Here comes Nike ...

Nike will report third-quarter earnings results after the market closes on Tuesday.

Most of the attention will be on one metric: futures orders, which reflects the demand for Nike's products.

The world's largest activewear maker by revenue is forecast to post adjusted earnings-per-share (EPS) in a range of $0.46 to $0.52 and revenues totaling $8.20 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Nike has beat on earnings in every quarter during the past two years.

Its shares have rallied 4% this year.

Investors will also be paying attention to the company's gross margins. It was a tough holiday selling season in the US for all sorts of apparel retailers for various reasons, prompting them to give customers heavy discounts.

And so inventory levels during the quarter will also be closely watched.

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity, who rate the stock a "hold", noted competition from Steph Curry, who has a deal with Under Armor, according to Bloomberg. They suspect that Nike may be pulling the LeBron James basketball shoes from retailers because they are not selling well.

We'll have details of the results and after-hours trading action as the earnings cross, so refresh this page for updates.

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