=Nike (NKE) reported earnings on Thur 29 June 2017 (a/h)

NIKE beats by $0.10, reports revs in-line; will guide on the call :

• Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $0.60 per share, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.50, driven by global revenue growth, lower selling and administrative expense, a lower tax rate and a lower average share count which were slightly offset by lower gross margin; revenues rose 5.3% year/year to $8.68 bln vs the $8.63 bln Capital IQ Consensus. International geographies and the Direct-to-Consumer (:DTC) businesses globally led strong revenue growth
  • Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $8.1 billion, up 7 percent on a currency-neutral basis driven by double-digit growth in Western Europe, Greater China, and the Emerging Markets, and strong growth in Sportswear and Running.
  • Revenues for Converse were $554 million, up 10 percent on a currency-neutral basis, primarily driven by the market transition in Italy and growth in DTC.
  • Sales by region ex-FX: NA +1%, W. Eur +12%, C&E Eur +6%, China +16%, Japan +5%, EM +18% 
• Gross margin declined 180 bps to 44.1% vs. 44.15-44.40% guidance as higher average selling prices were more than offset by unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates and higher product costs.
• Inventories for NIKE, Inc. were $5.1 billion, up 4 percent from May 31, 2016, as a 3 percent decrease in NIKE Brand wholesale unit inventories was more than offset by increases in average product cost per unit and growth in our DTC businesses.
• NIKE, Inc. repurchased a total of 14.9 million shares for approximately $820 million as part of the four-year, $12 billion program approved by the Board.