Peloton Interactive's (NASDAQ: PTON) new CEO Barry McCarthy dismissed rumors of the fitness company's sale in a recent Financial Times interview.
"If I thought it was likely that the business was going to be acquired in the foreseeable future, I can't imagine it would be a rational act to move across the country," McCarthy said. "There are lots of other things I could be doing with my time that are quite lucrative than hanging out a [sic] with a business that's about to be sold."
Rather than sell to a more prominent firm like Nike (NYSE: NKE) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Peloton will try to dig its way out of its current slump by diversifying its product lineup. The company is working on a rowing machine, with the product rumored to be currently undergoing testing with the potential to be announced later this year. Peloton also looks to be edging into the territory of strength-training rival Tonal's with a "strength training system."
Tonal is one of a few fitness companies pioneering weightless, magnet-powered strength training machines. Like Peloton, Tonal offers a subscription to branded fitness classes tailored to its device. According to the FT report, Peloton's device would function almost identically.
While the company's efforts could help it stabilize its downward trajectory, there are still many obstacles in its way.
For one, a great deal of investor excitement surrounded the rumors of interest in a potential acquisition, pushing shares higher last week as Wall Street pondered the company's future under new ownership.
That excitement seems to have burned off, with Peloton shares erasing their gains and slipping back into a negative trend. Besides the deep restructuring and cost-cutting needed to balance Peloton's books, the company's immensely unpopular former CEO hasn't gone very far.
Despite McCarthy's assertions that the proverbial crown rests on his head, activist investors and analysts have noted that Foley's new position as executive chairman puts him at the head of a group of Peloton insiders with 80% of the company's controlling shares. Blackwells Capital, a Peloton shareholder, noted that the board has "too many allies" of Foley.