Nike Stock Plunges 70% as Turnaround Drags On
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- Nike stock has plunged 70% from its November 2021 peak and is down 30% year-to-date in 2026, with the turnaround under CEO Elliott Hill — a Nike veteran brought back in 2024 — taking longer than markets had hoped.
- Elliott Hill launched a "Win Now" strategy focused on returning to sports, rebuilding wholesale relationships, reorganizing leadership, and pulling back on promotions; analyst Matt Powell called him "the right guy" doing "all the right things" but said the issues are "deep, so systemic."
- John Donahoe, the eBay veteran who took over as CEO in January 2020, drove an aggressive direct-to-consumer push that cut ties with Foot Locker, DSW, and Macy's — a move that backfired by opening shelf space for younger rivals like On and Hoka.
- On and Hoka innovated on running-shoe soles and cushioning and moved mainstream while Nike's focus drifted to e-commerce, with Morningstar's David Swartz calling it "almost embarrassing" that Nike is being hit by rivals with R&D budgets a fraction of its size.
- Nike oversaturated the market with Air Force 1s, Air Jordan 1s, and Dunks, fueling excess inventory and eroding brand cachet, while replacing older, more expensive employees with younger, cheaper ones and losing institutional knowledge — what analyst Sam Poser summed up as "the scientists failed."
Why it matters: The 70% stock plunge from Nike's November 2021 peak quantifies the cost of the Donahoe-era DTC pivot: alienating wholesale partners who had been Nike's grassroots marketing backbone and ceding physical shelf space to On, Hoka, and New Balance. Whether Hill's "Win Now" plan reverses that trajectory or merely slows the bleed will determine if Nike reclaims its sports authority or settles into permanent challenger status among running and lifestyle consumers.
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