What happened
Following a wild swing over the last two days, shares of Peloton Interactive (PTON -0.98%) were climbing this afternoon after the company announced a new partnership with Beyonce.
After Peloton stock plunged 25% yesterday when Pfizer announced it had an effective coronavirus vaccine, the news helped restore investor faith in the connected fitness stock, which was trading up 5.8% as of 12:58 p.m. EST.
Image source: Peloton Interactive.
So what
Calling it an unprecedented multi-year partnership, Peloton said it would team up with Beyonce, one of the world's most recognized celebrities and the most requested artist on Peloton, to commemorate Homecoming season at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Beyonce and Peloton worked together to create a series of themed workouts for Homecoming, which is being held virtually this year due to the pandemic.
Additionally, Beyonce and Peloton are gifting two-year Peloton memberships to students at 10 HBCUs, and Peloton will also build recruiting partnerships with these schools.
"Peloton and I both believe that the power of music can help uplift, motivate and inspire those on their fitness journeys," Beyonce said in the announcement. "I've been a Peloton member for several years, and I'm excited to partner with a company that helps people, young and old, be the best versions of themselves, in an innovative and adaptable way."
Now what
The Beyonce partnership strikes a number of the right chords for Peloton. Beyonce's endorsement of the product is a win for the company, and is creating buzz as a number of Peloton users are now speculating as to what her username is. The partnership itself also seems to be a enduring team-up that will help the company build a user base with young, Black customers.
Investors may be getting jittery about Peloton stock as a vaccine now seems to be on the horizon, but the Beyonce news shows the company has captured the zeitgeist in a way that would have been unlikely before its pandemic-driven surge. While this growth stock is bound to slow down eventually, especially when the pandemic comes to an end, Peloton has clearly transcended to a new level of cultural relevance.
