Earned & Paid
Companies · Apparel

Nike

AdvertiserNKE

Nike spent $4.75B on advertising and marketing in fiscal 2026, up 1.4% on the year before and +27% since 2019. That's 10.2% of revenue, more than in 2019: leaning in.

$4.75Bmarketing spend, FY2026
+1.4%vs the year before
10.2%of revenue (+0.7 pts vs 2019)

Marketing spend by year

2013: $2.75B2014: $3.03B142015: $3.21B2016: $3.28B162017: $3.34B2018: $3.58B182019: $3.75B2020: $3.59B202021: $3.11B2022: $3.85B222023: $4.06B2024: $4.29B242025: $4.69B2026: $4.75B2610.2%

Bars: advertising and marketing expense, $B (10-K). Line: spend as a share of revenue.

What they told investors

“We executed creative brand marketing, including an experiential chain from Milan to the Alps called the All Conditions Express, and we elevated our presentation in more than 600 retail doors around the world, including a stand-alone ACG door in Beijing.”Elliott J. Hill · 2026 Q3 · transcript
“Due to these actions and as we continue to reduce investment in paid media, we expect digital traffic to be down double digits in fiscal '26.”Matthew Friend · 2025 Q3 · transcript
“our demand creation being up high single digits, 8% this quarter is truly a reflection of Elliott coming in and challenging the team to elevate our storytelling with impact.”Matthew Friend · 2025 Q3 · transcript
“To support this action, demand creation expenses grew high single digits versus the prior year.”Matthew Friend · 2025 Q3 · transcript
“I also see that we've shifted investments away from creating demand for our brand to capturing the brand demand through performance marketing for our digital business.”Elliott Hill · 2025 Q2 · transcript
“We are also reducing investment in performance marketing, which will reduce paid traffic.”Matthew Friend · 2025 Q2 · transcript

What the 10-K says about marketing

Say vs do

Nike's management has talked about its marketing budget, but in ways annual filings can't check: one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix.

What they said

  • “• Brand Management: Increasing investment in demand creation including brand marketing and sports marketing, to support key product launches and sports moments.”

    The FY2026 10-K, Jul 15, 2026 · 10-K

    Can't tell from annual filings The 10-k passage doesn't say which year it describes.

  • “• Demand creation expense increased 6% primarily due to higher sports marketing expense.”

    The FY2026 10-K, Jul 15, 2026 · 10-K

    Can't tell from annual filings The 10-k passage doesn't say which year it describes.

  • “• Demand creation expense increased 5% due to unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates and higher sports marketing expense, partially offset by lower brand marketing expense, reflecting higher investment in key sports events in the prior year.”

    The FY2026 10-K, Jul 15, 2026 · 10-K

    Can't tell from annual filings The 10-k passage doesn't say which year it describes.

  • “• Demand creation expense decreased 14% primarily due to lower brand marketing expense.”

    The FY2026 10-K, Jul 15, 2026 · 10-K

    Can't tell from annual filings The 10-k passage doesn't say which year it describes.

What they did

YearMarketing spendChangeShare of revenue
FY2026$4.75B+1.4%10.2%
FY2025$4.69B+9.4%10.1%
FY2024$4.29B+5.5%8.3%
FY2023$4.06B+5.5%7.9%
FY2022$3.85B+23.6%8.2%
FY2021$3.11B-13.3%7.0%

Against its peers. Compared with the 4 other Apparel advertisers we track (Lululemon, Levi Strauss, Ralph Lauren, Under Armour): since 2019 its marketing spend went +27% (peer median +72%); its share of revenue moved +0.7 pts (median +1.8); last year +1.4% (median +7.9%).

In interviews, its leaders made 202 statements about marketing: 8 argued for investing in brand and 0 for cutting.

How we check: a statement gets a verdict only when it's clearly about the size of the whole company's marketing budget over a full fiscal year; we compare it with the advertising and marketing expense in that year's 10-K. Statements about one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix between brand and performance can't be checked against annual filings.

What they say about media

The marketing channels it talks about using for itself on earnings calls and in its 10-Ks and 10-Qs, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.

Sponsorships & athletes 141× since 2019Creative campaigns 35× since 2019Experiential & events 24× since 2019Influencers & creators 9× since 2019CRM, loyalty & first-party data 8× since 2020Organic social & content 4× since 2019Measurement 2× since 2020Paid social 1× since 2021

In the news

Peers

LululemonLevi StraussRalph LaurenUnder Armour