Apple Could Acquire Peloton This Year, Fund Manager Forecast Suggests

[Darren.h]

big mistake.

 

[bigjnyc]

LOL nice Try Peloton execs.... Shoot your shot through the media I guess

 

[progx]

Wish Apple would buy Wii Fit and Ring Fit…

Those are owned by Nintendo. Wii Fit (and Wii Fit U) were exclusives to those systems, Ring Fit is still available for the Switch. Those aren’t individual companies, they’re software developed internally by Nintendo’s studios.

 

[QuarterSwede]

Pelotons subscribers have been sitting ~3M from the pandemic. The problem is they completely mismanaged the pandemic by going into debt.

I doubt Apple will acquire, but it does fit. Apple could instantly get 3M Peloton subscribers for ~3B adding those revenues to their services. Peloton users are pretty fanatical about Peloton and tend to be affluent - much like Apple. Apple's and Peloton's business models are becoming more and more similar, selling hardware with recurring services on top. Apple is clearly taking fitness seriously and adding hardware could be a good move. Peloton talent blows away anything on Fitness+, which could boost Fitness+.

A negative is that most Peloton users are probably already users of some Apple services, so it may not be completely additive.

For those who say they don't understand why people would buy an expensive piece of Peloton hardware and then pay a subscription on top of it - this is literally Apple's business model.

I’m not a Peloton user but if they do have higher talent then I could see Apple buying them just for the talent.

 

[iBluetooth]

This still seems to be nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of Peloton's senior management and shareholders.

I would also like to float that Apple can acqua-hire me for $10 million a year, but that doesn't mean they're going to.

Exactly, and these wishful stories are said a lot for Apple, as they have a lot of cash and people buy the shares on the story. But, if people research Apple acquisitions from the past, then they will see that they rarely do large acquisitions (the higher being Beats for 3 billion, which they acquired for the music/artist connections for streaming) and usually buy smaller strategic investment where they get a technology or knowledge in a field they lack or strengthens their long term goal (i.e. arm design chip company). Peloton is only 2 billion though, but they are already in the Fitness market and their focus is on smaller devices than Peloton does.

 

[MuppetGate]

More like, Peloton is wanting to be acquired and this hedge fund is spreading misinformation in order to try to stimulate market interest in an acquisition of the company. Chances Apple acquires Peloton is close to zero. Chances this hedge fund manager is lying is close to 100.

👆🏾

Apple doesn’t acquire customers; it acquires expertise. I don’t see anything in Pelaton that can’t be picked up in the future fire sale.

 

[DavidLeblond]

Man I know Peloton has a shaky business model, but I hope nothing happens to them because it's a fabulous service. I don't even own a Peloton (I use one at my work gym.) Buying a bike is on my list of things to do this year.

 

[Harry Haller]

If I was Apple, if I bought Peloton I would liquidate the hardware side and merge the rest with Apple Fitness Plus. I never got the appeal of peloton, the bikes and treadmills are insanely expensive and then you have to pay the subscription to get the service anyway? Fitness plus you just pay the subscription for the classes and you can use any hardware, much more convenient especially if you plan on using it in a gym. Plus, if Apple did this they’d be absolutely dominant in video fitness classes.

Insanely expensive?
Like Apple’s ram and ssd upgrade prices?
Sounds like a perfect fit.

 

[Spock]

Why would Apple buy a failing company? What would they have to gain? I doubt Apple will continue releasing and supporting gym equipment. I think Apple just becomes the rumored buyer since they can buy pretty much whatever company they want.

 

[Xavier]

This seems highly unlikely to me.

 

[hagjohn]

Apple is going to buy __________. Just fill in the blank of all those companies Apple was supposed to buy.

I can see an agreement between the 2 companies but a buying them. No, I don't really see that.

 

[ELman]

Should I renew my Peloton subscription for a year, or pay month to month? I have both Apple Fitness and a Peloton App subscription.

 

[ELman]

Peloton burnt too many bridges. Apple will not touch this by a mile.

Can you explain? Maybe from an investor standpoint your comment is true. From a user standpoint I don't see any issues.

 

[MNWildFan]

I don't see Apple touching them with a 39 1/2 ft pole

What would they be able to bring to the table? Apple already has a well established roster of trainers and workout types... And I don't see them going the way of Peloton with actually selling fitness equipment

 

[jclardy]

Pelaton's biggest mistake was just fleecing their most loyal customers. I bought a bike in the lockdown times, and it was great. Insanely overpriced, but the hardware was nice enough, and the classes were great. It was to the point where I was considering a second bike so my wife and I could ride at the same time...but guess what? Your subscription is tied to each piece of hardware. What a joke. $40/mo extra just for the occasion that two people will be riding a $2600 (each) bike at the same time.

Meanwhile, the app subscription is 9.99/mo with family sharing and you could buy similar bike hardware with tracking linked to Apple health for $1k.

Just insane. They could have sold more bikes/more treads, kept their overpriced hardware at the same price, and retained more users. And to rub salt in the wounds, they drop the bike price by over $1k.

Now I have the bike without a subscription and installed hulu on the tablet using ADB.

Apple should stay far away from this company, anyone with any semblance of how to run a fitness service has left for greener pastures at this point, you are just acquiring the corporate shills now.

 

[4nNtt]

Not going to happen. If Apple wanted to build exercise equipment they would just do it themselves with their own software built in. Everything else is redundant with Apple Fitness.

 

[MacLawyer]

That would be like BOAC acquiring the Titanic after it struck the iceberg. 😂

 

[jonnysods]

This company seems more on the ropes than a good business venture. Covid helped them, post covid didn't seem to.

 

[thefourthpope]

If I was Apple, if I bought Peloton I would liquidate the hardware side and merge the rest with Apple Fitness Plus. I never got the appeal of peloton, the bikes and treadmills are insanely expensive and then you have to pay the subscription to get the service anyway? Fitness plus you just pay the subscription for the classes and you can use any hardware, much more convenient especially if you plan on using it in a gym. Plus, if Apple did this they’d be absolutely dominant in video fitness classes.

The peloton equipment is nice, but I got my spouse a comparable Schwinn stationary that — with our Apple One family plan — still works out to be much cheaper overall. And the integration with all our devices is just so hard to beat.

The new fitness plans available through AF have been a good addition, especially with some fairly substantial upgrades already out.

 

[MNWildFan]

Your subscription is tied to each piece of hardware. What a joke. $40/mo extra just for the occasion that two people will be riding a $2600 (each) bike at the same time.

Wow, really? What a joke!

I'm sorry, but who at Peloton thought it would be a wise idea not to allow you to just pay one subscription fee and then have as many of their bikes and treads, but instead pay a separate subscription fee FOR EACH ONE?

That right there is making having Fitness+ instead of Peloton all the more appealing

 

[Motorola68000]

We might see Apple jump in to the Peloton space using its own hardware and software and it may even be another useful vehicle for Vision Pro.

More and more revenue comes from services/media and Apple's intention to pursue gaming is a good indicator there is an even greater shift in focus to services/media and where the constant interruption by the EU and others just trying to get a backdoor into users equipment, may mean by more and more diversification to mitigate risk whilst increasing profit.

 

[0815]

If that's happening, I might finally buy workout equipment for home. I have the Fitness+ subscription and use it in the gym all the time. However, the data collected by my Apple Watch is always off compared to what the gym equipment shows (e.g. for indoor walk/run the mile count is always way lower than the treadmill shows, and I assume the treadmill knows better how fast it is going). There is basically no equipment for the home market that integrates with Apple Health / Apple Watch, ... etc. I'm still holding out for equipment like that before investing in the home gym since I want more accurate data if I pay the price for equipment (for new fitness studio is fine)

 

[0815]

Don't really see they need to buy Peloton, unless its from the liquidators at a knock down price. There's little Peloton does that can't be replicated by Apple without breaching intellectual rights.

Might make sense for ready made customer base, but would have to be at bargain basement price.

More likely to go for games producer.

yes customer base is worth a lot - more than the hardware business of Peloton. If they can smoothy transition them to Apple Fitness+ and offer Apple Fitness+ integration into the hardware of Peloton, its a big win.

Also the talent working at Peloton (that were not involved in the mismanagement of the company) is worth a lot.

 

[willzyx]

Major questions remain about why Apple would want to take responsibility for Peloton's fragile business model

Because Apple is in the business of selling hardware. Apple doesn't have their own fitness hardware and they desperately need it, if they want to boost their fitness subscribers. How many Apple One subscribers actually use Fitness+ membership? I'm willing to bet not many. But if you add hardware to it? That's money. Peloton's hardware and stores also have that Apple minimalism feel to it.

And I'm not saying all of that just because I have a Peloton bike being used as a drying rack.

 

[brill_bill]

Unless Peloton have some great patents/IP, this makes zero sense.

The carPlay model is so much better for this. Dumb screens on gym kit, your phone handles the processing, collects the data and serves you up the apps you already know (and use).

Puts all the logistics of shipping large, bulky goods on the existing equipment makers, allows for budget and premium options (and everything in-between) without diluting their brand.

Allows other eco-systems to use the same kit, avoiding monopoly accusations, keeps the old kit useful and therefore "eco"...

The Peloton model is awful now I think about it...