Multi-Billion Dollar Fitness Startup Peloton Files For IPO

NEW YORK, United States — Global fitness tech company Peloton has filed an IPO, having proven demand for its connected home exercise bike, generating over $800 million in sales since launching.

The New York-based startup, which was valued at $4.15 billion last year, is yet to release the price and number of shares to be offered but is said to be interviewing banks in preparation.

The announcement comes just over a year since the brand first revealed it was considering going public, with CEO and Co-Founder John Foley telling CNBC that the company is “weirdly profitable” and more than doubling in size every year. “It’s a beautiful business model. Our investors are happy,” he told the broadcaster.

Introduced to the US market in 2014, Peloton expanded internationally last year, starting with the UK and Canada. More recently, the company announced its upcoming German launch, which will see it introduce its indoor bike to an entirely new audience. This will also mark the first time it offers regular non-English language instruction — a move it sees as essential for continued international growth.

As Welltodo has previously reported, it’s claimed that the brand’s meteoric rise has also started to eclipse indoor cycling phenomenon SoulCycle, when it comes to customer acquisition.

A report released in late 2018 from analytics firm Second Measure, indicated that Peloton had acquired 4% more US customers than its main riding rival, while SoulCycle’s users had dipped by 10% over the previous quarter.

However, it hasn’t all be plain sailing for the startup. In April this year, Peloton was hit with a lawsuit after failing to obtain the correct license to use some of its music content. Peloton has since removed the music in question and has countersued, but if it loses the brand could end up paying over $150 million in damages.

With Peloton’s revenue having “doubled or tripled” every year since its launch, the potential payout isn’t likely to dent its bottom line significantly. However, the impact of an IPO is less certain.

A number of high-profile brands have IPO’d over the past 12 months with differing levels of success. Uber and Lyft saw their stocks drop, while Beyond Meat’s more than tripled in value.