Tuesday, August 25 was, on the surface, a green day for the broader market — the S&P 500 added roughly 0.3-0.37%, the Nasdaq jumped as much as 0.83% on a semiconductor rebound ahead of Nvidia’s Wednesday-night earnings, and Bitcoin brushed $80,000. But underneath that headline strength, a distinct and painful story was unfolding in retail: Dick’s Sporting Goods suffered its worst single-session decline on record, dragging sporting goods peers, footwear brands, and even broad-line retailers down with it.
The result: a genuinely split market where AI infrastructure and chip names partied while consumer discretionary and retail names got hammered. Here are the 10 biggest losers of August 25, 2026 — with every data point that matters.
Tuesday’s Market Dashboard
| Index/Asset | Status (Aug 25 close) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | +0.3% to +0.37% (to ~7,677-7,680.82) | Gains led by chipmakers, not broad-based |
| Nasdaq Composite | +0.66% to +0.83% (to ~26,151-26,195) | Best-performing major index, AMD/NVDA rebound |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | +0.07% to +0.20% (to ~53,456.81) | Dragged by Nike, Walmart, Chevron |
| WTI Crude Oil | -3.1% to $82.36/barrel | U.S. shift to economic pressure on Iran |
| Brent Crude | -3.9% to $88.58/barrel | Down more than 5% for the week |
| 10-Year Treasury Yield | -7bps to 4.625% | Falling yields supportive of equities |
| Consumer Confidence | Worse than expected | Weighed heavily on retail sentiment |
#1 — DKS (Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.) | -30.67% to $124.32 — A Foot Locker Hangover Triggers the Retailer’s Worst Day Ever
Loss: -30.67% | Catalyst: Q2 earnings and revenue miss, slashed full-year guidance, Foot Locker integration pain
Dick’s Sporting Goods didn’t just have a bad day on Tuesday — it had the single worst session in the company’s history as a public company, and the damage rippled across the entire sporting goods and footwear retail complex.
The Earnings Miss Breakdown:
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Confirmed closing loss | -30.67% to $124.32 |
| Intraday low point | Down as much as 31% |
| Trading volume | 37.9 million shares (vs. 2.0M three-month average — up ~1,807%) |
| Q2 adjusted EPS | $3.53 (missed $3.76–$3.78 estimate) |
| Q2 GAAP EPS | $3.50 (down 26% YoY) |
| Q2 revenue | $5.59 billion (missed $5.64–$5.65B estimate) |
| Dick’s-brand comparable sales | +4.9% (broad-based growth, strong World Cup boost) |
| Foot Locker comparable sales | -3.6% |
| Foot Locker Q2 operating loss | -$31.9 million |
| Prior full-year net sales guidance | $22.1B–$22.4B |
| New full-year net sales guidance | $21.9B–$22.2B |
| Prior full-year operating income guidance | $1.69B–$1.81B |
| New full-year operating income guidance | $1.45B–$1.55B |
| New FY26 adjusted EPS guidance | ~$11.00–$12.00 (down from $13.50–$14.50) |
| GAAP EPS guidance | $10.94–$11.94 (down from $13.27–$14.27) |
| Short interest | 7.48 million shares (11.88% of float) |
| RSI at close | 19 (deeply oversold territory) |
| YTD performance | -32.6% to -35.5% |
| Distance from 52-week high ($236.18, July 2026) | -45.3% |
.
Why the core business strength didn’t matter:
Here’s what makes today’s crash so notable — Dick’s own namesake stores actually grew comparable sales 4.9%, driven by broad-based strength including a strong World Cup merchandising boost. The entire miss was driven by Foot Locker, the footwear chain Dick’s acquired earlier in 2026, which saw comparable sales decline 3.6% amid what management called “fewer and underperforming product launches.” The acquisition also diluted the share count by 9.6 million shares, making the earnings miss look even worse on a per-share basis.
CEO commentary and the “buying opportunity” debate: CNBC’s Jim Cramer told investors Tuesday that the 30% plunge may represent a buying opportunity, arguing Dick’s core business “remains relatively strong despite industry-wide pressure” even though Foot Locker “is proving harder to turn around than expected.” Meanwhile, Wall Street’s initial reaction was a wait-and-see approach — the average analyst price target heading into the print sat around $249.46, dramatically above today’s closing price, though that figure will almost certainly be revised down in the coming days.
Watch for Wednesday:
With the stock now trading at a 45% discount to its July 2026 high and RSI signaling extreme oversold conditions, options traders were already positioning heavily — 61,000 contracts changed hands Tuesday, roughly 18 times average daily volume, with September $130 and $160 puts seeing the heaviest new interest. Any analyst downgrades or, alternatively, “buy the dip” upgrades over the next 48 hours will set the tone for whether today’s crash marks a bottom or the start of a longer de-rating.
#2 — ASO (Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc.) | -5.80% to $43.48 — Guilt by Association Drags Down a Sector Peer
Loss: -5.80% | Catalyst: Sympathy selloff following Dick’s Sporting Goods earnings miss
Academy Sports and Outdoors became the most direct casualty of Dick’s Sporting Goods’ disastrous quarter, falling nearly 6% purely on sector-wide contagion fears rather than any company-specific news of its own.
The ASO Sympathy-Selloff Data:
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Confirmed closing loss | -5.80% to $43.48 |
| Catalyst type | Pure sector sympathy — no independent earnings or news |
| Sector read-through | Dick’s cited a “challenging” and “increasingly promotional” footwear and apparel marketplace |
| Direct competitive overlap | Sporting goods, athletic footwear, outdoor equipment |
Why sympathy selling hit Academy Sports so hard:
When the sector leader by revenue explicitly blames “strain across sporting goods, athletic apparel, footwear, and outdoor equipment” for its own guidance cut, investors in every other company operating in that exact same category get nervous — regardless of whether that specific company’s fundamentals have actually changed. Academy Sports has no direct Foot Locker-style integration problem, but the market chose not to differentiate on Tuesday.
Watch for Wednesday:
Academy Sports’ own next earnings report becomes significantly more important context now — if the company can show its comparable sales trends are holding up better than the “increasingly promotional” environment Dick’s described, today’s sympathy-driven decline could reverse quickly. Absent that confirmation, expect the stock to continue trading as a high-beta proxy for sector-wide sentiment.
#3 — ALB (Albemarle Corporation) | -5% — JPMorgan Slashes Lithium Profit Estimates as Prices Retreat From May Highs
Loss: -5% | Catalyst: JPMorgan cuts 2026 EBITDA estimate by $500 million on falling lithium prices
Albemarle, the world’s largest lithium producer, fell 5% Tuesday after JPMorgan delivered a sharp cut to its profitability estimates, reflecting a meaningful pullback in lithium pricing from earlier this year’s highs.
The Albemarle Estimate-Cut Breakdown:
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Confirmed session loss | -5% |
| JPMorgan’s prior 2026 EBITDA estimate | $3.4 billion |
| JPMorgan’s new 2026 EBITDA estimate | $2.9 billion (-$500M cut) |
| 2025 actual EBITDA (comparison) | $1.1 billion |
| Lithium price peak (May 2026) | ~$30,000 per tonne |
| JPMorgan’s new Q3 2026 EBITDA estimate | $668 million |
| Q2 2026 EBITDA (comparison) | $858 million |
The lithium price math behind the cut: Even with today’s downward revision, JPMorgan’s new $2.9 billion EBITDA estimate still represents a massive improvement from 2025’s $1.1 billion — this isn’t a broken business, it’s a normalization from an unsustainable price spike. Lithium prices approaching $30,000 per tonne in May 2026 were always going to be difficult to sustain given global supply additions, and today’s estimate cut essentially formalizes what the commodity market had already been signaling through the summer.
Watch for Wednesday:
Lithium spot pricing remains the single most important variable for Albemarle’s near-term trajectory — watch for any stabilization or further deterioration in benchmark lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices, which will determine whether JPMorgan’s reduced Q3 estimate of $668 million proves conservative or still too optimistic.
#4 — AMBP (Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A.) | -5.6% — A Smaller Industrial Name Falls on Its Own Earnings Disappointment
Loss: -5.6% | Catalyst: Company-specific earnings-related decline
Ardagh Metal Packaging, a less widely followed beverage-can and metal packaging manufacturer, declined 5.6% Tuesday following disappointing financial results — one of the more overlooked casualties of an otherwise mixed trading session.
The Ardagh Metal Packaging Snapshot:
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Confirmed session loss | -5.6% |
| Sector | Metal beverage can and packaging manufacturing |
| Market profile | Smaller-cap, lower analyst coverage relative to consumer retail peers |
Why this smaller name matters: As a metal packaging supplier serving beverage, food, and consumer goods customers, Ardagh’s results often serve as an indirect read on broader consumer packaged goods volume trends — a soft quarter here can sometimes flag demand softness further up the supply chain before it shows up in larger, more closely watched consumer names.
Watch for Wednesday:
With limited analyst coverage relative to mega-cap retail names, Ardagh’s stock is likely to see outsized moves on any follow-up commentary or analyst notes published in the next 24-48 hours as coverage catches up to today’s decline.
#5 — TGT (Target Corporation) | -4.83% — Consumer Confidence Data Hits Discount Retail Hard
Loss: -4.83% | Catalyst: Worse-than-expected consumer confidence reading + Dick’s-driven retail sector weakness
Target shares tumbled nearly 5% Tuesday as a disappointing consumer confidence report combined with broader retail sector jitters triggered by Dick’s Sporting Goods’ guidance cut to weigh on the discount retail giant.
The Target Pressure Points:
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Confirmed session loss | -4.83% (reported range: -4% to -4.83%) |
| Primary catalyst | Worse-than-expected August consumer confidence reading |
| Secondary catalyst | Worsening U.S.-Canada trade conflict |
| Sector context | Fell alongside Walmart amid broad retail weakness |
Why weak consumer confidence hits Target disproportionately: As a discretionary-leaning big-box retailer, Target’s sales mix skews more toward non-essential categories than pure grocery-focused competitors — meaning any signal that consumers are pulling back on spending intentions tends to weigh more heavily on Target’s stock than on more staples-focused retailers. The added overhang of a “worsening trade conflict between the U.S. and Canada” compounds tariff-related cost concerns already facing the retail sector.
Watch for Wednesday:
Target’s own upcoming earnings report becomes the critical near-term catalyst — watch specifically for commentary on back-to-school and early holiday season sell-through, which will indicate whether today’s consumer-confidence-driven selloff reflects a genuine spending pullback or an overreaction to a single data point.
#6 — NKE (Nike, Inc.) | -3.24% to -3.7% — Caught in the Crossfire of Its Own Retail Partner’s Bad Quarter
Loss: -3.24% to -3.7% | Catalyst: Direct read-through from Dick’s Sporting Goods citing weak Foot Locker footwear demand
Nike shares fell as much as 3.7% Tuesday, becoming one of the most direct casualties of Dick’s Sporting Goods’ earnings report — not because of anything Nike itself announced, but because of exactly what Dick’s said about the state of athletic footwear demand.
The Nike Read-Through Data:
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Confirmed session loss | -3.24% to -3.7% |
| Dollar decline | -$1.61 per share (in one reported comparison) |
| Dow point contribution | Among the largest drags on the index Tuesday |
| Direct catalyst | Dick’s cited “soft results from key vendor Foot Locker” |
| Compounding factor | Dick’s management adopted a “more cautious view of balance of year” |
Why Nike specifically got hit: Foot Locker is one of Nike’s most important wholesale distribution partners for athletic footwear, and Dick’s explicitly called out weak Foot Locker performance and an “increasingly promotional” footwear marketplace as reasons for its guidance cut. When your most important retail partner tells Wall Street that footwear demand is soft and getting more promotional (meaning more discounting, meaning lower margins), that’s a direct, unavoidable read-through to Nike’s own wholesale channel economics.
Watch for Wednesday:
Nike’s next earnings report will need to directly address whether the “increasingly promotional” footwear environment Dick’s described is compressing Nike’s own wholesale margins — any commentary suggesting this promotional pressure is broader than just the Foot Locker relationship would be a genuinely bearish signal for the stock beyond today’s single-session move.
#7 — CHTR (Charter Communications, Inc.) | -2.73% — A Broadband Giant Slips Amid Broader Market Rotation
Loss: -2.73% | Catalyst: Sector rotation away from non-AI-linked names during Tuesday’s chip-led rally
Charter Communications declined 2.73% Tuesday, becoming one of the more prominent non-retail names to lag as capital rotated aggressively into semiconductor and AI infrastructure stocks ahead of Nvidia’s earnings.
The Charter Communications Rotation Story:
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Confirmed session loss | -2.73% |
| Sector | Cable/broadband telecommunications |
| Broader context | S&P 500 top gainer AMD (+3.93%) vs. Charter’s decline highlights sector rotation |
Why a broadband name fell on a green day for the market: Tuesday’s rally was heavily concentrated in semiconductor and AI-adjacent names — AMD rose 3.93%, Nvidia climbed 2.72% — meaning capital had to come from somewhere. Slower-growth, capital-intensive telecom and cable names like Charter, without a direct AI narrative attached, became a natural source of funds for investors rotating into the day’s preferred trade.
Watch for Wednesday:
Charter’s stock will likely continue trading as a function of broader sector rotation dynamics rather than company-specific news in the near term — watch whether the semiconductor rally extends into Wednesday’s Nvidia earnings reaction, which would suggest continued pressure on non-AI-linked names like Charter.
#8 — APA (APA Corporation) | -2% — Falling Oil Prices Drag Down the Entire E&P Complex
Loss: -2% | Catalyst: WTI crude oil falling more than 3% to a one-week low
APA Corporation fell 2% Tuesday as crude oil prices dropped sharply, part of a broader decline across the oil and gas exploration and production sector that also weighed on larger integrated majors.
The APA Oil-Price Pressure Data:
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Confirmed session loss | -2% |
| WTI crude oil move | -3.1% to $82.36/barrel (one-week low) |
| Brent crude move | -3.9% to $88.58/barrel |
| Weekly oil decline | More than 5% |
| Sector peers also declining | ConocoPhillips (COP), Chevron (CVX), Exxon Mobil (XOM) |
| Catalyst for oil decline | U.S. shift toward economic-pressure sanctions strategy on Iran, easing supply disruption fears |
Why easing Iran tensions actually hurt oil stocks: Paradoxically, good geopolitical news — reduced fears of a supply-disrupting military escalation in the Persian Gulf — is bad news for oil producer stock prices in the near term, since it removes the risk premium that had been supporting crude prices. As the U.S. pivoted toward economic sanctions rather than military confrontation, oil traders priced out a chunk of that geopolitical risk premium, sending crude to a one-week low and dragging E&P names like APA down with it.
Watch for Wednesday:
Any further de-escalation signals or additional Iran-related sanctions announcements will likely continue pressuring oil prices, and by extension APA and its peers — conversely, any renewed escalation rhetoric could quickly reverse today’s losses across the entire sector.
#9 — WMT (Walmart Inc.) | -1% to -3.5% — The World’s Largest Retailer Isn’t Immune to Sector-Wide Retail Jitters
Loss: -1% to -3.5% (reported range varies by session snapshot) | Catalyst: Broad retail sector weakness, consumer confidence data, Dick’s-driven sympathy selling
Walmart shares declined Tuesday, adding to what has already been a difficult stretch for the retail giant, as broader consumer confidence concerns and sympathy selling tied to Dick’s Sporting Goods weighed on shares even as the company has no direct sporting goods exposure of its own.
The Walmart Weakness-in-Context Data:
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Confirmed session loss | -1% to -3.5% (varies by reporting window) |
| Dow point contribution | ~$4.48 per share decline cited in one intraday snapshot |
| Broader trend context | On track for one of its worst weeks since 2022, down roughly 11% week-to-date in a separate recent stretch |
| Prior notable decline | Posted its worst single day in more than four years earlier this month on weak comparable sales |
Why the world’s largest retailer keeps getting hit: Walmart has become something of a bellwether-in-distress for the broader retail sector this month, with a string of disappointing sessions tied to weak U.S. comparable sales trends and cautious forward guidance. Tuesday’s decline adds to that pattern — even a company with Walmart’s scale and grocery-heavy, more recession-resistant sales mix isn’t immune when consumer confidence data disappoints and a major sector peer like Dick’s simultaneously flags a “challenging” and “increasingly promotional” retail environment.
Watch for Wednesday:
Walmart’s next quarterly update becomes increasingly important context for the entire retail sector’s narrative — continued weakness here, layered on top of Dick’s Sporting Goods’ collapse, would suggest a genuine, broad-based consumer pullback rather than isolated, company-specific issues.
#10 — CVX (Chevron Corporation) | -1.12% to -1.5% — An Oil Major Weighed Down by Falling Crude Prices
Loss: -1.12% to -1.5% | Catalyst: WTI and Brent crude both falling more than 3% on eased Iran tensions
Chevron rounded out Tuesday’s list of Dow laggards, declining alongside fellow oil major Exxon Mobil and E&P names like APA as crude oil prices fell sharply on reduced geopolitical risk premium.
The Chevron Oil-Price Data:
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Confirmed session loss | -1.12% to -1.5% |
| WTI crude oil move | -3.1% to $82.36/barrel |
| Brent crude oil move | -3.9% to $88.58/barrel |
| Dow index contribution | Cited alongside Nike as a top drag on the blue-chip average |
| Weekly oil price decline | More than 5% |
Why even the most stable oil major couldn’t escape today’s crude selloff: Chevron’s integrated business model — spanning upstream production, refining, and chemicals — typically provides more insulation from pure crude price swings than smaller pure-play E&P names. But a greater-than-3% single-day drop in both WTI and Brent crude, driven by the market pricing out Persian Gulf supply-disruption risk, was large enough to weigh on even Chevron’s diversified earnings base Tuesday.
Watch for Wednesday:
As with APA, Chevron’s near-term stock direction will likely continue tracking headline-driven oil price swings tied to the evolving U.S.-Iran sanctions situation — any further easing of tensions would likely extend pressure on the stock, while renewed escalation could quickly reverse today’s losses.
The Day’s Unifying Theme: A Retail Reckoning Hiding Inside a Green Session
Tuesday, August 25’s losers share two distinct, overlapping threads:
- The Foot Locker Contagion Effect: Dick’s Sporting Goods’ historic 31% collapse wasn’t really about its own core business — same-store sales at Dick’s-branded locations actually grew 4.9%. It was entirely a Foot Locker integration story, but the market punished the entire sporting goods and footwear ecosystem anyway, dragging down Academy Sports (-5.80%) and Nike (-3.24% to -3.7%) purely on read-through fears, even though neither company reported anything new of its own.
- Falling Oil Prices, For Once, a Bad Thing for Oil Stocks: Easing U.S.-Iran tensions and a shift toward economic sanctions rather than military confrontation should be unambiguously good geopolitical news — but it also stripped out the risk premium that had been supporting crude prices, sending WTI and Brent down more than 3% each and dragging APA, Chevron, and other E&P names lower even as the broader market rallied on the same falling-yields, falling-oil narrative that helped tech stocks.
The forward-looking question for Wednesday: Every retail name on this list — Dick’s, Academy Sports, Target, Nike, Walmart — now faces a binary question heading into the fall shopping season: was today’s selloff a rational repricing of genuine demand softness, or an overreaction to one company’s Foot Locker-specific integration stumble? Meanwhile, the oil-linked losers (APA, Chevron) will continue trading as a direct function of how the U.S.-Iran sanctions situation evolves over the coming days. With Nvidia’s blockbuster earnings landing Wednesday evening, expect Thursday’s session to bring a fresh rotation that could either compound today’s retail and energy weakness or provide a distraction that lets both groups quietly stabilize.
Follow TNN for daily stock market news and financial news today.
Disclaimer: This publication is entirely for informational and journalistic purposes and does not constitute formal financial, investment, or legal advice. All market investments carry inherent risks of capital loss. Stock price changes and percentages noted reflect the best available data at time of publication across multiple reporting windows during the trading session and should be verified at your broker before trading. Always complete independent due diligence prior to executing equity trades.
For live market coverage, visit TruthsandNews.com | Real-time losers at StockAnalysis.com Losers | Retail sector tracking at Investing.com Top Stock Losers | Oil price data at TradingEconomics.com
About The Author
