In January this year, activist investor Blackwells Capital published strong criticism of Peloton’s CEO John Foley, calling for him to resign. Within weeks, he had stepped down, replaced with former Spotify executive Barry McCarthy.
With that in mind, McCarthy may not be very happy at Blackwells’ latest report, which gives his first 60 days in charge a proper hammering.
“Two months since Peloton hired one of the highest paid CEOs in all of corporate America, nothing has fundamentally changed,” is its summary. “Issues related to cost structure, capital allocation, inventory management and quality control continue to plague the Company. Shareholders have lost nearly $2 billion of value since Mr. McCarthy became CEO.”
Two months seems very fast to form such a strong opinion, but bear in mind Blackwells wants Peloton to be sold, and McCarthy has said he’s not interested in that strategy.
There’s plenty more criticism in the report, which touts Apple, Google, Netflix, Nike and SiriusXM among the potential acquirers who the company thinks would do a better job.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…