Nike ad trips up stock, boosts sales

Nike’s controversial Colin Kaepernick ad, which debuted Thursday night, set back the athletic-shoe company’s stock a bit but simultaneously boosted sales.

Sales increased 31 percent from Sunday through Tuesday of this week, according to research firm Edison Trends. ESPN on Monday broke the story that Kaepernick would be featured in the 30th anniversary of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign.

“There was speculation that the Nike/Kaepernick campaign would lead to a drop in sales,” Edison Trends co-founder Hetal Pandya said. “The data does not support that theory.”

The commercial — with the provocative line “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” — damaged Nike’s stock.

Shares sank on news that the ex-San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who two seasons ago started kneeling during the national anthem as a form of protest, would be the face of the campaign.

But after the sneaker company’s stock declined 3.9 percent to touch a low of $79 per share on Tuesday, it reversed course to end the week at $80.30 per share.

The bounce recouped 41 percent of the stock’s decline since the campaign began and reduced Nike’s market cap loss to $2.4 billion.

A fuller comment of the commercial’s effect on sales may be unveiled Sept. 25, when the company reports its quarterly results.