Three factors investors should watch as Peloton reports earnings Thursday

Published Thu, Aug 26 202110:14 AM EDTUpdated Thu, Aug 26 202110:41 AM EDT

Peloton will report its fiscal fourth-quarter results Thursday after the market closes, showing investors how it's managing as consumers consider a return to the gym . One year earlier, Peloton crushed analysts' earnings estimates and offered an eye-popping business outlook. Its high-tech cycle and treadmill quickly became two of the hottest commodities for people looking to break a sweat amid the Covid-19 health crisis. Wall Street rallied behind the momentum, sending Peloton shares up more than 400% in 2020. But the heightened demand also strained Peloton's supply chain. Frustrated customers reported long waits to receive their cycles. In May, Peloton announced a $400 million investment to construct its first factory in the United States to speed up production and delivery. That's expected to be up and running by 2023. After Peloton experienced rapid growth in 2020, analysts want to see if the business can keep the momentum going. The company's plans include expanding into new regions outside of the U.S. and launching additional fitness products. Peloton must also invest to hold onto its existing subscriber base, or risk losing them to the local gym or other equipment makers, such as Tonal and Hydrow. Peloton shares gained more than 1% on Thursday ahead of the report, but they're down more than 22% for 2021. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expect Peloton will report an adjusted loss per share of 44 cents on revenue of $921.7 million for its fiscal fourth quarter. As the fitness tech company reveals its latest results, investors should pay attention to these three key areas. 1. Fiscal 2022 outlook Peloton is about to report its fiscal fourth-quarter and 2021 results. Analysts and investors expect the company to issue some sort of guidance for its fiscal first quarter and 2022. A group of analysts at Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Peloton shares to $140 from $150 ahead of Thursday's results, in part because the firm expects guidance to come in on the low end of Wall Street expectations. Oppenheimer expects Peloton's outlook for fiscal 2022 to be conservative, given recent user trends that appear to be disappointing, along with other uncertainties related to upcoming product launches. Peloton Chief Executive Officer John Foley has spoken publicly about investing in new machines and rumors have swirled that one will be a rower . But it's still unclear when that will happen and what the products will be. Peloton