01:01 PM EDT, 06/13/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Nike ( NKE ) is likely to report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that match Wall Street views, though the focus will be on the company's outlook for the year ahead, BofA Securities said Friday.

The athletic footwear and apparel maker is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results June 26. BofA projects earnings at $0.12 a share, in line with the Street's estimate. The brokerage pegs net sales at $10.65 billion versus the Street consensus of $10.7 billion, it said in a note to clients.

"We think (fourth quarter) was peak sales and margin pressure as Nike ( NKE ) bought back and cleared excess inventory, without sufficient innovation to offset," BofA analyst Lorraine Hutchinson wrote. "The shape of (fiscal 2026) will be the much more important part of the (company's) earnings call."

BofA maintained its buy rating on the Nike ( NKE ) stock, with a price objective of $80.

The company is expected to provide the unmitigated and mitigated impact of tariffs at the current rates, though it's not clear what other guidance it will offer beyond the first quarter, BofA said. "With a new fiscal year ahead, we think it would be important for management to comment on two key factors: when wholesale and (direct-to-customer) will be clear of aged inventory and timing of a sales inflection."

The brokerage trimmed its 2026 EPS outlook to $1.80 from $2, citing adjusted foreign exchange estimates and reduced China expectations, but left its 2027 forecast largely unchanged. "We think the pathway of cleaner inventory during (the first half of 2026) will allow innovation to scale and sales to inflect," Hutchinson wrote.

Nike's ( NKE ) pricing power and ability to negotiate with vendors and retailers place it well to navigate the tariff backdrop, according to Hutchinson. The company has already started raising pricing on select products, including $5 to $10 hikes on footwear priced above $100. "We think it was smart to leave kids and footwear priced (below) $100 unchanged and think (Nike ( NKE )) will benefit from its scale and wide pricing architecture if the consumer becomes stretched," Hutchinson wrote.

Earlier this week, US and Chinese officials agreed on a framework for implementing the pact the two countries reached in Switzerland last month, subject to approval from President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Trump recently said the US will send letters to trading partners in the next one or two weeks about setting unilateral tariff rates.

"Although the wholesale environment continues to evolve and not all retailers are emerging as beneficiaries, we think (Nike ( NKE )) is well positioned to offset some of the channel headwinds as the brand leans into newer relationships and looks to recapture lost shelf space as other brands retrench from the channel," Hutchinson said.

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