If the shoe fits, Nike (NKE) wants you to wear it.
The world’s biggest shoe company is reportedly releasing a sneaker-loafer called the Nike Air Max Phenomena, which is brought to you by the company’s in-house Serena Williams Design Crew.
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Sneaker-loafers, or snoafers, are gaining popularity in response to a rising demand for versatile footwear that bridges the gap between casual and formal wear.
Hoka, Mizuno and Converse are among the companies that have created their own version of the snoafer.
“The loafer trend should continue as long as brands can stay creative with model and material variations,” Tarek Hassan, founder and chief executive of Concepts, told WWD in March. “I think we are approaching its peak in trend and growth but will continue to live on as a unique offering for consumers.”
Sneaker-loafers apparently come under the “love-it-or-hate-it” umbrella, with some consumers viewing them unconventional or even ugly.
Nike is preparing to report fourth-quarter earnings. Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
CFO: Nike faces external factors; confident of path
The Nike Air Max Phenomena does not have an official release date, but you can bet the Beaverton, Ore., company is looking for a whole lotta love for its new snoafer.
Nike has been working on a turnaround dubbed “Win Now,” CEO Elliott Hill’s plan to revitalize the company’s culture, brand and product portfolio.
In March, the company beat Wall Street’s fiscal-third-quarter earnings forecasts, but revenue was down 9%.
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“The team is moving aggressively to reignite brand momentum through sport and stabilize our business,” Matthew Friend, executive vice president and chief financial officer, told analysts, adding that the results reflected headwinds from the “Win Now” strategy.
“We are also navigating through several external factors that create uncertainty in the current operating environment, including geopolitical dynamics, new tariffs, volatile foreign exchange rates, and tax regulations, as well as the impact of this uncertainty and other macro factors on consumer confidence,” he said.
Friend added that Nike expected fiscal-fourth-quarter revenue “to be down in the mid-teens [percent] range, albeit at the low end.”
Consultants McKinsey said last month that most consumers the firm surveyed had either already changed their spending habits or expected to change them soon in response to the Trump administration’s tariff announcements. That holds even if the tariffs’ effects have yet to hit store shelves, the firm said.
Markets have been on a wild ride since President Donald Trump’s April 2 reveal of reciprocal tariffs.
“We are focused on what we can control,” Friend said. “And for Nike at this moment, serving athletes with new-product innovation and reigniting brand momentum is what matters most.”
“Our collective experience as well as the early signals we are seeing with consumers gives us confidence in the path ahead,” he added.
Analyst cites Nike’s global turnaround
The company’s shares are down 17.3% in 2025 and are off 36% from a year ago.
Nike is scheduled to report for its Q4 on June 26 and some investment firms have issued research reports ahead of the results.
Related: Nike’s house is not in order, and customers may pay the price
Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on Nike to $61 from $70 and affirmed an equal-weight rating on the shares, according to The Fly.
The investment firm sees room for upside in Q4 earnings but cautions that Wall Street’s fiscal 2026 earnings consensus for Nike is “too high.”
Those too-high estimates plus a lack of positive demand and innovation feedback from channel checks leaves Morgan Stanley “slightly more negative on our equal-weight rating,” though “seemingly bearish sentiment may mean any bright spots are rewarded.”
Citi analyst Paul Lejuez reiterated a neutral rating and $57 price target on Nike, Street Insider reported.
The analyst said he expected the company to beat earnings-per-share estimates for the fiscal Q4, driven by slightly stronger sales and lower selling, general and administrative expense.
Given macroeconomic uncertainty and Nike’s complex global brand turnaround, Lejuez said he did not anticipate management to issue guidance for fiscal 2026.
For the fiscal 2026 first quarter the analyst expects the company to estimate sales down by high-single or low-double-digit percent and earnings of around 10 cents a share, compared with the consensus estimate of 39 cents. The results, he said, would be driven by weaker gross margin and higher SG&A vs the consensus.
The analyst expects management to point to the fiscal 2026 second half for when it expects headwinds from the classic franchise to abate, with a target of clearing inventory across the global marketplace.
But the timing of Nike achieving enough innovation at scale across performance and lifestyle to drive sustainable revenue growth is still uncertain and will be a focus of the call, Lejuez said.
Any sign that Nike can return to revenue growth late in fiscal 2026 would be a positive for the shares given the current negative sentiment, said Lejuez, who sees a balanced risk-reward opportunity into the fiscal-Q4 report.
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