Nike is set to be removed from the elite S&P 100 index after a prolonged collapse in its share price, capping years in which the company embraced divisive woke marketing campaigns that alienated many of its traditional customers.
According to The Western Journal, S&P Dow Jones Indices has confirmed that the sportswear giant will be dropped from the S&P 100 a benchmark of 100 of the largest and most stable U.S. companies on Sept. 21 as part of its quarterly rebalancing, citing a report from Yahoo Finance. Nikes fall from grace has been dramatic: its stock has plunged 78 percent from its 2021 peak and recently touched a 12-year low of about $38.40 per share.
The company has shed more than $200 billion in market capitalization and now carries a valuation of roughly $57 billion, a stunning reversal for a brand once considered untouchable. While Wall Street analysts have blamed strategic missteps such as moving away from traditional wholesale partners and leaning too heavily on aging footwear lines, conservative critics argue that the deeper problem is cultural.
For years, Nike has chosen to align itself with left-wing identity politics rather than the broad, patriotic consumer base that built the company. The brand linked arms with self-described transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who posted a video of himself wearing Nike womens leggings on social media. It also partnered with Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback who became infamous for kneeling during the National Anthem, a gesture many Americans saw as a direct insult to the country and its veterans.
Nike is not the only major name being pushed out of the S&P 100, underscoring a broader reshuffling of corporate power toward the tech sector. Yahoo Finance reported that Honeywell Aerospace, Simon Property Group, and Colgate-Palmolive will also exit the index, to be replaced by Dell Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, Arista Networks, and SanDisk.
Arista sells switches for data centers, while SanDisk makes flash memory cards, both serving the digital infrastructure that increasingly drives the modern economy. Against that backdrop, Nikes struggles look less like bad luck and more like the cost of ignoring core customers while the market rewards companies focused on performance and innovation rather than politics.
Nike CEO Elliott Hill, who took the helm in 2024, is now in the second year of a turnaround plan, according to The Oregonian. Hill admitted on a recent earnings call that the results arent there yet, even as he pointed to some improvement in North American sales and in the running category.
The company is scheduled to release its next earnings report on Oct. 1, a critical moment that will show whether investors see any real progress or simply more corporate spin. For many consumers and shareholders who are tired of being lectured by multinational brands, the question is whether Nike will return to focusing on athletic excellence and merit or continue down a path where politics takes precedence over performance.
Login