PORTLAND, Ore. — Nike's shares fell 3.16 percent at closing bell Tuesday -- and many on social media assume it's because of the newest ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick.
But are they related? KGW set out to Verify those claims.
It's absolutely fair to say the new Just Do It campaign featuring Kaepernick has dominated the conversation on social media channels over the past 24 hours.
But is that enough to move the needle on the stock market?
"That has certainly been the talk of the sports world, and has been the dragging factor in the drop in Nike today. It's something everybody is talking about," said Linde Carroll with Sustainable Wealth Management in Vancouver, Wash. "With Nike being the biggest player in the market, that has certainly caused a drag not only on Nike stock, but also on the market in general."
Nike's competitors in the athletic apparel world also experienced losses Tuesday: Adidas was down 2.41 percent and Puma was down 1.83 percent.
International relations outside the stock market are also at play here.
Just last week, Pres. Trump signed a new trade agreement with Mexico. And $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods will likely begin Thursday. However, both Nike and Adidas have moved away from production in China, and have instead set their sights (and money) on factories in Vietnam due to cheaper costs. For example, Nike shoe production in China back in 2007 was 35 percent, compared with 27 percent in 2017.
"These announcements have come out over the course of this year... we've had a couple of announcements on the tariffs and it churns the markets up a little bit, gives volatility, and then it sort of settles in a little bit after that news has been digested," Carroll explained.
So should you be worried if you own Nike stock?
"It's that initial noise that gets made and it eventually settles down. In Nike's case, something like this will probably be a little short-lived," Carroll explained
KGW can Verify: The loss Nike shares experienced Tuesday is mostly due to the Kaepernick ad, but industry experts are confident the retail giant will quickly bounce back.