Hello everyone. Welcome to a new week. Today's update will kick off with operating results from two consumer-oriented companies (Nike and Tesla). We will then bring Apple into the discussion when going over broader observations and takeaways.

Nike 1Q23 Earnings

Here’s the WSJ:

“Nike Inc. has said it didn’t have enough inventory to meet consumer demand for the past two years. Now, it has too much—and the sneaker giant needs to step up discounts to clear out items.

The company on Thursday said inventories rose 44% to $9.7 billion in the latest quarter, and higher discounts and freight costs squeezed profit margins. Executives said they would mark down more goods, especially apparel, heading into the holidays.

Shares of Nike tumbled about 10% in late trading following its quarterly report.

The results are the latest sign of how rapidly retailers and manufacturers of everything from fertilizer to furniture have found themselves with a surplus of goods, after two years where they scrambled to have enough to sell during the pandemic.

‘We are taking decisive action to clear excess inventory,’ Nike finance chief Matthew Friend said during a call Thursday to discuss the latest results."

Anecdotally, my most recent Nike purchase, which included some summer apparel, arrived faster than any previous Nike order. It would appear that whichever regional hub my items shipped from had plenty of inventory with the shipping company also having the required capacity as well.

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