Is Peloton going out of business? It’s market cap is now just 3% of lockdown peak after bosses today admit it still can’t make a profit and shares hit lowest ever level – what does it mean for owners of its fitness bikes?

Millions of Americans bought $1,500 Peloton fitness bikes during the lockdown — and the company couldn’t make them fast enough.

Shares soared and the company was worth more than $45 billion at the end of 2020.

At the time, it traded above $150 per share at the end of that year and into 2021, peaking at $170.

But this morning, shares fell 22 percent to $4.22, leaving the company once tipped to kill gyms and rule the fitness world worth just $1.5 billion.

And the legion of fans are also wondering if the high-octane online classes will continue – or if their bikes will end up as expensive coat hangers.

Shares of Peloton fell 22 percent to $4.22 this morning, leaving the company once tipped to kill gyms and rule the fitness world worth just $1.5 billion.

Millions of Americans bought $1,500 Peloton fitness bikes during lockdown, but will the company survive after shares collapse again

But despite Wall Street voting for Peloton’s progress (or lack thereof) in boosting sales and making money, CEO Barry McCarthy has no plans to throw in the towel.

He has promised that there will be a change in the situation in 2024.

In the past, experts have said that Peloton could be bought by a tech giant called Apple. As the stock price gets cheaper, that becomes more likely – as the cost to buy Peloton falls as the stock price falls.

In a letter to shareholders, McCarthy said: “We continue to look for ways to drive growth across multiple vectors.

‘Several of these new initiatives have performed strongly. Some don’t.’

He tried to give a notable boost to the college market. It was hoped that a partnership with Mighigan University in August with co-branded bicycles would boost sales to students, colleges, alumni and boosters. It didn’t work and has now been demolished.

Peloton was one of the biggest winners of the Covid lockdowns as Americans bought their exercise bikes and paid $40 a month for online classes. A rowing machine and treadmill were also rolled out.

Peloton hopes the reintroduction of the high-end Tread+, priced at $5,995, two years after sales were temporarily halted over safety concerns, will boost sales

Peloton users pay $40 per month to access online classes broadcast on screens attached to the bikes

Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy hopes to turn the company around

Incredible sales growth during the height of the coronavirus pandemic has seen the share price rise more than fivefold in 2020 due to lockdowns.

But sales of the pricey bikes and treadmills started to slow in 2021 as vaccines gave people more freedom to leave their homes, including visits to the gym.

It has tried to boost revenues by selling subscriptions to fitness, running and yoga classes through its phone and tablet apps – rather than just selling equipment and subscriptions to classes on them.

Sales fell to $744 million in the second quarter, which company executives consider the most important quarter. This amounts to a decrease of 6 percent compared to a year ago and no less than 34 percent compared to two years ago.

The company reported a net loss of $194.9 million for the three-month period ending in December, compared with a loss of $335.4 million a year earlier.

The number of subscribers using Peloton’s equipment reached 3 million in the second quarter, up 1 percent from last year.

But the number of subscribers to the app fell by 16 percent to 718,000.

Peloton hopes partnerships with Amazon.com and Lululemon Athletica will make its products and services more accessible.

The company is also betting on a boost by reintroducing the high-end Tread+ priced at $5,995, two years after sales were temporarily halted due to safety concerns.

Still, demand for its equipment was lower than expected as inflation-weary customers cut back on spending during the holiday season, typically the strongest for hardware sales.

“While our paid subscriptions for connected fitness exceeded our expectations, our hardware sales were slightly weaker than we expected,” Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Coddington said on a call with analysts.

Shares had already fallen 8.7 percent this year before today’s dismal results for the October to December quarter.

They were down in 2021, 2022 and 2023 – and are down more than 90 percent from pandemic highs.

Platoon’s two years of disaster

March 2021: Peloton warns parents to keep children away from Tread+ treadmills after a six-year-old child died after being pulled under one of the treadmills

May 2021: Peloton is recalling the running machines after reports of at least 72 other injuries emerged. Class action lawsuits are being filed against the company

June 2021: The company is being accused of greed after it disabled the ‘Just Run’ feature on Tread+, which allowed users to run for free, instead forcing them to pay a $39 fee. Brought back the free option after an outcry

August 2021: Peloton is cutting the cost of its entry-level bike by $400 as sales growth slows

November 2021: Peloton reports that sales of its products fell 17 percent in the most recent quarter, with the smallest increase in subscribers since going public in September 2019. As a result, Peloton’s market cap plummeted by $8 billion and John Foley lost his billionaire status.

December 2021: Mr Big – played by Chris Noth – dies of a heart attack after using a Peloton in the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That. Stocks continue to fall. Days later, Peloton is praised for creating an ad in which the revived character makes a joke about the exercise bike. But it is being forced to remove the critically acclaimed commercial after Noth is hit with multiple claims of sexual assault, which he denies

Company hit by new scandal after John Foley throws lavish Christmas party for select employees after annual bash for rank-and-file staff was scrapped

Chris Noth, who plays Mr Big in Sex and the City, dies of a heart attack after deploying his Platoon

January 2022: Leaked audio reveals plans to lay off 41% of sales and marketing teams. The share price continues to plummet after it emerged that production of bicycles and treadmills would be slowed due to falling demand.

There are calls for Foley’s dismissal.

The PR gets even worse when another TV character is nearly killed by a heart attack after a Peloton session. Showtime’s hit series Billions used the bikes to scare Mike Wagner, played by David Costabile, in the season six premiere. He survives and stated that he will not die ‘like Mr. Big’

Mike Wagner, played by David Costabile, appears in the season 6 premiere of Showtime’s Billions and suffers a heart attack after riding a Peloton bike

February 2022: Executives at Peloton are said to have devised a plan to hide rust and corrosion on their luxury bikes with a chemical solution.

When employees noticed paint flaking off some machines last year, the company reportedly began using a chemical solution that disguised corrosion on the bikes by “reacting with the rust to form a black layer,” the company said. Financial times.

May 2022: Shares of Peloton plummeted nearly 90 percent over the past year after company executives revealed the company lost as much as $750 million in the previous quarter due to unsold inventory and rising costs.

The company lost $757.1 million for the three months of 2022, which works out to about $2.27 per share. And removing one-time items from the equation, a Zacks Investment Research survey found it lost 98 cents per share — ahead of forecasts for a per-share loss of 85 cents.

August 2022: The company announced it is cutting 784 jobs, raising equipment prices, closing retail locations and requiring employees to return to the office by November in an effort to safeguard their bottom line.

Peloton reports a massive $1.2 billion loss, its sixth straight quarter of reported losses, sending its shares plummeting 15 percent.