Iconic US Brand’s Stock Hits 12-Year Low As Woke Gamble Fails Miserably

Nike Inc. shares plunged to a 12-year low earlier this week, with the company’s share price closing at $39.08 on August 17. This level had not been seen since 2014 and represents a decline of approximately 78 percent from the company’s all-time high of $177.51, which was reached in November 2021.

Over that multi-year period, the drop erased nearly $200 billion in market value. As of August 19, the stock had recovered modestly to trade near $41, but the longer-term trajectory remains sharply lower, with shares down nearly 50 percent over the past year and more than 38 percent year-to-date in 2026.

The decline has been gradual and sustained for a number of years rather than the result of a single event.

Nike’s shift toward a direct-to-consumer model, known as Nike Direct, reduced reliance on wholesale partners and initially boosted digital sales during the pandemic years. In recent quarters, however, Nike Direct revenue has fallen, with digital sales dropping by double digits in some periods.

Competition has intensified from brands such as On, Hoka, New Balance, and Adidas, which gained shelf space and market share as Nike pulled back from certain wholesale channels, according to an analysis from The Street. Greater China, a key growth market, has seen sales decline by roughly 30 percent since 2021 amid shifting consumer preferences toward domestic “China Chic” brands and weaker demand.

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Nike has lost nearly 80% of its market cap over the last 5 years. When the stock was near its peak, Ethan Strauss wrote the definitive take on how the company was fumbling the bag.

They were a brand defined by Michael Jordan’s competitiveness and machismo, and with a heavily… https://t.co/AVFGtT5FST pic.twitter.com/A2SMgwmJuM

— Daniel Friedman (@DanFriedman81) August 17, 2026

Alongside these business metrics, some observers have linked the stock’s performance to Nike’s marketing and cultural decisions over the past several years.

In 2019, the company canceled a planned Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July sneaker featuring the Betsy Ross flag design. The decision followed input from then-brand ambassador Colin Kaepernick, who argued that the 13-star Revolutionary-era flag had been adopted by “certain white nationalist groups” and evoked a period of slavery.

Nike stated at the time that it pulled the product because of “concerns that it could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation’s patriotic holiday.”

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) pointed to the recent plunge and indicated that he stopped buying Nike products as a result of the brand’s leftist-influenced decisions. “Sad & predictable. For my whole life, I wore nearly 100% Nike for athletic wear. Kaepernick pissed me off, but when they cancelled the Betsy Ross shoe it showed that their marketing plan was America-hate. I went out & bought brand new shoes, shorts, t-shirts. Turns out I wasn’t the only one,” the senator posted on social media alongside the hashtag “GoWokeGoBroke.”

Other figures, including then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), also criticized the Betsy Ross decision, with McConnell noting that controversy over the American flag itself signaled a broader problem. Nike’s earlier 2018 advertising campaign featuring Kaepernick had already drawn polarized responses, though contemporaneous sales data showed mixed short-term effects.

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