>>> NIKE, Inc. Q1 2026 Earnings Call Guidance

NIKE, Inc. Q1 2026 Earnings Call Guidance
  • Q2 revenues expected to be down low single digits, including one point of benefit from foreign exchange.
  • Q2 gross margins expected to be down approximately 300 to 375 basis points.
  • Q2 SG&A dollars expected to be up high single digits.
  • Net headwind in fiscal 2026 gross margin increased from 75 basis points to 120 basis points due to new tariffs.
  • Wholesale revenue expected to return to modest growth for fiscal 2026.
  • NIKE Direct not expected to return to growth for fiscal 2026.
  • North America expected to lead global recovery; Greater China and Converse to continue facing headwinds.


--> NIKE, Inc. Q1 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Date of Call: September 30, 2025
Financials Results:
  • Revenues up 1% on a reported basis, down 1% currency-neutral.
  • NIKE Direct down 5%, NIKE Digital down 12%, NIKE stores down 1%.
  • Wholesale grew 5%.
  • Gross margins declined 320 basis points to 42.2%.
  • SG&A down 1% on a reported basis.
  • Earnings per share was $0.49.
  • Inventory decreased 2% versus the prior year.
Guidance:
  • Q2 revenues expected to be down low single digits, including one point of benefit from foreign exchange.
  • Q2 gross margins expected to be down approximately 300 to 375 basis points.
  • Q2 SG&A dollars expected to be up high single digits.
  • Net headwind in fiscal 2026 gross margin increased from 75 basis points to 120 basis points due to new tariffs.
  • Wholesale revenue expected to return to modest growth for fiscal 2026.
  • NIKE Direct not expected to return to growth for fiscal 2026.
  • North America expected to lead global recovery; Greater China and Converse to continue facing headwinds.
🖋️ Business Commentary:
  • Focus on "Win Now" actions and "Sport Offense" strategy to drive growth.
  • Running business grew over 20% this quarter, serving as a model for other sports.
  • Challenges in Greater China with a 10% revenue decline; focus on sport-led growth.
  • Efforts to elevate the marketplace in North America showing progress.
  • Digital business repositioning to focus on full-price sales.
Sentiment Analysis:
  • Management expressed confidence in "Win Now" actions and "Sport Offense" strategy.
  • Encouraged by progress in North America and running business.
  • Recognized challenges in Greater China and digital business, but committed to long-term growth.
  • Q&A tone was more defensive, especially regarding tariffs and Greater China challenges.
  • Analysts were probing about margins, digital strategy, and China turnaround.
Q&A:
Question from Michael Binetti (Evercore ISI): Can you help us think about the spring order book and medium-term margin levels?
Response: Focus on sport-led product strategy and marketplace elevation. Margins pressured by tariffs, but confident in long-term double-digit margins.
Question from Piral Dadhania (RBC): How has September progressed, and is there evidence of pull forward in demand?
Response: Dynamic environment; no pull forward in Q1. Q2 revenue guided down due to digital headwinds and FX.
Question from Matthew Boss (JPMorgan): Can you elaborate on early wins and structural foundation for strategy expansion?
Response: "Win Now" actions and "Sport Offense" strategy are key. Focus on athlete-centered approach and integrated marketplace.
Question from Brooke Roach (Goldman Sachs): How much of digital traffic pressure is due to reduced promotions?
Response: Repositioning digital business to focus on full-price sales. Progress in North America and EMEA; Greater China remains challenging.
Question from Lorraine Hutchinson (Bank of America): Strategies for turning around digital business in China and store refresh timeline?
Response: Long-term growth opportunity in China; focus on sport-led strategy and marketplace elevation. Store refreshes ongoing.
Question from John Kernan (TD Cowen): Characterize inventory in wholesale channel and timing of discount fade?
Response: Inventory progress made; expect gross margin benefit in second half. Wholesale channel inventory healthy.

>>> US After Hours Summary: NKE +4.2% higher on earnings; LAC +30.9% on Bloomber

After Hours Summary: NKE +4.2% higher on earnings; LAC +30.9% on Bloomberg report US plans to take stake

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: NKE +4.2%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: LAC +30.9% (US will take stake, according to Bloomberg), GEO +4.5% (awarded ICE contract), BZAI +3.9% (discloses Yotta as end customer), ATUS +2.7% (ADEA and ATUS resolve litigation, sign IP licensing deal), LAR +2.5% (in sympathy with LAC news), SGML +1.9% (in sympathy with LAC news), SLI +1.3% (in sympathy with LAC news), OPEN +1.1% (Director bought 300752 shares worth ~$2 mln), RGP +1% (launches rIQ), PATH +1% (UiPath Platform integrating with Azure AI Foundry), TRGP +0.8% (announces Permian growth projects, pipeline expansion), PSN +0.7% (MPA contract extended for Hudson Tunnel Project), DGNX +0.5% (signs agreements with iNEED for rural banks in Indonesia), CRMD +0.3% (stock offering by selling shareholders), AMTM +0.3% (awarded a $995 mln Air Force contract), MCB +0.1% (names new chairman)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: None

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: ENTA -8.5% (commences $50 mln stock offering), LWAY -5.5% (cooperation agreement with Danone), AIR -5.1% (3 mln share offering), NVS -0.4% (FDA approves Rhapsido), QSG -0.2% (announces business restructuring, name change), LMT -0.2% (series of Army contracts), ZETA -0.1% (to acquire Marigold's enterprise software unit, reaffirms guidance), ZTS -0.1% (receives conditional approval for Dectomax-CA1), CLB -0.1% (acquires Solintec)

The Information : Cyberstarts’ New Fund Is a Bet on Cybersecurity M&A

Cyberstarts’ New Fund Is a Bet on Cybersecurity M&A

Venture capitalist Gili Raanan is best known for his first investments in cloud security startups Wiz and Cyera. But as startups stay private for longer, his Israel-based venture firm Cyberstarts is now also investing in later rounds.

It now has another $380 million for those more mature investments, thanks to a new fund raised this week to invest exclusively in the firm’s existing portfolio. The fund is about a fifth smaller than Cyberstarts’ first later-stage fund. Raanan says he had enough interest from limited partners to raise a larger fund, but decided to keep it small to prevent Cyberstarts partners from getting carried away.

“It was more of controlling [our] appetite, and in a way, controlling our ego,” Raanan said.

The size also should help the fund with returns. Cyberstarts generally returns cash to its investors when the startups it backs are bought by a larger company. Since most cybersecurity acquisitions are between $300 million to $500 million, investing out of a slightly smaller pool of capital means that even a “typical M&A deal can return the fund multiple times over.” The new fund hasn’t previously been reported.

Since Raanan founded Cyberstarts in 2018, eight of the firm’s startups have sold to other companies. In just the past two years, Akamai bought Noname, an API security startup, Hewlett Packard Enterprise bought cloud software maker Axis Security, and Zscaler bought Avalor, an enterprise security business.

The first follow-on fund, which generally backs startups in Series A and B, invested in all of the eight startups that have sold, Raanan says.

“What we learned through those experiences is that Series A is a highly profitable business because the entry price is so low in relation to the average M&A price,” he said.

The most notable win is Wiz. Cyberstarts wrote the first check for Wiz through its first seed fund, and then made several investments in Wiz’s later-stage rounds, including the Series E that valued the startup at $12 billion. Google has agreed to buy Wiz for $32 billion, which, if it closes, will provide a 222x multiple to Cyberstarts.

The firm also put in $4 million in the seed round of Cyera, a cloud cybersecurity firm, and invested a total of $80 million for around a 12% stake in the business. The startup is currently valued at $6 billion as of a financing in June. It also invested in the first VC rounds for Island, now at a $4.8 billion valuation, and Fireblocks, recently valued at $8 billion.

Cyberstarts is one of a number of early stage firms, including SV Angel and Khosla Ventures that have launched funds to make larger investments into startups they backed early on. Fund managers tell me they feel compelled to keep investing in their best companies to benefit their returns.

“It doesn’t make sense to pick a winning company, own 30% of the business at the seed, and then see most of your equity get diluted,” as the company gets closer to IPO, Raanan said.

Raanan says that the new opportunity, or later-stage, fund will make about 20 investments over the fund’s lifetime, in a subset of its fastest-growing startups that set out to raise money.

The other impetus for raising the fund, he says, was that it will give his portfolio companies more flexibility on when they raise financing. The alternative for founders is relying on an outside investor, which may request more ownership or put pressure on the timing of the round.

“Sometimes all you need is one extra quarter of execution to raise at double the price,” he said.

In July, the firm launched a $300 million employee liquidity fund, a fund reserved to buy up employee shares in some of Cyberstarts’ best companies. Through both of these new funds, the firm has doubled its assets under management this year to $1.4 billion.

Despite the fundraising spree, Raanan doesn’t seem to want to get into mega-fund territory anytime soon. “As a seed fund, you can find yourself bullied by bigger funds [that have] a big wallet,” he said. “Think of us as a tiny seed fund carrying a big wallet that gives our founders a lot of flexibility.”

IPO Pregame: Multi-Billion Dollar Deals
There’s been a lot of chatter about companies going public this year, as we’ve scooped again and again. But it's clear that some contenders are first trying to buff up their financial picture before wooing public investors.

Over the weekend, my colleagues reported that data startup Fivetran is in talks to buy another data management startup, dbt Labs, in a deal that would likely be worth $5 billion to $10 billion. A merger would bring together startups that sell complimentary data products. That’s helpful as artificial intelligence advances have ushered in a wave of competing startups.

For Fivetran, the proposed transaction could help the business get bigger and expand its reach, which the public market would reward. It’s unclear what the company’s plans for going public are at this time, but sometimes these mergers can completely change the growth profile of this company. For example, in February, I reported about data security firm Cohesity projecting that it will hit $2.2 billion in revenue by the end of this fiscal year, largely driven by its acquisition of Veritas, a data storage startup.

WSJ : Berkshire Hathaway Near $10 Billion Deal for Occidental’s Petrochemical Un

Berkshire Hathaway Near $10 Billion Deal for Occidental’s Petrochemical Unit
Warren Buffett’s sprawling conglomerate could unveil its largest deal in years in coming days

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 0.77%increase; green up pointing triangle is in talks to buy Occidental Petroleum’s OXY -0.46%decrease; red down pointing triangle petrochemical business for around $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal, which would be Berkshire’s largest since 2022, could come together within days, the people said.

Houston-based Occidental is largely known for its oil-and-gas operations. The company has a market value of around $46 billion and already counts Berkshire as its largest shareholder.

Occidental’s petrochemical division, OxyChem, manufactures and sells chemicals for use in applications including chlorinating water, recycling batteries and producing paper. The unit generated nearly $5 billion in sales in the 12 months ended in June.

Assuming talks don’t fall apart, the OxyChem deal would be Buffett’s second big bet on chemicals. In 2011, Berkshire acquired specialty-chemicals producer, Lubrizol, for close to $10 billion, including debt.

The Financial Times reported on Sunday that Occidental was in talks for a $10 billion deal to sell OxyChem, without identifying the buyer.

The last major deal Berkshire did was in 2022, when it agreed to pay $11.6 billion to buy insurer Alleghany.

Buffett, 95, got involved with Occidental in 2019, as Chief Executive Vicki Hollub was trying to outbid Chevron to buy Anadarko Petroleum. In a trip facilitated by Bank of America Chief Brian Moynihan, Hollub traveled to Nebraska to visit Buffett, whose company agreed to buy $10 billion of preferred shares in Occidental to bolster her $38 billion offer.

Occidental’s fortunes have waxed and waned since then. The deal saddled the company with debt and attracted criticism from activist investor Carl Icahn. Buffett doubled down as Icahn exited, eventually buying up roughly 28% of its shares. The company’s shares more recently have come under pressure with oil prices lower.

Occidental has been selling noncore assets to raise cash to pay down debt. As of August, it said it had repaid $7.5 billion of debt.

Berkshire, on the other hand, has been sitting on a massive cash pile. The company’s cash and Treasury bills sat at a record $344 billion at the end of June, raising investors’ eyebrows.

Buffett has said the company still prefers owning businesses, though has suggested that finding the right ones to buy can be hard.

“Berkshire will never prefer ownership of cash-equivalent assets over the ownership of good businesses, whether controlled or only partially owned,” Buffett wrote earlier this year.

The famed investor plans to retire from his role as CEO at the end of the year and hand the reins to Greg Abel. Buffett will remain chairman.

>>> US Closing Market Summary: Modest advance to cap a solid September for equit

Closing Market Summary: Modest advance to cap a solid September for equities
The S&P 500 (+0.4%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%), and DJIA (+0.2%) finished the month and quarter on a modestly positive note by closing near session highs after a choppy session of mixed sector strength.

The healthcare sector (+2.5%) led the seven advancing S&P 500 sectors, rising after President Trump announced that Pfizer (PFE 25.48, +1.62, +6.81%) will lower the prices of its medications in the U.S. and sell some through a new government-run direct-to-consumer site, TrumpRx. Eli Lilly (LLY 762.50, +35.99, +4.95%) also gained on reports it is negotiating to participate, while Merck (MRK 83.92, +5.34, +6.80%), Amgen (AMGN 282.20, +8.23, +3.00%), and other large-cap peers followed higher, lifting the broader sector.

The positive headline catalyst culminated in a strong day for what has been the most underbought sector this year, with today's gains lifting the sector back into positive territory for the year.

The major averages also benefitted from a 0.9% gain in the information technology sector, which unsurprisingly finished as the best performing sector this quarter with a 13.0% quarter-to-date gain.

NVIDIA (NVDA 186.58, +4.72, +2.60%) traded to a new record high level, while the broader PHLX Semiconductor Index finished up 0.9%, capping an impressive 12.3% advance in September.

Meanwhile, the consumer discretionary (-0.6%) and communication services (-0.5%) incurred modest losses as several of their key mega-cap names traded lower.

The energy sector (-1.1%) was once again the top laggard, with crude oil futures settling today's session $1.11 lower (-1.8%) at $62.37 per barrel. The financials sector (-0.5%) rounds out today's four retreating S&P 500 sectors.

Smaller cap indices such as the Russell 2000 (+0.1%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.1) also underperformed the broader market, despite today's economic data providing a boost to the market's expectations for additional rate cuts this year.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 94.2 in September (Briefing.com consensus: 96.0%) from an upwardly revised 97.8 in August, reinforcing expectations for further Fed easing. The CME FedWatch tool now shows a 96.7 percent chance of a 25-basis point cut in October (from 89.8% yesterday) and a 77.7 percent chance of another cut in December (from 66.8% yesterday).

Commentary from Fed officials was mixed today. Fed Vice Chair Phillip Jefferson (FOMC voting member) noted downside risks to employment and upside risit ks to inflation, while Boston Fed President Susan Collins (FOMC voting member) said modest easing could be appropriate, but a restrictive stance remains warranted. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee (FOMC voting member) said he is not overly concerned about the labor market.

In other macro developments, a government shutdown is still imminent as the funding deadline expires at midnight with no resolution in sight. While the market has been largely unphased by the looming shutdown, it would prevent the release of several key economic data reports, which could further complicate the market's monetary policy expectations.

For now, the market remains almost certain of additional easing this year, providing another tailwind for equities in what was a surprisingly strong September that saw the S&P 500 (+3.5% month-to date), Nasdaq Composite (+5.6% month-to-date), and DJIA (+1.9% month-to-date) all capture decent month-to-date gains.

U.S. Treasuries ended Tuesday on a mixed note, as 10s and 30s recorded modest losses while shorter tenors finished in the green. The 2-year note yield settled down 3 basis points to 3.60% (-2 basis points in September) and the 10-year note yield settled up one basis point to 4.15% (-8 basis points in September).
  • Nasdaq Composite: +17.3% YTD
  • S&P 500: +13.7% YTD
  • Russell 2000: +9.3% YTD
  • DJIA: +9.1% YTD
  • S&P Mid CAp 400: +4.6% YTD

Reviewing today's data:
  • The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 94.2 in September (consensus 96.0) from an upwardly revised 97.8 (from 97.4) in August. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 99.2.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that consumers felt much less positive about business conditions, with thoughts about job availability hitting multi-year lows. That consideration will underpin the market's thinking that another rate cut is at least coming at the October FOMC meeting.
  • The Chicago PMI hit 40.6 in September (consensus 41.0), down from 41.5 in August.
  • The FHFA Housing Price Index was down 0.1% month-over-month in July after decreasing 0.2% in June.
  • The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index was up 1.9% year-over-year in July (consensus 1.9%), down from a revised 2.2% (from 2.1%) in June.
  • Job openings increased to 7.227 million in August from a revised 7.208 million (from 7.181 million) in July.

>>> NIKE beats by $0.22, beats on revs, gross margin down 320 bps to 42.2%, Nort

NIKE beats by $0.22, beats on revs, gross margin down 320 bps to 42.2%, North America revenue up 4%
  • Reports Q1 (Aug) earnings of $0.49 per share, $0.22 better than the FactSet Consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 1.0% year/year to $11.7 bln vs the $10.99 bln FactSet Consensus.
  • Total North America revenue increased 4% yr/yr to $5.02 bln.
  • Total Greater China revenue decreased 10% in constant currency to $1.51 bln
  • NIKE Direct revenues were $4.5 billion, down 4 percent on a reported basis and down 5 percent on a currency-neutral basis.
  • Wholesale revenues were $6.8 billion, up 7 percent on a reported basis and up 5 percent on a currency-neutral basis.
  • Gross margin decreased 320 basis points to 42.2 percent, vs. guidance for a decline of 350-425 bsp, primarily due to lower average selling price, reflecting higher discounts and channel mix, as well as higher tariffs in North America.
  • Inventories for NIKE, Inc. were $8.1 billion, down 2 percent compared to the prior year, reflecting a decrease in units, partially offset by increased product costs, primarily due to higher tariffs in North America.

WSJ : OpenAI Launches Video Generator App to Rival TikTok and YouTube

OpenAI Launches Video Generator App to Rival TikTok and YouTube
The company’s new social media app allows users to create short videos with audio from text prompts and insert themselves in AI-generated scenes

  • OpenAI is launching a new AI video generator app with a swipe-and-scroll interface
  • Sora 2 will feature a vertical feed and algorithm-driven recommendations, competing with platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
  • The app won’t allow infinite scroll for users under eighteen

OpenAI is squaring up to TikTok, Google’s YouTube and Meta with a new social-media app for its AI video generator that allows users to create high-definition video clips with audio from text prompts.

Users can upload short clips of themselves and insert them into Sora-generated worlds, describing the idea, style and scene they want to see. They can also connect with other users, watch and comment on their content.

The new version, Sora 2, will feature a swipe-and-scroll navigation similar to platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, setting out OpenAI’s stall as Silicon Valley ramps up its focus on AI video generation. The company plans to initially release the app through Apple’s App Store in the U.S. and Canada on an invite-only basis.

OpenAI faces stiff competition from Google, which recently connected its Veo 3 AI video generator to its popular YouTube platform, allowing users to incorporate the technology in short-form videos. Social media and video-sharing apps are competing fiercely for user engagement.

Sora 2 will include a vertical feed and algorithm-driven recommendations that prioritize content users might connect with, the company said Tuesday. Sora was first released last December, allowing users to create high-definition video clips from text prompts.

Technology and social-media companies are betting that new AI features will increase engagement and the popularity of their apps and services. AI companies have taken an aggressive approach to how their fast-evolving tools use creative works both for training and in response to user prompts.

In an attempt to prevent doomscrolling, OpenAI said the app won’t allow users under the age of 18 to have the infinite scroll function by default and will nudge adult users toward creating content if it perceives they have been passively viewing for too long. Content will be marked as AI generated when it is moved off platform so that its provenance is clear.

The new version of Sora can create videos featuring copyright material unless copyright holders opt out of having their work appear, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. OpenAI began alerting talent agencies and studios about the forthcoming product and its opt-out process over the past week.

The opt-out process for the new version of Sora means that movie studios and other intellectual property owners would have to explicitly ask OpenAI not to include their copyright material in videos the tool creates. While copyright characters will require an opt-out, the new product won’t generate images of recognizable public figures without their permission, the Journal reported.

The Journal’s parent company, News Corp, has a content deal with OpenAI.

“I think they are certainly opening themselves up to lawsuits in particular cases,” said Mark Lemley, professor at Stanford Law School, who represented AI company Anthropic in its recent copyright case. Anthropic agreed to pay at least $1.5 billion to settle a copyright infringement lawsuit over its use of pirated books to train large-language models.

The app joins a crowded field. TikTok’s AI Alive feature lets users turn pictures into videos with prompts and users can upload AI-generated content. Meta last week rolled out a new feed of short-form AI-created videos in its AI app.

FT : Nvidia challenger Cerebras raises $1.1bn ahead of IPO

Nvidia challenger Cerebras raises $1.1bn ahead of IPO
Start-up bets on bigger chips to take on world’s largest company’s dominance of AI computing

Chipmaker Cerebras Systems has raised more than $1bn from investors including Fidelity and Donald Trump Jr’s firm 1789 Capital as it looks to woo customers away from rival Nvidia.

The Silicon Valley start-up, which will be valued at $8.1bn after the investment, is targeting an initial public offering to cash in on increased demand for advanced semiconductors triggered by the artificial intelligence boom.

Chips have become the most sought-after commodity for start-ups such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Big Tech groups seeking to train and run their own AI models. That has propelled Nvidia to become the world’s most valuable company, with a market capitalisation of $4.4tn.

Nvidia’s dominance stems from the strength of its graphics processing units, or GPUs, in training AI models, and the popularity of its widely used Cuda software.

But Cerebras chief executive Andrew Feldman claims his 10-year-old company’s technology is faster than Nvidia at managing the coding and natural language queries that make up the bulk of AI tools’ usage.

“We built the largest chip in the history of the computer industry. Our chip is the size of a dinner plate, most chips are the size of postage stamps,” said Feldman. “That allows us to achieve a performance you can’t achieve by lashing together smaller chips.”

Nvidia has compounded its advantage by funnelling its vast revenues into a series of investment deals with AI model developers and infrastructure groups around the world.

Those deals have included a $5bn investment into Intel, a $100bn commitment to OpenAI and a ÂŁ500mn commitment to cloud computing start-up Nscale in the past month alone.

“When companies see their technical advantage diminish they start using their balance sheet,” said Feldman. “[Nvidia] are going to start trying to tie people up with their balance sheet rather than their technical advantage.” 

Nvidia said that it “wins on merit, as reflected in our benchmark results and value to customers. Nvidia AI infrastructure provides an unparalleled combination of performance, versatility and value.”

Cerebras customers include Meta, Amazon Web Services and French AI lab Mistral, as well as a number of US government departments and healthcare institutions.

Fidelity Management & Research Company and Atreides Management, founded by former Fidelity portfolio manager Gavin Baker, led the funding round. Tiger Global and Valor Equity Partners, a backer of a number of Elon Musk’s companies, also participated — alongside 1789 Capital, where President Donald Trump’s son is a partner.

Cerebras was still targeting a public listing in the near term, said Feldman. Cerebras kicked off its IPO process a year ago but was delayed by a Committee on Foreign Investment in the US review of an investment in the company by Abu Dhabi AI group G42, which remains Cerebras’ largest customer and a key partner.

The review was resolved in March this year, Feldman said, clearing the way to go public.

Cerebras has been lossmaking since its launch, as it invests heavily in research and development. The company does not publish up-to-date financial metrics, but disclosed last year that its net loss in the first half of 2024 was $67mn, with revenues of $136mn.