Could a $10,000 Investment in Nike Make You a Millionaire?

Because it just gave investors a new quarterly update, Nike(NYSE: NKE) is once again in the spotlight. On a bright note, the company returned to revenue growth. But profits remain under pressure, as the business continues to restructure and implement a turnaround.

Nike shares have been wildly disappointing in recent years. But could investing in this consumer discretionary stock make you a millionaire?

Nike still dominates the sportswear market

Nike was founded in 1964 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, who innovated with running shoes. Over the next six decades, the company has become a global icon in the world of sports apparel and footwear. Today, it commands a leading position of 16% of the sportswear market, according to data from Euromonitor.

One of Nike’s core competencies is its ability to design and develop clothes and shoes that cater to athletes in a variety of sports. Nike also targets regular consumers, more so with its lifestyle-inspired merchandise.

Another key strength, which is no surprise, is Nike’s marketing prowess. There are few companies on Earth that have this kind of expertise when it comes to resonating with consumers everywhere. Nike does a wonderful job at storytelling that inspires people. It helps that the business spent $1.2 billion on demand creation expense (its term for marketing costs) in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 (ended Aug. 31), equating to 10% of revenue, part of which goes to its notable endorsement deals that raise the brand’s visibility.

This is one of the world’s most recognizable brands today. This gives the business a differentiation factor that separates it from others in the industry. And it supports Nike’s pricing power, allowing it to earn a gross margin in excess of 40% on a consistent basis for what some might view as commoditized products in apparel and footwear.

Long-term returns depend on earnings growth

Over an extended period of time, a company’s fundamentals are the critical factor that drive shareholder returns. To be more specific, it comes down to earnings growth. Recently, Nike has struggled mightily in this regard, due to strategic missteps. The previous CEO pushed too aggressively toward e-commerce sales and away from wholesale accounts. Nike also leaned too much on its lifestyle products.

The company is trying to turn things around under new leadership. CEO Elliot Hill’s Win Now strategy’s first task aligned the business with a greater focus on sports, branding, and fixing distribution, while bringing back a focus on product innovation to drum up excitement from consumers. Nike’s sales were up 1% in Q1, ending a streak of five straight quarters of declines.

It’s hard to overstate how important Nike’s global presence, scale, and distribution are. It can sell its products anywhere, and it has a loyal customer base. And as mentioned, the brand provides an advantage.

However, the company’s net income dropped an alarming 31% in the first quarter. And the profit figure of $727 million was half of the total three years before. Ongoing promotional activity, coupled with an expected $1.5 billion added expense from tariffs, won’t make it easy to boost the bottom line. And that can pressure shares.

Becoming a millionaire might be out of the cards

Investors who make a $10,000 investment in the stock need to see a monster 100-fold gain in order to reach millionaire status. In the past 30 years, shares have produced a total return of 2,750% (as of Oct. 3). For what it’s worth, this comes up well ahead of the S&P 500 performance.

Had you purchased $10,000 worth of Nike stock in October 1995, you’d have $285,000 today. This happened during a stretch when the company registered tremendous growth. There’s a virtual certainty that Nike’s earnings growth over the next three decades won’t even come close to what it achieved in the past 30 years.

This gives me a firm belief that Nike won’t make you a millionaire starting from a $10,000 investment. It probably won’t even come close. This is a much more mature business today, so don’t expect game-changing long-term returns.

Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nike. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.