Dick’s Sporting Goods shares plunged more than 30% on Tuesday, marking the retailer’s worst trading session on record after quarterly earnings missed Wall Street expectations and management sharply reduced its full-year outlook.
The stock remained under pressure on Wednesday too, falling more than 1% in premarket trading.
After Tuesday’s collapse, Dick’s shares are down about 38% year to date, raising the question of whether the sharp sell-off has created an opportunity for investors or signals deeper problems at the retailer.
Dick’s reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.53, below analysts’ expectations of $3.76.
Revenue increased to $5.59 billion from $3.65 billion a year earlier, but also missed the $5.65 billion consensus estimate.
The company lowered its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share forecast to $11-$12 from $13.50-$14.50 previously.
It also reduced its sales forecast to between $21.9 billion and $22.2 billion, compared with its earlier range of $22.1 billion to $22.4 billion.
Foot Locker adds to the pressure
A major concern for investors is the performance of Foot Locker, which Dick’s acquired for $2.4 billion in 2025.
While Dick’s namesake stores delivered 4.9% comparable sales growth during the quarter, supported by “broad-based growth” across categories and strong results from the World Cup, Foot Locker’s comparable sales declined 3.6%.
Dick’s now expects Foot Locker’s comparable sales to range from flat to down 2% for the full year.
Previously, it had forecast growth of between 1.5% and 3%.
The weak performance raises questions about whether Dick’s can successfully execute its turnaround strategy without diverting resources and management attention from its core business.
Gordon Haskett maintained a ‘Hold’ rating but reduced its price target to $130 from $205.
The firm said the scale of the stock’s decline raises questions about whether Dick’s should reconsider its acquisition of Foot Locker.
The turnaround could require substantial attention and potentially distract from Dick’s core operations, the analyst said.
Analysts cut targets as outlook worsens
Wall Street analysts have broadly become more cautious following the results, although there is no consensus that investors should abandon the stock.
Jefferies reduced its price target to $171 from $224 while retaining a ‘Hold’ rating.
The firm said efforts by major athletic brands to reduce excess merchandise are occurring alongside changes in consumer preferences, creating a difficult operating environment for Dick’s.
Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow was more constructive, keeping an ‘Overweight’ rating despite cutting his price target to $185 from $240.
Boruchow said the second-quarter results indicated that conditions in athletic footwear had worsened rather than stabilized.
He described the quarter as “as bad as it gets” and expects the category to remain under pressure through the second half of the year.
Loop Capital analyst Anthony Chukumba also reduced his price target, taking it to $140 from $235 while maintaining a ‘Hold’ rating.
Cramer sees potential for a rebound
Despite the dramatic decline, CNBC’s Jim Cramer argued that the sell-off could eventually present an opportunity for investors prepared to wait through the retailer’s near-term challenges.
“If you don’t own Dick’s, you dodged a bullet today, but based on the last time the stock fell apart, you might want to be a buyer over the next couple of months, because this company has a history of coming back from the dead,” said the “Mad Money” host.
Cramer was referring to August 2023, when Dick’s shares fell 24% after an earnings miss.
The stock continued declining for roughly two months, bottoming around $100 on Oct. 27, before rallying approximately 150% to $250 over the following 15 months.
Prior to Tuesday, that post-earnings decline had been the company’s worst single-day performance.
Cramer said Foot Locker’s weakness reflects broader problems in athletic footwear and apparel, with excess inventory in certain legacy sneaker styles and apparel brands forcing retailers to increase discounts as consumer preferences shift.
Still, he acknowledged that the Foot Locker acquisition increasingly appears problematic.
“Clearly, they’re having trouble turning this business around,” Cramer said.
“That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who watched the performance of Foot Locker’s stock before the takeover bid.”
Should investors buy Dick’s stock?
The answer may depend on how much patience investors have for the Foot Locker turnaround and the broader normalization in athletic footwear.
Cramer cautioned that the next quarter or two could remain difficult as retailers work through excess inventory.
However, Tuesday’s sell-off has significantly reset expectations, with Dick’s now trading at roughly nine times 2027 earnings.
That valuation could appeal to investors who believe the retailer can stabilize its operations and eventually benefit from a recovery in discretionary spending.
However, a cheaper stock isn’t necessarily a bargain when the products it sells are being marked down too.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the stock has 13 Buy ratings, 5 Overweight and 10 Hold ratings, and 1 Sell rating, with an average stock price target of $189.11.
This represents an upside of 52%.
Meanwhile, according to Investing.com, the stock has 16 Buy ratings, 9 Hold and 1 Sell rating, with an average target of $224.95, representing an 81% upside.
“I don’t want to give up on Dick’s down here,” Cramer said. “In the long-run, I’m a believer, because this is the only remaining sporting goods retailer with genuine scale, even if it’s also joined at the hip with the struggling Foot Locker.”
For now, Wall Street appears more cautious.
The sharp divergence between analyst price targets also reflects the uncertainty surrounding the stock: the market is no longer simply assessing Dick’s core sporting-goods business, but whether its costly Foot Locker bet can ultimately deliver the growth management envisioned.
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