Peloton is looking beyond its heavy focus on cardio that put the company on the map, as Peter Stern marked his first year CEO with an open letter to shareholders that emphasized strength training.
Despite building its reputation through its signature stationary bikes, Stern said in his letter last week that the company is pivoting alongside its current offerings, with the start of the year being a critical time to reel in users intent on diving into their fitness goals.
“There is arguably no time of year more relevant to Peloton than the first week of January,” Stern said. “This is when many people choose to join our community for the first time and many of our Members – past and present – renew their commitment as they resolve to make and sustain better daily choices throughout the year.”
Stern took over as Peloton’s chief executive in January 2025 after being appointed in October 2024 with eyes on ushering in a turnaround as the brand has struggled years after the riding pandemic era record revenues.
Back in late 2024, the company’s bikes were a hot commodity at a time when lockdowns prevented access to workout classes, gyms and yoga studios. Peloton offered a seamless solution — and ecosystem — that thrived in an imperfect global storm. But easing restrictions in the years since and dwindling demand for those same bikes and workout tools sent Peloton’s tumbling a staggering 94 percent with new and refreshed products simply not being enough to stabilize the brand.
The company also had issues keeping up with backorders during the height of the pandemic as it sorted supply chain woes and recalls of its bike and treadmill, which were key sellers, put Peloton’s reputation on the ropes.
Last year, the company said it would eliminate 6 percent of its workforce as part of a larger plan to save $100 million by the end of fiscal year 2026.
Stern, who served stints at Apple, Ford Integrated Services and Time Warner Cable, now has had a years to assess his own performance and revealed some of the detail behind what could revive Peloton.
“In 2026 and beyond, our embrace of cardio plus strength means prioritizing new residential fitness hardware and intuitive software that will increase our addressable market,” Stern continued in the letter. “It also means expanding our distribution footprint so more people can learn firsthand about what Peloton can do for them.”
Another important area Stern said that the company is seeking inroads is the lucrative wellness sector that is pointed at mental health, preventative measures, nutrition, recovery and sleep.
The company will also expand on its acquisition of Breathwrk, a guided breathing service, along with pushing its Peloton IQ platform that launched in October as a health personalization initiative using AI. Like many other data-driven health service, Peloton will lean on its existing user base — and the trust of those subscribers — to boost its current product offering.
“And herein lies the answer to the question that I am asked by investors more than any other: Can Peloton return to growth? In a word, yes,” Stern said near the end of his letter. “But it’s important to understand that the growth will be different from what the world saw during the pandemic, when we were the beneficiaries of growth in the single modality of at-home cycling.”
