Market bottoms don't announce themselves. They tend to arrive when everyone's stopped arguing about a stock and started ignoring it altogether. That's the context worth keeping in mind as Apple CEO Tim Cook's recent purchase of Nike shares starts making the rounds.

Earlier this year, Tesla caught a floor right around the time public opinion turned openly dismissive. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz took a shot at the company, and while his comment didn't cause the reversal, it coincided with a moment when pessimism looked fully baked in. Tesla didn't rocket higher immediately. It just stopped falling. That shift turned out to be the signal.

When Skepticism Gets Casual

Nike is sitting in a similar spot today. The stock has been under pressure for months, weighed down by margin concerns, inventory issues, and questions about consumer demand. Sentiment is weak. The narrative has gone stale. Shares are down more than 18% year-to-date, and nobody seems particularly interested in defending the name.

Which is exactly why Cook's move stands out. He bought around $3 million worth of Nike stock. Not a huge sum for someone at his level, but the timing matters more than the size.

What Makes This Different

Cook isn't a Nike insider. He has no obligation to buy. And he's not known for making splashy, tactical stock bets. When someone with that kind of profile steps into a struggling consumer brand, it raises a reasonable question: has the downside become limited enough to justify the upside?

This isn't a declaration that Nike's problems are over. Execution still counts, and the fundamentals will ultimately determine where the stock goes. But deliberate, high-profile buying like this tends to cluster near turning points, not at the top of a slide.

The Quiet Tell From Tesla

Tesla's turnaround earlier this year offered a straightforward lesson: markets often reverse when confidence feels misplaced and skepticism sounds easy. Nike might not follow the same playbook, but Cook's purchase suggests the risk-reward equation has shifted.

And when that equation changes, the story usually follows before the price does.