Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) stock rose 6.26% (As on September 29, 11:15:37 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted mixed result for the first quarter of FY 24. Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $12.4 billion, up 3 percent on a reported and currency-neutral basis, led by currency-neutral growth in EMEA, Greater China and APLA, partially offset by a decline in North America. Revenues for Converse were $588 million, down 9 percent on a reported and currency-neutral basis, due to a decline in North America, partially offset by growth in Asia. NIKE Direct revenues were $5.4 billion, up 6 percent compared to prior year on a reported and currency-neutral basis with growth across all geographies. NIKE Brand Digital sales increased 2 percent on a reported and currency-neutral basis. Wholesale revenues were $7.0 billion, flat compared to prior year on a reported basis and up 1 percent on a currency-neutral basis. Net income was $1.5 billion, down 1 percent.  Gross margin decreased 10 basis points to 44.2 percent, primarily driven by higher product costs and unfavorable changes in net foreign currency exchange rates, largely offset by strategic pricing actions.

NKE in the first quarter of FY 24 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 94 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 74 cents, according to Zacks Investment Research. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 2 percent to $12.94 billion in the first quarter of FY 24, missing the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $12.95 billion. Inventories for NIKE, Inc. were $8.7 billion, down 10 percent compared to the prior year, primarily driven by a decrease in units, partially offset by product mix and higher product input costs. Cash and equivalents and short-term investments were $8.8 billion, down approximately $3.1 billion from last year, as cash generated by operations was more than offset by share repurchases, cash dividends and capital expenditures.

Additionally, in the first quarter, NIKE returned approximately $1.7 billion to shareholders, including Dividends of $524 million, up 9 percent from the prior year and share repurchases of $1.1 billion, reflecting 10.5 million shares retired as part of the Company’s four-year, $18 billion program approved by the Board of Directors in June 2022. As of August 31, 2023, a total of 54 million shares have been repurchased under the program for a total of approximately $5.9 billion.