Nike Pushes Boundaries with their R&D

Athleisure equipment maker Nike is a stalwart of Vestact portfolios in New York. All of us need to hit the streets to fight the flab, because the food isn't getting less tasty.

The all-time high share price of Nike is just above $85 a share, which it touched in late September 2018. Like all global stocks, it dropped going into the year end. It has bounced back nicely in 2019, pushing back up through $80 on Friday. It reported solid profit numbers recently, including very firm sales in China.

Product innovation at Nike is always front and centre. They are launching a new take on the self-lacing shoe right now. Ok then! Nike's self-lacing shoes must be charged like a goddamn cell phone lmao.



One negative issue that we are watching closely are some tax related problems in Europe. The tax authorities in the EU high-command in Brussels really don't like the way that US multinationals set up their inter-company flows to minimise tax payments. You may recall that the EU made Apple pay Ireland's tax receiver $13 billion last year, even though they (the Irish) didn't want the money.

The Nike investigation announced on Thursday relates to five Dutch tax rulings on companies that the US group uses to develop, market and record sales for its products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. That includes sales to South Africa that are ordered online. Nike has argued its case strongly, and even if there is a negative final ruling, it's a minor issue.

More here on the FT (requires a subscription): EU opens probe into Nike's Dutch tax arrangements.