• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, Yesterday

 
Nike athlete Faith Kipyegon will try to be the first woman to break the four-minute mile.

 
Nike, set to announce earnings later this week, is already in the hot seat, with investors anxious for signs that the turnaround promised by new management is underway. Instead, observers are facing more bad news on the apparel front: Internal production delays have forced Nike to postpone the launch of NikeSKIMS, its new activewear partnership with Kim Kardashian’s Skims shapewear brand.

According to CNBC, there’s no new debut date yet, though both companies still expect the line to hit shelves sometime this year.

The news comes as stock analysts — even those bullish on Nike’s longer-term prospects — grow increasingly nervous about how long it will take the transformation efforts of Elliott Hill, named president and CEO back in October, to take hold.

Krisztina Katai, an analyst who covers Nike for Deutsche Bank, writes that she now expects to see the first signs of recovery in 2026, with sales starting to benefit as Nike scales up its innovation pipeline by the fourth quarter of next year. “Nike’s long-term story is too compelling to ignore,” she says.

Others point to the brand’s struggle to recapture the cultural heat that once made sneaker drops instant sellouts. Footwear News cites Needham & Co. analyst Tom Nikic, who notes “consistent year-over-year declines in online search trends for the brand, as well as persistent double-digit declines in credit card transactions in the U.S. direct-to-consumer channel.”

Analysts will be listening closely when Nike management hosts its earnings call, eager for updates on key issues: the pace of clearing old inventory, how the company is navigating tariffs, and — crucially — how quickly it can get new styles into the marketplace. Nike is banking on fresh product moves to reignite interest, including the Astra Ultra lifestyle sneaker for women and a hybrid loafer from its collaboration with Serena Williams’ design team.