Nike
Through the investors’ lenses
Each of these investors has said in public what they look at before buying. Click a name to see how this company measures up — a tick where it passes one of their tests, a cross where it does not.
Warren Buffett 3/4
| Measure | NKE | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner earnings | $3.17bn | positive | ✓ |
| Return on equity | 20.9% | median 11.7% | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.53x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Operating margin | 8.4% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 3 of 4. To be clear: Warren Buffett has never said anything about Nike. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Terry Smith 2/4
| Measure | NKE | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 17.1% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
| Cash conversion | 0.92x | median 1.78x | ✗ |
| Operating margin | 8.4% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.53x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 4. To be clear: Terry Smith has never said anything about Nike. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Charlie Munger 2/3
| Measure | NKE | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 17.1% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
| Return on equity | 20.9% | median 11.7% | ✓ |
| Operating margin | 8.4% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 2 of 3. To be clear: Charlie Munger has never said anything about Nike. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Chuck Akre 3/4
| Measure | NKE | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 20.9% | median 11.7% | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.53x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Cash conversion | 0.92x | median 1.78x | ✗ |
| Return on equity, sustained | 10 of 10 | 8 of 10 above median | ✓ |
Passes 3 of 4. To be clear: Chuck Akre has never said anything about Nike. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Philip Fisher 1/4
| Measure | NKE | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 8.4% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Net margin | 6.7% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
| Return on capital employed | 17.1% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
| Operating margin, held or improving | 8.4% | 10-yr median 12.1% | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 4. To be clear: Philip Fisher has never said anything about Nike. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Walter Schloss 2/2
| Measure | NKE | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 1.96x | median 1.25x | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.53x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 2. To be clear: Walter Schloss has never said anything about Nike. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Benjamin Graham 2/3
| Measure | NKE | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 1.96x | 2.00x published | ✗ |
| Long-term debt to working capital | 0.49x | 1.00x published | ✓ |
| Positive earnings, ten years running | 10 yrs | 10 published | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 3. To be clear: Benjamin Graham has never said anything about Nike. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Joel Greenblatt 1/1
| Measure | NKE | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 17.1% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 1. To be clear: Joel Greenblatt has never said anything about Nike. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Peter Lynch 1/2
| Measure | NKE | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | 0.53x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Net margin | 6.7% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 2. To be clear: Peter Lynch has never said anything about Nike. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 77.6% | whyThe figure most screeners publish. |
| Operating cash flow | 83.9% | whyAbsorbs working-capital swings that earnings do not. |
| Free cash flow | 110.2% | whyAfter maintaining the business. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 32.6 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 2 / 100 — Not covered. ? Peer standing 2/50Direction 0/30Stability 0/20
Against its own history: 110.2% this year vs 41.3% median over the prior 5. A gap this size is usually a one-off — acquisition, settlement, cyclical trough — not a dividend that stopped being funded. The rating reads the latest year; the table shows the trend.
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2026-05-31 | 110.2% |
| 2025-05-31 | 70.4% |
| 2024-05-31 | 32.8% |
| 2023-05-31 | 41.3% |
| 2022-05-31 | 41.5% |
| 2021-05-31 | 27.5% |
Coverage worsened sharply this year, 70.4% to 110.2%, after no clear trend before it. One year is not a trend, but it is worth knowing which direction the last one moved.
5% of the 44 consumer discretionary here pay out more — at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $1.63 ÷ diluted EPS $2.10
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $2,407m ÷ operating cash flow $2,868m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $2,407m ÷ (operating cash flow $2,868m − capex $684m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-07-15 · accession 0000320187-26-000088
All public at sec.gov — you should not have to take our word for it.
Computed straight from SEC XBRL. A number that looks wrong to you is more useful to us than agreement — tell us.
What the free cash flow payout ratio measures, and where every company here sits on it.
Also on: covered on earnings, not on the basis that applies · rated not covered · when it files.
When this changes
Every figure above is recomputed whenever Nike files. The monthly letter carries what filed, what moved, and one finding computed across every company here.