Peloton is learning the hard way it’s not a great idea to take yourself too seriously.
The company that was riding high during the pandemic is in jeopardy of becoming a cautionary tale. This year, Peloton’s stock is down 73%, which lands the company’s market value at roughly $13 billion.
So what’s happened? Things started trending south after the celebration of CEO John Foley becoming a billionaire ended. His net worth has since been cut in half, as he’s led the way to a company-wide freefall on multiple levels.
One problem for Peloton was the advent of the vaccine. It reminded fitness freaks that working out in your bedroom or leaving sweat stains on the carpet of your home office isn’t as glamorous as it seems. People found alternate ways to exercise, including returning to gyms and health clubs.
Sales have slowed down so much that Friday’s stock price was at a 52-week low of $38.20.
Earlier this year, there was a voluntary recall of its treadmills after one person died and scores of others were injured on the Peloton equipment.
The company has frozen all hiring and did a re-write on its full-year forecast because things don’t seem like they will improve.
And then Thursday night’s much-awaited debut of the “Sex and the City” reboot called “And Just Like That” happened, as the show launched on HBO Max.
The new version of the show is horrible, an absolute letdown for any fan hoping or expecting a similar version or continuation of the original, but is certainly a true delight for fans of a show that could not be more cliched, poorly written, or woke-driven.
(Spoiler alert coming:)
In episode 1, a Peloton bike played a role in the plot. Carrie Bradshaw’s husband, Mr. Big, died of a heart attack after a 45-minute spin workout. He collapsed right on the bedroom floor and dropped dead.
Peloton had given the show permission for the product placement, but they didn’t know how the show’s producers would use it in the episode.
Wall Street traders must be big fans of the show because the stock dropped hours after the new show did.
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