NEW YORK — The outlook for next year from Dick’s Sporting Goods overshadowed a strong quarter and pushed shares down sharply in early trading Tuesday.

The company, based just outside of Pittsburgh, expects a sharp profit drop in 2018 as it boosts its online spending at a time of tightening margins and flat sales.

“We expect earnings per diluted share to decline by as much as 20 percent in 2018,” said CEO Edward Stack.

The company reported a 25 percent profit drop during the third quarter to $36.9 million, or 35 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for pretax gains, were 30 cents per share, which topped Wall Street expectations by four cents, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue rose 7.4 percent to $1.94 billion, also beating Street forecasts.