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Foot Locker logo seen on a store in Milan, Italy (Jakub Porzycki/Getty Images)

Foot Locker shares sprint higher after the sneaker retailer dropped mixed Q4 results

Foot Locker’s bottom line was good, but its outlook was not.

Shares of Foot Locker leapt over 8% after the footwear retailer posted its Q4 earnings results. 

The good news: adjusted earnings per share hit $0.86, coming in well ahead of the $0.72 forecast from Wall Street. But the footwear giant missed on sales, reporting $2.24 billion, below the expected $2.32 billion. After a 2.6% rise in comparable sales, Foot Locker is bracing for a tough year ahead. Deep discounts, particularly from Nike (its biggest brand partner), are expected to weigh on profits in fiscal 2025. Meanwhile, rival Adidas expects an operating profit of $60 million in Q4, surprising analysts who were forecasting a loss.

Looking ahead, Foot Locker expects full-year adjusted EPS to be between $1.35 and $1.65, well below Wall Street’s $1.77 forecast. However, comparable sales could rise 1% to 2.5%, beating analysts’ expectations. Even as a sneaker slowdown looms, CEO Mary Dillon pointed to the company’s “Lace Up Plan” as a bright spot. The strategy, which focuses on revamping stores and shuttering underperforming locations, has helped improve margins and cash flow, according to the chief executive.

Foot Locker’s shares are down over 45% over the past year.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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