May 1, 2026
Depending on who you ask, Nike (NYSE:NKE) is either in a heap of trouble or slowly steadying the ship after the John Donahoe era (1) — a time when the company lacked innovation and focused too heavily on building out direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales.
The sneaker giant's share price is currently down more than 70% from its high in 2021 during the pandemic. Nike shares are currently trading at around $44.
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The last month in particular, the company has been plagued by a string of bad news coming out of the sneaker giant's Beaverton, Oregon, headquarters.
Nike faced backlash after its Boston Marathon "Runners Welcome, Walkers Tolerated." ad (2). It eventually apologized and walked the ad back (3). Then, the retailer announced that it was cutting 14,000 employees (4) from its workforce, primarily in its tech department.
Nike has now done two rounds of layoffs in 2026. It's also the fourth consecutive year the company has downsized staff (5). Nike has said recent layoffs are about better positioning the company for the current pace of sports and accelerating its growth.
In response to Moneywise's request for comment on this story, Nike directed us to its public announcement about the layoffs (6) and its future plans as a company.
Nike's 'Win Now' strategy
When Elliot Hill rejoined Nike in 2024 (7), this time as CEO, he was tasked with turning around the brand's sluggish sales. Key to this is Nike's "Win Now" strategy, predicated, in part, on rebuilding wholesale relationships with companies like Foot Locker and boosting sport innovation.
In its public announcement about layoffs, COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy wrote to employees, "This is not a new direction. It is the next phase of the work already underway" (6).
Morningstar analyst David Swartz recently told Reuters (8) that the layoffs signaled Nike's problems "run deeper than originally thought." He added the company should be further along in its recovery, while acknowledging Nike may have been overstaffed thanks to overhiring during the pandemic.
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After a mixed Nike earnings report at the end of March, Hill told analysts that Nike is moving in the right direction. Guggenheim Partner's consumer equity research analyst Simeon Siegel echoed that sentiment on CNBC's Fast Money (9), saying that Nike's performance in China was a lot better than expected in terms of narrowing losses and improving margins. There's still work to do across Europe and Asia, but he said North America revenues are also "growing nicely" — a credit to Hill.
"A year ago, there was no chance North America revenues were going to grow. And yet they are growing," Siegel said.
Nike's revenue was down 3% to $11.3 billion (10) on a currency neutral basis in its fiscal third quarter. Guidance for the current quarter left investors unimpressed and caused a sell-off of its stock.
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Why Nike needs a turnaround plan
While some online critics blame Nike's "woke" marketing strategy (11) for its poor performance of late, the truth is Nike relied too heavily on DTC sales during the pandemic and shunned longtime wholesale partners in the process.
Wholesale partners like Foot Locker then relied on other brands to fill up sneaker walls in their stores. At the same time, customers returned to stores after the world opened back up and started buying sneakers made by running brands like On and Hoka, and Asics and New Balance for lifestyle wear.
Meanwhile, Nike was criticized by analysts (12) for relying on retro Dunk and Air Jordan models that were incredibly popular among sneakerheads during the pandemic. Now, Hill is focused more on sport and less on trendy lifestyle, and Nike selling everything itself.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Business Insider (1), (7); Runner's World (2); Yahoo Sports (3); CNBC (4), (9); OregonLive (5); Nike (6), (10); Reuters (8); Daily Mail (11); Wall Street Journal (12)
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Danni Santana is a journalist based out of NYC with a decade of experience reporting and editing business stories. He previously worked as a personal finance editor at CNET and retail editor at Business Insider. When he's not writing or editing, he's likely playing video games, buying sneakers, traveling or hanging out at a brewery.
