earlier. NIKE defines EBIT as net income before net interest income or expense and income tax expense, and cautions that non-GAAP EBIT and EBIT margin should not be considered alone or as substitutes for GAAP measures. Treat it as another lens on performance, and read the company’s definition and reconciliation rather than comparing it uncritically with a differently defined measure.

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Separate guidance from results

Guidance is management’s forward-looking expectation, not an achieved result. Following fiscal 2027 Q1, NIKE expected full-year fiscal 2027 revenue to decline by a high-single-digit percentage. It forecast adjusted diluted EPS of $1.15 to $1.35, excluding approximately $0.15 of Pace restructuring expense. This is an annual adjusted forecast, not directly comparable to one quarter’s reported GAAP diluted EPS of $0.48.

NIKE also expected a mid-20% effective tax rate for the fiscal year, subject to earnings mix and discrete tax items. The company said its estimates for Pace savings and restructuring charges depend on assumptions, can change, and may differ materially from actual outcomes. Preserve the period, adjustment, and uncertainty when summarizing outlook; the range is not a promise.

Put the quarter in a longer context

Fiscal 2026 full-year revenue was $46.4 billion, flat on a reported basis and down 2% currency-neutral, according to NIKE’s fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter and full-year release. Its fiscal 2026 Q4 gross margin was 49.2%, but the company said the increase included an approximately 900-basis-point benefit from the expected recovery of IEEPA tariffs. That unusual cited factor makes Q4 a poor standalone baseline for judging an underlying margin trend.

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For the complete interim picture, use the Form 10-Q as well as the earnings release. Its financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A) provide broader context than headline metrics alone, including cash flows, balance-sheet information, risks, and explanations of results. The SEC explains the role of MD&A in its investor guide to financial statements; Investor.gov describes the sections of a 10-Q in How to Read a 10-K/10-Q.

A practical order for reading the next release

  1. Confirm the fiscal period. Identify the quarter end and compare with the matching quarter a year earlier.
  2. Read revenue on both bases. Note reported and currency-neutral changes, then check channel and geographic explanations.
  3. Trace profitability down the statement. Review gross margin and stated drivers, then expense ratios, operating measures, net income, and diluted EPS.
  4. Check share count and metric definitions. Distinguish diluted from basic EPS and GAAP results from non-GAAP measures.
  5. Read outlook separately. Capture the forecast period, range, exclusions, and stated uncertainties; do not blend it with reported quarterly results.
  6. Consult the filing for context. Use MD&A and the statements to assess whether headline changes align with cash flows, the balance sheet, and disclosed risks.

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