Nike revenue beats on upbeat North America demand

Nike Inc quarterly revenue beat Wall Street estimates, as Americans stepping out of the pandemic-led lockdowns splurged on footwear and apparel, sending its shares 4% higher.

After staying at home for more than a year and limiting themselves to athleisure clothing and comfortable pajamas, consumers are back to buying sneakers for running and hiking as they return to their routines, thanks to rapid vaccinations.

In North America, Nike's biggest market, revenue more than doubled to $5.38 billion and beat the average analysts' estimate of $4.31 billion.

In Greater China, a fast-growing market for the company, revenue of $1.93 billion missed expectations of $2.22 billion, as consumers boycotted several Western brands over the Xinjiang controversy.

Net income came in at $1.51 billion, or 93 cents per share, for the quarter ended May 31, compared to a loss of $790 million, or 51 cents per share, a year earlier.

Total revenue rose to $12.34 billion for the fourth quarter from $6.31 billion a year earlier when the pandemic was at its peak. Analysts were expecting $11.01 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.