Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Investopedia: Nike Still Winning

It seems a little strange that footwear and athletic apparel maker Nike (NYSE:NKE) never quite gets the same respect or admiration that Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) or Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) get from investors and business historians. After all, Nike started at almost the same time as Wal-Mart and is every bit as global (if not more) in its reach and influence.


Perhaps even more to the point for investors, Nike continues to grow at a pace that most other giant consumer products companies struggle to match. With Nike arguably having room for improvement and expansion in multiple areas, there would be seem to be no immediate cause to think Nike cannot continue to grow for many years to come.

A Strong End to the Fiscal Year
Nike reported that sales rose 14% to close out its fiscal year. In topping even the high end of sales estimates, Nike saw footwear sales growth of 19%, apparel growth of near 8%, and equipment growth of 5%. While sales were notably strong in China and emerging markets (and these markets are collectively as important to Nike as Europe), North America was no slouch at 21% reported growth.

To read the full piece, please click below:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Nike-Still-Winning-NKE-FL-FINL-UA-LULU-HBI-COLM0628.aspx

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