Nike Loses 78% of its value after five-year freefall, critics point to 'woke' marketing strategy
The sportswear company will be dropped from the S&P 100 after losing nearly 78% from its 2021 high, as critics question the direction the brand has taken in recent years.
File photo of Nike
Nike is facing one of the biggest stock market crises in its recent history. The company's stock has lost about 78% of its value since its 2021 peak, in a five-year decline that has fueled criticism of the company's business and marketing strategy aimed at promoting policies labeled as "woke."
The decline has also had an impact on major stock indices. The S&P 100, which includes some of the largest and most established U.S. companies, announced Nike's removal from the index. Forbes noted that this decision adds a new dimension to the company's problems, after the market had for years considered Nike one of the leading names in the sports sector.
Meanwhile, Nike's critics attribute part of the prolonged decline in its stock price to a marketing strategy linked to progressive stances and campaigns that sparked controversy among consumers.
One of the most talked-about incidents was Nike's collaboration with Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, to promote products from the Nike Women's line. The campaign drew widespread criticism and ridicule on social media.
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Nike's involvement in political and cultural issues, however, had begun years earlier. In 2018, the company made former NFL player Colin Kaepernick into one of the central figures of one of its advertising campaigns. Kaepernick had led protests during the U.S. national anthem as a way to denounce alleged racial discrimination.
Subsequently, Nike withdrew a shoe model featuring a version of the Betsy Ross flag after Kaepernick expressed his disapproval of the design. The former player believed that symbol had associations with a time of slavery and racism.
The company was also linked to the controversy surrounding the so-called "Satan Shoes," inspired by an artistic collaboration involving rapper Lil Nas X, although Nike did not participate in their production. The controversy even ended up in court.
In 2025, Nike once again sparked discussion on social media after featuring a non-binary person described as "furry" in one of its advertising campaigns.
Nike's stock
The delisting from the S&P 100 thus marks another setback for Nike, which has gone from being one of the sports market's leading companies to facing a prolonged decline in market value. For its critics, this decline is a consequence of years of marketing decisions that, they argue, prioritized activism and political stances over a portion of its traditional consumer base.
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