According to an SEC filing, Peloton Chief Content Officer Jennifer Cotter sold 350 shares at $11.01 each. Recently, the stock fell to $9.50. Maybe she plans to buy a Peloton product, but she would have to get a big discount. Or, she may want to put the money aside. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, Peloton’s deal to sell exercise equipment via Amazon is not as good as it initially seemed.
The Amazon deal was supposed to widen Peloton’s distribution footprint substantially. But it did not help profitability. The author wrote,” …Amazon’s help won’t come cheap. The deal is a wholesale relationship, which means Amazon buys the bikes from Peloton then sells them at a markup.” The Journal also points out the Amazon deal could cut inventory that needs cutting.
The news is another milestone on the path of poor decisions by CEO Barry McCarthy, who has been at the company less than a year. He can sell equipment at a loss and make it up on volume. Even first-year business students know that does not work.
Investors have already voted against McCarthy’s tenure and his strategic decisions. Shares are off 72%, while the overall market has dropped 16%. There is nothing in Peloton’s official announcements about earnings that would cause investors to move in any direction other than out.
In the most recently reported quarter, revenue fell 23% to $617 million. Peloton posted a net loss of $408 million.
Why did Cotter sell those shares? A gym membership.
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