No matter what happens when Under Armour reports earnings Thursday morning, the company has already logged one disappointing result: Under Armour stock is the S&P 500’s worst performer in Donald Trump’s first 100 days as president.
Under Armour’s stock has fallen 32% since the president’s inauguration in January—the biggest loss of any S&P 500 stock over that period by a long shot. The S&P 500 overall has risen more than 5% in the nearly 100 days Trump has been president.
The fact that Under Armour (UAA) has suffered so much in the stock market under Donald Trump is somewhat ironic, as the sports apparel maker was one of the few companies to publicly support the president early on. In February, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank praised Trump and his pro-business policies, saying, “To have such a pro-business president is something that is a real asset for the country.”
Still, the business optimism that has graced the stock market as a whole, creating the so-called Trump bump, has largely bypassed Under Armour’s shares. Early this year, Under Armour posted weak earnings for the end of 2016, after a string of sports retailer bankruptcies diminished the company’s shelf space. Moreover, competitors have also flooded into the athleisure craze, forcing Under Armour to add more discounts and promotions. Plank’s comments also sparked a backlash among non-Trump supporters who called for a boycott of the company.
Wall Street now expects Under Armour to post its first-ever quarterly loss when it reports earnings for the first three months of 2017 on Thursday. Analysts are forecasting a loss of 4 cents per share on revenue of $1.1 billion.
But Trump’s presidency is also undoubtedly at the back of investors’ minds. The president’s proposed border taxes are expected to hit retailers particularly hard, and companies such as Nike (NKE) and Calvin Klein’s parent company PVH (PVH) now openly oppose a so-called border adjustment tax on imports. Such a tariff would be difficult for the industry to stomach, with 97% of all clothing and footwear sold in the U.S. coming from outside the nation.
Under Armour is no exception. While 82% of 2016 sales were in the U.S., 60% of the firm’s apparel and accessories were produced in Jordan, Vietnam, China, and Malaysia alone.
What may also be keeping investors away from the stock: the lack of concrete tax reform from the administration. According to Goldman Sachs, Under Armour would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of a tax cut. The company pays one of the highest effective tax rates of 39%, based on a 10-year median. But many details of Trump’s tax plan are still unclear, with no clear guidance as to when the proposed cuts will take effect.
Investors will likely be looking for signs of a brighter future in Under Armour’s first-quarter results Thursday.
