---
title: What the heck is Peloton doing?
description: The fitness pioneer is making some big changes to right the ship.
---

[Hustle News ](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news)

# [What the heck is Peloton doing?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/08292022-peloton)

 Written by [Rob Litterst](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/rob-litterst) | Aug 29, 2022 8:22:07 AM

When Peloton reported earnings last week, it wasn’t exactly pretty.

The connected fitness pioneer [reported](https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/25/23321488/peloton-q4-earnings-barry-mccarthy-fitness) a loss of $1.2B, a drop in revenue and membership, and higher-than-expected churn.

But CEO Barry McCarthy is optimistic, likening Peloton to a 720-foot cargo ship in the process of making a sharp turn at 27 knots.

#### **So what’s his plan?**

Reining in the balance sheet, for starters. Think: layoffs, store closures, and outsourcing manufacturing.

Aside from that, it appears he’s embracing two strategic bets:

- **Increasing accessibility to Peloton **by offering a bike rental program for $89/mo., [adding](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/25/heres-how-peloton-ceo-barry-mccarthys-turnaround-plan-is-going.html) new subscription tiers to the Peloton app, and making Peloton content usable with third-party equipment.
- **Cutting costs elsewhere by outsourcing, **including a bike with an Ikea-style self-assembly option, and opening up its distribution channels through a [partnership](https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/24/23319728/peloton-bike-guide-amazon-connected-fitness) with Amazon.

Remember, McCarthy hails from Netflix and Spotify. By sacrificing white glove service and focusing on subscription revenue, he hopes to cut costs and get Peloton’s best asset — its content — in front of more people.

#### **Despite ugly financials…**

… there’ve been some bright spots. One Peloton Club, the bike rental program, is on the upswing; subscription revenue actually *surpassed* hardware revenue; and McCarthy expects to reach break-even cash flow in 2023.

Peloton is also planning to release a rower in time for the holidays. Hopefully, this time, they don’t screw up the [marketing campaign](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Hu3-mJI9c).

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/08292022-peloton)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Rob Litterst"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T19:52:32.301Z",
  "datePublished" : "2022-08-29T08:22:07Z",
  "headline" : "What the heck is Peloton doing?",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 1626,
    "url" : "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/878252500-HS-News-Brief_2022-08-29T011912.368Z-scaled.webp",
    "width" : 2560
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/08292022-peloton",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Hustle News"
  }
}
```