Sportswear firms on a winning run after US giant Nike posts a stellar set of results

Shares in sportswear companies shot up following a stellar set of results from Nike. 

The US giant reported a 17 per cent jump in second quarter revenues to £11billion – the biggest increase for more than a decade barring a 95 per cent surge in late 2021 when stores reopened after Covid lockdowns. 

The bumper figures sent Nike shares up more than 13 per cent in New York while JD Sports gained 6.1 per cent in London and Adidas and Puma rose nearly 7 per cent and more than 9 per cent respectively in Frankfurt. 

Credit Suisse predicted ‘very positive’ implications for JD Sports given Nike is its biggest supplier, especially in the US. 

Shares in Frasers Group, which includes the Sports Direct brand, rose 3 per cent, or 21.5p, to 743p. 

Nike – whose roster of sports stars include Britain’s 2021 US Open tennis champion Emma Raducanu – said business was driven by heavy discounting and American shoppers rushing to stock up on sportswear before the holidays. 

Sales in North America were up 30 per cent. 

Nike cut prices as it battled to get rid of excess stock, with chief executive John Donahoe declaring ‘strategies we’re undertaking in the marketplace are working’.