By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Peloton stock (NASDAQ:PTON) fell 1.6% in premarket trading Tuesday after it said that co-founder John Foley is stepping down as CEO to be replaced by former Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) chief financial officer Barry McCarthy.
Peloton also said it will shed some 2,800 jobs - 20% of its corporate total - as it struggles to find a way to profitability without the tailwind of a pandemic that gave its growth a sugar rush in 2020 and 2021.
Foley has led Peloton its entire 10-year existence. He will become executive chair.
The co-founder's exit follows activist investor Blackwells Capital’s calls for his head and push for changes at the company that was a big pandemic winner. The reopening saw sales weaken as consumers reverted to their pre-pandemic exercise patterns.
The company also appointed two new directors - Angel Mendez and Jonathan Mildenhall. Erik Blachford will step down from the board after serving seven years.
The loss of more than 80% of its market cap since it touched $50 billion last year has made it a potential takeover target, according to various reports. The stock climbed 21% Monday on reports that Amazon AMZN and Nike (NYSE:NKE) could be exploring bids. Disney DIS, Apple AAPL and Sony SONY are other likely bidders, reports said.
The company made no reference to those reports in its statement.
Peloton is due to report its quarterly earnings after the close on Tuesday. Analysts expect its net to have widened for a third straight quarter in the three months through December.