Peloton announces more expensive bike, cheaper treadmill; shares surge

• The company's new Bike+ will cost $2,495 and will be available Wednesday. 
• The original Peloton bike's price will drop to $1,895 from $2,245. 
• "We feel like we're just getting started," Peloton CEO John Foley said. 

Cari Gundee rides her Peloton exercise bike at her home on April 06, 2020 in San Anselmo, California. More people are turning to Peloton due to shelter-in-place orders because of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Ezra Shaw | Getty Images

Peloton announced a slew of new equipment launches on Tuesday, including a lower-priced, high-tech treadmill and a more expensive bike option with a rotating screen. 

Share prices surged 9% in early trading. 

The company's new Bike+ will cost $2,495 and will be available Wednesday. The Tread, which will retail for $2,495, is coming to the U.K. on Dec. 26, the U.S. and Canada in early 2021, and Germany later next year, the company said. The original Peloton bike's price will drop to $1,895 from $2,245 on Wednesday, coinciding with the launch of the more expensive version. Peloton's pricier and original treadmill, the Tread+, retails for $4,295. 

"We feel like we're just getting started," CEO John Foley said in a statement. "Our goal is to be the go-to at-home fitness solution for as many people as possible ... especially in a world where people are increasingly working out at home." 

Demand for the 8-year-old company's original stationary bike and workout programs has skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic, with gyms temporarily forced to shut and people stuck at home looking to break a sweat. 

During its latest quarter ended March 31, Peloton's sales surged 66% from a year earlier to $524.6 million. The company said it ended that period with a connected fitness subscriber base of more than 886,100 people, up 94% year-over-year. Those people pay $39 per month to have live content, like yoga classes and running routines, streamed through Peloton's app. 

In addition to a 23.8-inch, rotating touchscreen for streaming floor workouts, the new Bike+ also features a four-speaker sound system, touch-free resistance adjusting, and an Apple Watch pairing option. 

Peloton will report results from its fiscal fourth quarter on Thursday. Shares of the company are up more than 180% in 2020, with a market cap of $22.8 billion. 

Analysts expect demand for Peloton's, and competitor's, products will remain strong far into the future, with more consumers building habits of working out from home.  

"This shift in behavior since March likely results in longer-lasting structural changes to the fitness industry," Telsey Advisory Group analyst Dana Telsey said. "Once COVID-19 is behind, we expect the high adoption rate of digital fitness to persist and consumers to return to in-person group fitness classes and gyms in lesser frequency than in the past." 

Rivals to Peloton include the gym chain Equinox's SoulCycle, which sells a similar stationary bike and offers digital at-home workouts. The athletic apparel company Lululemon earlier this summer paid $500 million for Mirror, which sells a $1,500 high-tech mirror with live workouts. 

Read the full press release from Peloton here.