Peloton Is Still in Deep Trouble

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By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
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Peloton Is Still in Deep Trouble

© Koldunova_Anna / iStock via Getty Images

Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON) stock rallied briefly. Shares jumped in February but have collapsed since then. A promising movement disappeared as investors saw that the bicycle exercise company has not solved its problems. The shares are down 51% in the past year. (Customers are abandoning these 25 brands.)
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In its most recent quarter, revenue was $381 million. That was a recovery from the quarter before, but down by half from the same quarter a year ago. Peloton lost $335 million.
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The reasons for Peloton’s many problems have come since earnings. Alternatives are still abundant. Self magazine recently ran a story titled “Best Peloton Alternative Bikes, According to Cycling Instructors in 2023.” The gist of the story is that Peloton’s products are overpriced. While the Peloton bike used in the comparison cost nearly $1,500, many of the alternatives were priced below $500.

NBC made a similar comparison. Its story was headlined “12 popular exercise bikes in 2023 (that aren’t Peloton).” It was another brutal takedown of the high price of Peloton products.
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At the heart of any criticism of Peloton is that its brand no longer has much value with consumers, so consumers will not pay a premium. If Peloton drops its prices to $500, the company goes out of business.
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Peloton faces more than direct competition. People have returned to gyms as the dangers of COVID-19 have waned. Instead of riding a bike at home, they can ride in a social setting.

Those who thought Peloton had begun a recovery should think again.

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About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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