Shedding value: WeightWatchers shares tumble after Oprah leaves the board

Noperah

‍Oprah Winfrey is leaving the board of WeightWatchers, ending a near 10-year directorship at the company. The media mogul revealed in December that she had added a weight-loss medication to her health regime, with the company commenting that her exit is meant partly "to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight loss medications".

The news of Oprah’s departure sent investors scrambling for the exit too, with shares in the already-beleaguered company falling more than 18% yesterday, as WW struggles to reinvent itself in the face of stiff competition from weight loss medications such as Wegovy and Ozempic. Last year the company spent $106m acquiring Sequence, a tele-health subscription service that can provide patients with access to the in-demand weight loss drugs.

‍Up and down

‍The yo-yo phenomenon in dieting — in which people who lose weight sharply sometimes gain it back just as quickly — also applies, poetically, to WeightWatchers’ business, just in reverse. Indeed, every year, the company gains thousands of new subscribers in Q1, only to slowly shed those customers over the coming months as people either give up on, or meet, their health goals.

Losing the company’s figurehead in its crucial first quarter might make 2024 a tough year.