Nike at the top of the Dow Jones – that’s the reason

With a price increase of around four percent, Nike shares are leading the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the start of the week. The sporting goods manufacturer is thus expected to start Monday's trading as the strongest stock in the leading US index. The reason for the positive sentiment is a double upgrade from JPMorgan.

The US bank significantly raised its rating for Nike in a recent study. Analyst Matthew Boss upgraded the stock from "Neutral" to "Overweight" and raised his price target from $64 to $93. This represents an upside of approximately 20 percent.

Boss justifies this by pointing to a multi-year recovery path that is expected to bring the group tangible profit growth by 2030. For the first time since the downgrade in June 2024, he has revised his profit estimates for 2026 and 2027 upwards.

Nike at a turning point

JPMorgan expects renewed growth momentum starting in the second half of 2026. By then, the impact of inventory reductions and product cycles should be largely eliminated. At the same time, Boss sees scope for recovering more than 500 basis points of operating margin – including through more full-price sales, new products, and savings in distribution costs.

Structural progress is also evident. Global inventories and sales are expected to be back in balance by the end of the second quarter of 2026. Feedback from wholesalers on the Spring/Summer 2026 collection has already been "very positive." In the long term, Boss expects an additional 200 to 300 basis points of margin to return to the pre-pandemic level of 12 to 13 percent. JPMorgan currently projects a margin of 10 percent for fiscal year 2028.