Peloton lost $942million market value in a single day after its holiday advertisement sparked fierce social media backlash.
The exercise equipment company was vilified Monday over the commercial titled ‘The Gift That Gives Back’, which shows a woman receiving a stationary bike from her husband on Christmas morning. She then documents her year-long fitness journey in a series of selfie clips that she compiles into a thank you video for her husband.
Viewers trashed the ad on Twitter, calling it sexist, misogynistic, humiliating and cringeworthy.
Peloton Interactive Inc’s stock fell 9.12 percent on Tuesday, and analysts attributed the drop to negative publicity over the ad.
The decline – which was Peloton’s biggest single-day loss since October – erased nearly $942million from the company’s market value, bringing its market cap to about $9.4billion, according to Markets Insider.
Raymond James analyst Justin Patterson told Bloomberg that the backlash and Peloton’s response are ‘worth monitoring’ and said he expects the company to stop running the commercial.
Peloton shares had risen steadily through November in anticipation of a strong holiday season, but now appear to have gone into reverse over the ad controversy.
The company had gained almost 10 percent at the end of last week after strong Black Friday sales.
Peloton shares closed at $36.84 on Monday and plummeted to a low of $33.35 by 3pm Tuesday