“Going Through Some Pain”: Dick’s Smashed Most On Record As Foot Locker Bet Goes Limp

Dick’s Sporting Goods shares crashed by the most on record Tuesday after the sporting goods retailer slashed its annual sales and adjusted operating-income forecasts, as softness at recently acquired Foot Locker deepened concerns about the $2.4 billion takeover.

“We’re going to go through some pain,” Chairman Ed Stack told analysts on an earnings call.

Dick’s now expects fiscal-year net sales of $21.9 billion to $22.2 billion, below its previous forecast of $22.1 billion to $22.4 billion, as deteriorating sales at Foot Locker offset continued strength at its core stores.

The divergence was alarming: Foot Locker’s pro forma comparable sales fell 3.6% in the second quarter, while comparable sales at Dick’s stores rose nearly 5%.

Notably, Foot Locker’s core shoppers are young men aged 12 to 25 who buy premium sneakers and athletic apparel. These shoppers tend to be more value-conscious and somewhat lower-income. So, with national gasoline prices remaining well above $4 per gallon, cutting back on sneakers could be one of their first moves.

“As the quarter progressed, conditions across portions of the athletic footwear and apparel marketplace became increasingly promotional, and we took action to remain competitively priced to protect and grow our leadership position. This environment had a more significant impact on the Foot Locker Business given its greater exposure to legacy footwear silhouettes and greater dependence on footwear launch and retro product. Not only were there fewer launches in the second quarter, but those launches performed below both industry and our expectations. As a result, we are taking a more cautious view of the balance of the year,” Stack said.

Dick’s shares crashed nearly 28% during the cash session, marking the biggest intraday decline on record, according to Bloomberg data going back to 2002.

The stock was down 34% for the year as of around lunchtime Tuesday.

Here’s Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih’s initial take on the dismal earnings report:

Despite challenging footwear backdrop, core DICK’S proves the strength of the model; Foot Locker exposes the weakness of the category. Despite an increasingly promotional footwear and apparel environment, the DICK’S business delivered +4.9% comps, with broad-based growth, higher transactions, and market-share gains. Foot Locker’s -3.6% comp and sales-outlook reduction underscore the pressures facing footwear-centric retailers tied to legacy silhouettes, fewer launches, and retro products. With FY26 comparable-sales guidance reiterated for the DICK’S banner, growth is likely to moderate from current levels, while Foot Locker is expected to experience a weaker fall season. FY26 adjusted operating income was lowered due to expectations for an increasingly challenging footwear industry, as evidenced by footwear brands in recent weeks. We believe DKS’s long-term strength as the dominant player remains intact, but near-term industry trends will affect the Foot Locker turnaround. In premarket trading on Aug. 25, 2026, DKS shares fell 17%, compared with a flat S&P 500.

2Q26 miss; FY26 guidance lowered. Consolidated DKS adjusted EPS of $3.53 missed the consensus estimate of $3.76, driven by lower sales and higher operating expenses. Total revenue of $5.59 billion came in below the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. Comparable sales grew 4.9% at the DICK’S business, while the Foot Locker business turned negative at -3.6%. Overall, pro forma comparable sales increased 2.1%. Gross margin of 34.1% exceeded the consensus estimate of 33.9%. The operating-expense rate of 25.9% of sales missed the consensus estimate of 25.5%. FY26 guidance for the consolidated entity was updated, with management now forecasting adjusted EPS of $11.00 to $12.00, down from $13.50 to $14.50 previously and below the consensus estimate of $14.34; net sales of $21.9 billion to $22.2 billion, down from $22.1 billion to $22.4 billion previously and below the consensus estimate of $22.4 billion; comparable sales at the core DICK’S business of +2.5% to +4.0%, unchanged from the previous forecast; comparable sales at the Foot Locker business of -2.0% to 0.0%, down from +1.5% to +3.0% previously; and adjusted EBIT of $1.46 billion to $1.56 billion, down from $1.71 billion to $1.83 billion previously and below the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion.

Core DKS inventory in strong position. Based on our proprietary inventory analysis, DKS has posted four consecutive quarters of positive sales-to-inventory growth. In FY2Q26, the Inventory Management Spread (“IM Spread”) was 88 basis points, worsening from 377 basis points in the previous quarter. DKS’s Gross Margin Return on Inventory (“GMROI”) has improved for four consecutive quarters, while its Operating Margin Return on Inventory (“OMROI”) has worsened for two consecutive quarters. (Until the anniversary of the Foot Locker acquisition, our inventory metrics include only the core DICK’S business and exclude the Foot Locker business.)

What other analysts are saying, courtesy of Bloomberg:

Quo Vadis Capital

• “We are not tempted by DKS shares at an 18% premarket decline,” writes John Zolidis, president and founder of Quo Vadis.
• He cites two problems at the retailer.
• First, the outlook for Dick’s core business was revised downward based on an increasingly promotional environment in the channel and the company’s decision “to participate” in that activity.
• “This is disappointing in the context of management’s previous commentary about the strength of the business and implied insulation from pockets of weakness in customer cohorts and subcategories seen elsewhere,” Zolidis says.
• The second and bigger issue is the lack of improvement at Foot Locker.
• “DKS did not understand what it was buying with Foot Locker,” in his view, and the risk is now “becoming very real” that DKS will need to commit additional capital to Foot Locker.
• “The best path may be to admit the mistake now and write off the entire chain,” Zolidis adds.

Citi (Buy)

• Analyst Paul Lejuez expects the stock to come under “significant pressure” following the lowered annual guidance and the “more challenging backdrop” cited by management.
• “We suspect that weak Foot Locker 2Q comps were expected by many, but the lowered FY Dick’s banner EBIT margin and Foot Locker sales/EBIT reduction (which calls into question the timing of any potential fix) are the big negative surprises,” he writes.

Bloomberg Intelligence

• The earnings shortfall and reduced annual outlook for Foot Locker’s same-store sales “deepens skepticism about the merits” of the acquisition, analyst Lindsay Dutch writes.
• “Dick’s promised a turnaround of Foot Locker, yet the 3.6% same-store sales decline in 2Q shows it has failed to deliver as tighter discretionary budgets pressure the lifestyle footwear category,” she says.
• The legacy business “remains solid, with steady sports-focused demand.”

UBS (Buy)

• The 2Q results and annual guidance update show that the company has been “subjected to the challenging conditions in the athletic footwear and apparel market as of late,” analyst Michael Lasser writes.
• The core business continued to gain market share, but both segments, Dick’s and Foot Locker, sacrificed some margin to drive business, he says.
• Key question: If challenging conditions in the athletic footwear and apparel market persist for a prolonged period, how will the earnings power of the combined business be affected?
• Another question is whether Foot Locker’s recent performance will prompt management to change its strategy for the segment.

Jefferies (Hold)

• “The core Dick’s business held up well this quarter, with Foot Locker soft,” analyst Jonathan Matuszewski writes.
• “More important, as foreshadowed by other retailers and brands in the sporting goods retail landscape, the category has softened and management now expects more promotionality and less robust growth in 2H,” he adds.