Peloton Interactive tops the leaderboard in connected fitness, but iFit Health & Fitness is trying to give it a run for the money—despite facing “adverse market conditions.”
IFit today postponed an initial public offering of stock in which it had hoped to raise up to $743 million. The company said it “made the decision based on adverse market conditions and will continue to evaluate the timing for the proposed offering.”
Peloton went public in 2019. Its stock jumped about 6% this morning after iFit’s announcement, though Peloton shares trade at barely half their early 2021 peak amid investor caution about Peloton’s prospects.
IFit, marketer of NordicTrack, ProForm, Weider and Freemotion equipment and the iFit interactive fitness platform, tripled worldwide ad spending to $379 million in the fiscal year ended May 2021.
That brought iFit’s spending close to Peloton, which boosted worldwide ad spending by 38% to $418 million in the fiscal year ended June 2021.
Revenue for both marketers has more than doubled during the pandemic. Peloton, run by CEO John Foley, a former Barnes & Noble and IAC/InterActiveCorp executive, is far ahead.
Peloton, which shipped its first stationary bike in 2014 and its first treadmill in 2018, has more than twice the revenue of iFit, which CEO Scott Watterson co-founded (under the name Weslo) in 1977. (Watterson had been in line for a $35 million bonus after the IPO.)
Worldwide revenue for Peloton soared 120% to $4 billion in its latest fiscal year, while iFit’s revenue jumped 105% to $1.7 billion. But revenue growth rates for both companies have tumbled in the current fiscal year.
While connected fitness growth rates have slowed, the gym business—locked down during the pandemic—is showing some signs of revival. Life Time Group Holdings, a chain of upscale fitness centers, went public today on the New York Stock Exchange. (The IPO priced at the low end of Life Time’s planned range, and the stock fell in early trading.)
IFit had been on Nasdaq’s calendar to list its stock Oct. 6, but that was pushed back to today. IFit then postponed the IPO before the market opened today.
How iFit and Peloton stack up: