Tim Cook did something he hasn't done before - buy Nike's stock on the open market

By Tomi Kilgore

The Apple CEO and long-time Nike board member went out of his way to buy nearly $3 million worth of Nike shares on the open market after a post-earnings selloff

Apple CEO and Nike board member Tim Cook spent nearly $3 million to buy Nike's stock after the latest selloff, roughly doubling his stake in the company.

Shares of Nike rallied Wednesday after it was disclosed that a high-profile board member - Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook - nearly doubled his stake in the athletic-gear giant in a rather uncharacteristic way the day after another disappointing earnings report triggered a big selloff.

Cook's purchase comes as Nike's stock (NKE) has shed 20.7% in 2025 and is set to extend its record yearly losing streak to four years. The previous record was the two years that ended in 1984, just before the launch of the iconic Air Jordan brand.

Cook is Nike's lead independent director and has been a Nike board member for 20 years. In a Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday, Cook disclosed that he spent $2.95 million on Monday to buy 50,000 Nike shares at an average price of $58.97.

The purchase was coded "P," which the SEC describes as "open market or private purchase" of nonderivative or derivative securities. While other Form 4s show Cook acquiring Nike shares, all of those going back to when Cook joined the board in 2005, based on information provided by the SEC, were coded either "A," which refers to equity-based compensation via a grant, award or other acquisition, or "M," referring to exercise or conversion of derivative security.

MarketWatch reached out to both Nike and Cook have for comment but have not heard back.

With the latest purchase, Cook owns 105,480 Nike shares, which is a small fraction of the roughly 1.48 billion total shares outstanding.

Nike's stock surged 4.6% to close at $60 on Wednesday, enough to make it the S&P 500 index's (NKE) biggest gainer on the day. On Tuesday, the stock had edged up 0.2% to snap a five-day losing streak, after closing Dec. 22 at the lowest price since May 6.

Cook's purchase came the day after the stock tumbled 10.5% on Dec. 19, following Nike's fiscal second-quarter report, which showed the company was still struggling to fend off competition and regain relevance with consumers. The company said it was still in a year-long turnaround, which may have disappointed investors who have already been suffering for years.

The latest one-day postearnings stock decline marked the 11th time in the past 15 quarters that the stock fell after earnings were released.

The stock has dropped 64% during its current yearly losing streak. Nike isn't the only athletic-gear company suffering in the current environment: U.S.-listed shares of Germany-based Adidas (ADDDF) have lost 33% since the end of 2021, and Under Armour's stock (UAA) has slid 78%.

Robert Swan, who has been a director at Nike for three years and previously served as chief financial officer of Intel (INTC), also bought on the dip, spending about $500,000 on Monday to buy 8,691 Nike shares at an average price of $57.54.

Cook's long tenure as a Nike board member isn't the only thing that links Nike and Apple. Nike's stock started trading on Dec. 2, 1980, according to FactSet data - 10 days before Apple went public.

-Tomi Kilgore

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12-24-25 1305ET