Nike (NKE 0.51%) is holding an investor day on Oct. 14, the first of this kind since 2013. The investor day will feature President and CEO Mark Parker and his team presenting the company's "long-term strategy and key initiatives to deliver sustainable, profitable growth," as Nike's press release about the event said.
Here are three things we might expect Nike to announce that could send the stock higher as investors greet the news.
Image from Nike.com
1. $50 billion by 2020
At this event two years ago, Nike announced the goal of $36 billion in annual sales by 2017. Nike reported total revenue of over $30 billion for the fiscal year 2015 ended May 31, which was a 10% increase over FY 2014. If Nike can keep keep this sales growth rate for the next two years, as many analysts expect it to, it's on track to surpass its previous FY 2017 goal by more than a billion dollars. At this coming investor day, we should be prepared for a new forecast for a few years further out that's even more aggressive and exciting.
NKE Revenue (Annual) data by YCharts
Sales growth of 10% a year for the next five years would put FY 2020 sales at nearly $50 billion. Is that realistic? With higher growing sports segment sales and expansion overseas, it looks reasonable. Even more exciting is that Nike's earnings are growing even faster, up 21% in FY 2015 over 2014. As Nike continues to increase its profit margin, long-term earnings potential looks better than ever and we should expect a new very bullish income forecast that will likely push Nike's share price higher.
2. Increased focus on digital
With services like NIkeID, where people can create their own customized Nike gear online and have the clothes shipped to them, Nike has been able to appeal to more consumers than ever through its online efforts. Not only is Nike.com increasing overall sales, the higher-priced goods and lower costs of distribution from not paying a middleman retailer and having fewer fixed costs associated with physical stores helps Nike's margins and ultimately net income.
In Nike's 2015 10K filing, the company notes higher expenses due to "increased investments in our digital capabilities," which includes e-commerce launches and infrastructure development. While Nike hasn't focused much on wearables and fitness tracking apps (it gave up on its Fuelband wearable and the Nike+ app hasn't made much of a splash lately), there are still ways Nike can focus on digital to drive huge returns. Even if Nike isn't introducing some new element to its digital business, expect to hear a plan for how it is going to use its momentum in e-commerce to drive ever more sales.
3. New goals for global expansion
Nike absolutely crushed it in its fiscal year 2015 first quarter ended Aug. 31 thanks to massive growth in China. Even with all of the recent turmoil in Chinese markets and the economy there, Nike's reported a 30% rise in Chinese sales year over year in its recent Q1 earnings. But it's not just China that represents a growth opportunity, Nike continues to aggressively expand in Europe, Japan, South America, and more.
Expect on investor day to hear about how Nike is planning to reach further into these markets and make sales in countries like Brazil (especially related to the coming 2016 Summer Olympics) as successful as they have been China. A few more countries with this kind of momentum in such a large market and you can expect Nike to continue growing sales rapidly.
Is this investor day a catalyst for share price growth?
Absolutely. Nike has been performing extremely well over the last few years, and it only seems to be getting stronger. With this investor day, we are likely to hear about increased long-term sales and income goals, at the very least. That alone is likely to boost the stock higher. If the company announces some exciting new product line or area of focus that looks promising, expect this event to be a catalyst for the stock continuing to surge. Foolish investors want more than a short-term pop, but this investor day could set the stage for long-term success.
