Rekordhøye veddemål mot Nike: – Under betydelig press

Nike's stock has plummeted significantly on Wall Street this year, with its share price falling over 40 percent since the start of the year, according to a recent report from S3 Partners on Tuesday. Around 87 million Nike shares are currently borrowed out for short selling, representing more than seven percent of the company's outstanding shares.

The analysis firm notes that Nike's stock "continues to face significant pressure." The report states that short sellers have consistently increased their exposure as the Nike stock has fallen, rather than reducing their positions to secure profits. Short sellers currently hold $1.4 billion in unrealized profits so far in 2026.

Nike released its first-quarter earnings report on Thursday. With record-high short interest and weak technical momentum heading into earnings results, the positioning remains clearly negative. However, the record-breaking short base is vulnerable to a short squeeze, which occurs when a stock with many short positions rises sharply.

Short sellers who want to limit their losses must buy back the shares they sold. This creates further buying pressure, which can then push the stock price even higher as earnings challenge the negative trend.

Factors contributing to the stock's decline include weaker sales, particularly in China, falling demand for several of Nike's classic shoe models, and a slower-than-expected transition that has taken longer than investors hoped. Short sellers are not the only ones voicing skepticism about Nike's stock. Bank of America recently downgraded the stock to "sell," sending the price even lower.

Analyst Lorraine Hutchinson believes a turnaround may take longer than anticipated, and sees downside risk for earnings per share and valuation estimates. Nike's "innovation continues to be overshadowed by pressure on the business from classic models, while pressure from product categories and macroeconomics grows," Bloomberg notes.

Hutchinson anticipates negative sales growth through the 2027 fiscal year, contrary to earlier expectations of a "turnaround in the spring." Nike's stock is currently at its weakest since 1993, the year Michael Jordan retired from professional basketball. Recently, it was revealed that soccer star Kylian Mbappé is breaking ties with Nike after 20 years.