Supply Chain · Profile from Supply Chain Research Companion
Peloton
Peloton Interactive, Inc., of New York — the connected-fitness company founded in 2012 by John Foley and four co-founders that sells bikes, treadmills and rowers with touchscreens and a monthly subscription to live and on-demand classes. Listed on Nasdaq since Sep 2019 (PTON), it rode the 2020 lockdowns to weeks-long delivery waits, bought the commercial fitness-equipment maker Precor (2021, ~$420m) and announced a ~$400m US factory in Ohio — then, as gyms reopened, recalled its Tread+ treadmill (5 May 2021) after a child's death, abandoned the factory, exited in-house manufacturing for a Taiwanese contract manufacturer (Rexon, Jul 2022), took $611.3m of FY2022 restructuring charges (including $373.8m of asset write-downs and $40.3m of impairment on Peloton Output Park) and reported a −98.1% connected-fitness gross margin in Q4 FY2022 (filings; blueprint Shared facts B3). Under CEO Peter Stern (from Jan 2025) it reported its first full-year profit in FY2026 (to 30 Jun 2026): revenue $2,446.0m, net income $63.2m (vs a $118.9m loss), with paid connected-fitness subscriptions down 8.8% to 2.553m, and guided FY2027 revenue lower at $2.3–2.4bn (company release, 6 Aug 2026). Its story is the flow-equation factor of capital matched to the cycle — and the book's example of the bullwhip inside one company: a temporary demand surge read as permanent, met with capacity and inventory bought at the peak.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2012, New York, by John Foley (CEO to Feb 2022), Tom Cortese, Hisao Kushi, Graham Stanton and Yony Feng (from memory, verify list)
- Headquarters
- New York, New York
- Ownership / structure
- Public since 26 Sep 2019 (Nasdaq: PTON; date from memory, verify); dual-class shares at IPO (Class B high-vote converted later, verify)
- Leadership (2026)
- Peter Stern, president and CEO since 1 Jan 2025 (ex-Ford Integrated Services, ex-Apple services, verify); previous CEOs John Foley (2012–Feb 2022), Barry McCarthy (Feb 2022–May 2024), interim co-CEOs Karen Boone and Chris Bruzzo (May–Dec 2024)
- Segments
- Connected Fitness Products (hardware: Bike, Bike+, Tread, Tread+, Row, Guide; Precor commercial equipment) and Subscription (All-Access/connected-fitness and app memberships) (company)
- Scale
- Ending paid connected-fitness subscriptions 2.553m (30 Jun 2026; −247,000, −8.8% y/y); Q4 FY2026 net churn 2.2%; employees >2,600 at 30 Jun 2025 (reported)
- Financials
- FY2026: revenue $2,446.0m; net income $63.2m (FY2025: net loss $118.9m); adjusted EBITDA ~$468m (reported, verify). FY2027 guidance: revenue $2.3–2.4bn, gross margin ~54%, adjusted EBITDA $475–525m, free cash flow ≥$350m; Q1 FY2027 revenue $545–565m, results due 5 Nov 2026 (company)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding and the connected bike (2012–14); IPO (2019); Precor (2021); Tread+ recall (2021, failure); Ohio Output Park announced and abandoned (2021–22, failure); CEO change and cost reset (Feb 2022); exit from in-house manufacturing and write-downs (Jul 2022, failure); seat-post recall of ~2.2m bikes (May 2023, failure); the Stern turnaround and first annual profit (2025–26)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2012
Founding and the Connected Bike
Founding
2019
IPO on Nasdaq
IPO
2021
Ohio Output Park Announced and Abandoned
Network build (factory) — failure
2021
Precor Acquisition
Acquisition / network build (manufacturing capacity)
2021
Tread Plus Recall
Safety incident / regulatory action / product recall (failure)
2022
CEO Change and Cost Reset
Restructuring / leadership change
2022
Exit from In House Manufacturing
Sourcing shift (outsourcing to a contract manufacturer) / restructuring and write-downs (failure)
2023
Bike Seat Post Recall
Safety incident / product recall
2025
Stern Turnaround and First Annual Profit
Restructuring / leadership change / strategy pivot