Subscription Price Drop Sends Peloton Shares Tumbling

Shares of Peloton took a nosedive following news that the company dropped the monthly price of its app-based subscription workouts, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday (Dec. 4).

The monthly membership fee was slashed by $7.50 to bring the price down to $12.49 compared with $19.99 previously. The move was intended to attract more users. Subscriptions linked to Peloton’s proprietary exercise bike and treadmill remain $39 per month.

In addition to lowering monthly fees, Peloton also rolled out apps for Amazon Fire and the Apple Watch. With the Fire TV app, people can exercise with digital classes using their own equipment or take strength training, meditation and yoga, which don’t require any hardware at all. 

The Apple Watch app gives people the ability to track their heart rate during workouts and monitor running pace and distance. 

Peloton stock fell 9.1 percent on Tuesday (Dec. 3) due to backlash over its holiday commercial. The company lost almost $942 million in market value in a single day, Business Insider reported. Shares dipped 4.8 percent on Wednesday (Dec. 4). 

Since its September initial public offering (IPO), Peloton shares were up about 15 percent through Tuesday’s close.

The holiday ad backlash spread on social media, with many people calling the commercial sexist and classist, the New York Times reported. 

“Our holiday spot was created to celebrate that fitness and wellness journey,” a company representative said in a statement to the Times. “While we’re disappointed in how some have misinterpreted this commercial, we are encouraged by — and grateful for — the outpouring of support we’ve received from those who understand what we were trying to communicate.”

Peloton is best known for its exercise bikes and treadmills that have screen peripherals to provide for streamed workout classes. The company was the first to combine bikes and treadmills with screens that let people participate in fitness classes with others from their own location.