Business News: Peloton (PTON) stock soars on Monday; CEO steps down
By Jenny McCall
12:57, 8 February 2022
Key points
Today the Wall Street Journal announced that the co-founder and CEO of popular exercise company Peloton Interactive (PTON), John Foley, will step down from his current role to become executive chairman. The company will replace Foley with Barry McCarthy, the former chief financial officer of Spotify (SPOT) and Netflix (NFLX), at the helm as both CEO and president.
The news of Foley’s leaving comes after activist investor Blackwells Capital, which has a stake in the company, strongly urged Peloton’s board to drop Foley, suggesting it be open to selling to others. The company intends a thorough cost-cutting and overhaul of its board following a recent slowdown in its market value.
Although the pandemic had turned made the indoor sports equipment maker into one of the hottest stocks on the market, the company's stock price has since plummeted by 84% in the last year. Peloton is now valued at roughly $8bn, down from $50bn during its peak popularity a year ago, according to Reuters.
Peloton stock was up yesterday (Monday 7 February) by over 20% after rumours circulated that a merger and acquisition was on the cards. Additional rumours of Amazon (AMZN), Nike (NKE), and Apple (AAPL) potentially acquiring the fitness company have also circulated.
In an interview with ‘Squawk on the Street’, Wedbush Securities sneior equity analyst Dan Ives described the idea of Apple acquiring Peloton as a ‘golden goose’, urging the company to consider this a major strategic coup:
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Other significant business and economic news
BP (BP) has reported positive earnings today as its annual profit hit $12.85bn, recovering from a loss in 2020.
Takeaway foods company Just Eat (TKWY) has announced today that it plans to delist its shares from the Nasdaq stock exchange in order to reduce costs.
Markets today
- Stocks: The STOXX 600 was up today as BP profits boosted European stocks.
- Oil: Oil prices were down today, with Brent Crude falling almost 2% in morning trading.
- Gold: Gold prices eased today, as the US dollar gained in the run up to the US inflation data and investors expecting higher interest rates.
- Forex: The US dollar (USD) gained today as investors placed bets on higher interest rates.
- Crypto: Bitcoin (BTC) rose again today by over 3% and ethereum (ETH) also gained by almost 2%.
What to watch today
- The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data will be released on Thursday, and analysts are expecting the CPI will show an increase in inflation.
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