Nike reports $790 million loss after COVID shutdowns sank revenues by 38%

Sports giant Nike reported a surprise loss Thursday as shutdowns due to COVID-19 prompted a big drop in revenues in spite of higher online sales.

Nike reported a loss of $790 million in the quarter ending May 31, which translated to a loss of 51 cents per share compared with analyst expectations for nine cents per share in profit.

Revenues tumbled 38 percent to $6.3 billion following huge declines in sales in most of the world.

In North America, the company's biggest operating region, revenues plunged 46 percent to $2.2 billion.

Nike said 90 percent of its stores were closed for roughly eight weeks during the quarter in three of its four operating regions, with the exception being Greater China. A bright spot was online sales, with digital sales increasing 75 percent during the quarter.

The results are among the first by a major company to detail the hit from the coronavirus during the period of peak shutdowns. Nike is on a different fiscal calendar than most other large companies, with its fourth quarter ending May 31.

The second-quarter earnings period, which covers the quarter ending June 30, will begin in mid-July.

Shares of Nike fell 3.7 percent to $97.61.