Peloton, the American exercise equipment, and media company is currently facing financial trouble which has led it to cut costs, product prices and is even rumored to soon lay off 41% of its sales and marketing staff.
This situation has arisen due to giants like Apple entering the health and fitness business rivaling Peloton’s business model by providing digital classes under Apple Fitness+ at cheaper prices with the Apple One bundle. Peloton has also told employees that products such as the Bike, Bike+, and Tread will be out of production for between six weeks and six months.
In a recent press release, Peloton CEO John Foley said that the company is now “taking significant corrective actions to improve our profitability outlook and optimize our costs.” Following this statement, the company’s stock has plummeted by 24 percent and now floating around 85 percent below where it was trading this time last year.
These recent unfavorable events for Peloton look like a prelude to an acquisition by a bigger company like Apple, on which The Information has reported that “If Peloton is to have a future, it would be better off as part of a bigger, more diversified company. Apple is an ideal candidate to take on that project. It has the Fitness+ subscription service for classes and it markets the Apple Watch as a device that can help with jogging and other exercise activities. It could close Peloton’s stores and sell the equipment through its own stores. And hey, after today, Peloton’s market capitalization is down to $7.9 billion. Cook could pay for that by dipping into the change jar in his kitchen.”
The idea of Apple acquiring Peloton is now making the rounds on investing forums and even being picked by financial adviser websites like The Motley Fool. For now, it remains just an idea as no news of the companies actually being interested in this course of action has surfaced. However, we will keep a close eye on the matter for any notable developments.
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