Evercore Downgrades Nike After Field Checks Find Retail and Product Weaknesses

Overview

• Evercore ISI downgraded Nike to In Line from Outperform and cut its price target to $46 from $57, a move published Tuesday that flagged fresh execution risks.
• The firm’s field work identified three concrete problems: worsening U.S. lifestyle and family retail channels with order pushbacks, weak Jordan retro launches, and delayed World Cup merchandise in Europe.
• Evercore trimmed its fiscal 2027 EPS forecast to $1.65 from $1.70, well below the Street consensus of $1.82, and also lowered its FY28 outlook.
• Markets reacted with a roughly 1.4% premarket drop and an opening near $43.22, while company insiders and some institutions have continued to add shares at recent prices.
• The note lands against a mixed backdrop—Nike beat the last quarter’s EPS estimate and pays a 3.8% annualized dividend—so investors will watch the next quarterly update and the Fall 2026 analyst day for any guidance reset.