CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday that Dick’s Sporting Goods‘ historic 30% plunge may represent a buying opportunity for investors willing to wait out 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, referring to the company’s earnings report in August 2023, when Dick’s shares plunged 24% after the retailer missed expectations. The stock took another two months to bottom around $100 on Oct. 27, before surging roughly 150% to $250 over the next 15 months.
Prior to Tuesday, the post-earnings plunge three years ago had been Dick’s worst day on record. This time around, Dick’s reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings and revenue and sharply cut its full-year profit outlook. The results showed the biggest problems were concentrated at recently acquired Foot Locker, Cramer said, while the core Dick’s business remained relatively strong.
Comparable sales at Dick’s rose 4.9%, in line with expectations, while Foot Locker comps fell 3.6% versus Wall Street expectations for a slight increase. The company also slashed its full-year outlook for Foot Locker sales while leaving its comparable-sales forecast for Dick’s unchanged.
Cramer said Foot Locker’s weakness reflects a broader slowdown across athletic footwear and apparel. Inventory has piled up around certain legacy sneaker styles and apparel brands as consumer preferences shift, he said, prompting more discounting across the industry.
Still, Cramer acknowledged the Foot Locker acquisition, which the company completed in September 2025, is increasingly looking like a misstep.
“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.”
He cautioned that the next quarter or two could remain difficult as retailers work through excess inventory. But Tuesday’s sell-off has also reset expectations and made the stock cheaper, with Dick’s now trading at roughly nine times 2027 earnings.
Longer term, Cramer said he still likes Dick’s position as one of the few large-scale sporting-goods retailers left in the market.
“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.”
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