Academy Sports Sees Execution Strength And Nike Momentum, But Analyst Warns Of Prolonged Demand Weakness

Group 1 - The core viewpoint is that Truist Securities analyst Joseph Civello maintains a Hold rating on Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. while raising the price forecast from $45 to $47, indicating a conflict between the company's successful transformation and ongoing macroeconomic pressures on its middle-income demographic [1][7]. - The analyst acknowledges operational improvements since 2019 but expresses caution regarding the prolonged suppression of consumer demand due to the challenging economic climate [2][8]. - Academy Sports reported quarterly adjusted earnings per share of 76 cents, missing the analyst consensus estimate of 90 cents, and net sales of $1.35 billion, which also fell short of the expected $1.37 billion [3][8]. Group 2 - The first-quarter sales for Academy Sports experienced a slight decline of 0.9%, with comparable sales falling by 3.7% [3]. - Despite the success of expanded Nike and new Jordan collections, overall traffic fell mid-single digits in the first quarter, and May comparable sales declined low-single digits due to a volatile macro environment [4][8]. - The analyst projects FY25 earnings per share to be $6.00 and has lowered the FY26 earnings estimate from $6.80 to $6.60 [8].