Nike Faces Rising Pressure as Market Share Slips and Competitors Gain

Wall Street’s patience with Nike is thinning as Elliott Hill tries to steady a business that is losing ground in the categories that made it dominant. Nike shares closed at $43.06 on May 5, their weakest level since 2014, while the amount of stock on loan, a proxy for short selling, jumped to 4.67% of outstanding shares as of May 1 from 0.41% when Hill took over in October 2024.

The pressure is rooted in the numbers, not just the chart. Nike’s global sports footwear market share fell to 22.9% in 2025, down 3 percentage points and marking a third straight annual decline. Adidas moved the other way, increasing its share to 12.2% from 11.7% a year earlier. Smaller challengers, including On Running and Deckers’ Hoka brand, have also kept taking business in performance running, where innovation and brand momentum often matter most.

That competitive drift has fed a broader worry that Nike’s brand heat is cooling. Last week, a runner wearing Adidas shoes broke the two-hour marathon barrier, a highly visible moment that reinforced the sense that Nike is no longer setting the pace in sports innovation. The market has noticed. On Running had 1.68% of shares on loan, while Deckers’ Hoka stood at 0.52%, far below Nike’s level of bearish positioning.

Nike’s operating results show how much work remains. Fiscal 2025 revenue fell 10% on a reported basis to $46.3 billion, or 9% on a currency-neutral basis. Fourth-quarter revenue dropped 12% reported to $11.1 billion, as the company worked through inventory and reset its product mix after demand cooled for legacy lines such as Dunk and Air Jordan. Fiscal 2026 first-quarter revenue inched up to $11.7 billion, a 1% reported increase but still down 1% currency-neutral.

Hill has argued that the business is beginning to respond. He said the latest quarter reflected progress through Nike’s “Win Now” actions in North America, Wholesale and Running. But the company’s new management team is still trying to restore pricing power and impose a more disciplined growth strategy, and investors have yet to see enough evidence that the turnaround can move faster than the erosion in market share. Nike’s challenge is no longer just a weak product cycle; it is whether the company can again shape the market it once defined.