Peloton takes off its bike shorts to show off its pre-IPO financials
Founded by a New Yorker annoyed by sold-out spin classes... Now Peloton is almost a publicly traded stock. The at-home fitness company trying to crush gyms (and hammies) just revealed its S-1 — that's the tell-all document every company must issue before its IPO (read the thing here). The highlight was the numbers:
- Bike-powered revenues were $915M last year.
- But costs were way more — especially the marketing splurge on those Jay-Z soundtracked commercials, leading to a loss of $196M.
For thousands of $$$, Peloton instructors will yell at you... from the comfort of your own basement. Here's the value prop, which has converted 613K spinners to become Pelotonians/Pelotonistas.
- Really expensive equipment: A $2,245 indoor bike or a $4,295 treadmill, both with HD touchscreens. Perfect reach wedding registry item.
- Pricey monthly subscription: $39/month for streaming fitness classes, taught by super fit, probably good-looking instructors with Instagram-toned muscles.
- Once a Pelotoner, always a Pelotoner: Only 0.65% of its monthly subscribers cancel each month. That's loyalty.
This is all the trends in one hill climb... Peloton thinks there are enough high-income earners craving abs and time by exercising at home. That's earned it a $4B valuation in the private market. Once it IPOs, regular investors have a chance to own shares of this Franken-monster of business models. Here's what Peloton's like:
- Netflix: Peloton is a media company with a library of original content.
- Apple: Peloton makes beautifully-designed hardware that's top-shelf price.
- Casper: Peloton sells directly to consumers, with 74 of its own retail showrooms.