Nike (NKE -1.30%) proved on top of its game on Thursday, after the sporting goods giant reported second-quarter fiscal 2014 earnings after the bell that beat analyst estimates. For the three months ending November 30, Nike posted a profit of $0.59 per share on net income of $537 million. That was a penny ahead of analysts' projections for earnings per share of $0.58 in the second quarter. Revenue increased 8% to $6.4 billion, which was in line with expectations. For the quarter, Nike said it saw solid growth in every product type, geography and key category.
Additionally, Nike proved that customers are willing to pay a premium for Nike-branded products. In fact, gross margin increased to 43.9% in the quarter, helped by higher average selling prices and strong sales in its higher-margin direct-to-consumer business. Nike also created shareholder value by repurchasing 5.5 million shares during the second quarter, as part of a four-year $8 billion buyback program that the company launched last year.
Overall, it has been a big year for Nike. The stock joined the Dow Jones Industrials (^DJI -1.45%) index in September, and shares have climbed more than 54% year to date. Its fiscal 2014 second-quarter results marked the fifth consecutive earnings beat for Nike in the past five quarters.
