Peloton: the short position from the pandemic boom to the 2024 peak
FINRA's twice-monthly counts through the treadmill recall, two chief executive departures and successive job cuts, ending at the highest short interest in the company's record.
- Start
- 5.18% (15 Jan 2021)
- Peak
- 19.72% (15 Jul 2024)
- Low
- 4.36% (29 Jan 2021)
- End
- 16.63% (31 Dec 2024)
Figures are the short interest as a percentage of shares outstanding, from FINRA data, 96 points between 15 Jan 2021 and 31 Dec 2024.
What the data showed
Short interest in Peloton stood at 5.18% of shares outstanding on 15 Jan 2021, near the start of the window, and touched its low of 4.36% on 29 Jan 2021. From there it climbed, unevenly, for three and a half years, to 19.72% on 15 Jul 2024, and ended the window at 16.63% on 31 Dec 2024.
Recall, departures and cuts
On 5 May 2021 the company and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of the Tread+ and Tread treadmills. On 8 February 2022 co-founder John Foley stepped down as chief executive, Barry McCarthy took over, and the company announced it would cut 2,800 jobs; Foley and co-founder Hisao Kushi left the company altogether on 12 September 2022, after a further 800 jobs had gone the month before. On 2 May 2024 McCarthy stepped down in turn, with a cut of about 15% of the workforce and a restructuring aimed at reducing annual expenses by more than $200 million by the end of fiscal 2025.
Reading the line
The peak of 19.72% on 15 Jul 2024 came in the months after the May 2024 announcement. FINRA's days-to-cover figure, which reached 7.21 days on 31 Jul 2024, is shown on the company page beside the percentage. Nothing here says whether any of it was right; the page records what FINRA published, and when.
Full history and today's figure: PELOTON INTERACTIVE, INC..
About this page
US short interest data: FINRA (finra.org). FINRA® is a registered trademark of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by FINRA or the SEC; displayed for personal reference, bulk redistribution is not permitted (see terms). The narrative describes what the published figures showed and widely reported public events around them; it is not a description of any company's prospects and is not investment advice.