Apple’s Cook doubles Nike stake, endorses CEO Hill’s turnaround push

By Juveria Tabassum and Nicholas P. Brown

Dec 24 (Reuters) – Apple chief Tim Cook bought shares worth about $3 million in Nike, a move that nearly doubled his personal stake in the sportswear maker and signaled confidence in the turnaround strategy laid out by CEO Elliott Hill.

Shares of the company closed 4.6% higher on Wednesday after a regulatory filing showed that Cook, who has been on Nike’s board since 2005, bought 50,000 shares at $58.97 each.

As of December 22, he held about 105,000 shares, according to the filing released on Tuesday.

It was the largest open market stock purchase for a Nike director or executive and possibly the largest in more than a decade, said Jonathan Komp, analyst at Baird Equity Research.

“(We see) Cook’s move as a positive signal for the progress under CEO Elliott Hill and Nike’s ‘Win Now’ actions,” Komp said. 

The purchase comes days after Nike reported weaker quarterly margins and sluggish sales in China, even as CEO Hill tries to revive demand through fresh marketing plans and innovation focused on running and sports, while phasing out lagging lifestyle brands.

Hill has also attempted to mend Nike’s ties with wholesalers such as Dicks Sporting Goods to increase visibility among shoppers amid stiff competition from newer brands.

“For Tim Cook to be an inside buyer is a modest positive,” said David Sowerby, portfolio manager at Ancora Advisors. The investment firm said it sold its stake in Nike over a year ago due to the “lingering effect of an ineffective CEO,” as well as excess inventory, weak innovation in key categories such as running and loss of market share to competitors.

However, the strategy has strained Nike’s margins, which have been declining for over a year, while its efforts to win back its premier position in discount-friendly China appear to be faltering.

Nike’s shares have slumped nearly 13% since the company reported results on December 18, and are on track for the fourth straight year of declines. The stock, which is one of the worst performers on the blue-chip Dow Jones index, closed at $60 on Wednesday.

Cook has been a lead independent director of Nike since 2016, when co-founder Phil Knight stepped down as its chairman. 

Apple CEO “remains extremely close” with Knight, Komp said, adding that he has advised Nike through key strategic decisions, including Hill’s appointment last year.

Board director and former Intel CEO Robert Swan also bought about 8,700 shares for about $500,000 this week.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal and Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Nicholas Brown in New York; Editing by Anil D’Silva, Arun Koyyur and Shinjini Ganguli)