Nike exits the S&P 100 after 18 years and a $200B market-cap wipeout
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Nike's market cap fell 78% from its peak, removing it from the S&P 100 after 18 years.
Nike lost over $200 billion in market cap since its November 2021 peak of $264 billion, now worth about $57 billion. It will exit the S&P 100 on September 21, 2026, after nearly 18 years. Fiscal 2026 revenue was $46.4 billion, down 2% on a currency-neutral basis. Greater China sales fell 17% in Q4. The company faces competition from Hoka, On, Anta, and Li Ning, and has endured eight consecutive quarters of declining sales in China.
The company's direct-to-consumer revenue fell 6% to $17.7 billion in FY2026, while wholesale increased 6% to $27.5 billion. CEO Elliott Hill's turnaround focuses on rebuilding wholesale relationships, reducing excess inventory, and emphasizing performance products. Honeywell, Simon Property Group, and Colgate-Palmolive also leave the S&P 100, replaced by Dell Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, Arista Networks, and Sandisk.
What commenters are saying
The dominant sentiment is that Nike's decline stems from strategic failures, not just market conditions. Two camps emerge: those blaming mismanagement (poor marketing, declining quality, over-reliance on the Air Jordan brand, and a failed direct-to-consumer push that ceded retail space to competitors like Hoka and On) and those citing external factors like sneakerbot-driven artificial scarcity and pricing out consumers.
Specific criticisms include that Nike's shoes disintegrate in months while German brands retain quality, that younger consumers don't recognize the Jordan brand, and that retailers replaced Nike with Hoka when Nike pulled inventory. Several commenters note Hoka and On's superior comfort and quality as reasons they switched. One comment argues Nike's 'wokism' marketing hurt brand identification, though this view is contested as a bubble perspective.