Approach unicorn IPOs, like Peloton, going public with caution

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday told investors to beware hyped-up IPOs such as WeWork and Uber with overly ambitious mission statements that don’t accurately reflect their actual businesses.”How about Peloton? Do we want shares of Peloton? See, here’s what I think happens [with unicorns]. First we think Uber is a platform, then it turns out to be a cab company. Then we think that [WeWork CEO Adam] Neumann is about the new way to have real estate. Then we think it’s just a realtor. Now Peloton, they’re saying it is an eight ways platform. Can I tell you what Peloton is? It is a way to hang your towels up.”Peloton is expected to go public later this month.Uber in May debuted below its IPO price and ended up with a valuation below $80 billion, far from the once expected $120 billion. The shares are trading at $32.61 on Monday after going public at $45.WeWork has had its own slew of headlines, following a tumultuous week in which WeWork postponed its IPO roadshow and The Wall Street Journal reported that Neumann may have transported marijuana across international waters.WeWork put in its IPO filing that its mission “is to elevate the world’s consciousness.”Peloton CEO and co-founder John Foley has described Peloton as a fitness, technology and media company. Peloton filed its initial prospectus in August and is seeking to raise as much as $1.16 billion in its initial public offering, according to a regulatory filing.In the fiscal year ended June 30, Peloton reported sales grew 110% to $915 million from $435 million in fiscal 2018. Meanwhile, its 2019 net loss widened to $245.7 million, from a net loss of $47.9 million in the prior year, as CNBC previously reported.”It will come and will be all exciting, like the best workout known to man,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.” “And [Foley] is really charismatic. I don’t give a darn about [charisma]. I want earnings per share.””Give me something that works,” Cramer said.A spokeswoman for WeWork declined to comment, citing the company’s quiet period ahead of its IPO. An Uber spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Cramer’s statements. Peloton declined to comment because of quiet period restrictions.Disclosure: CNBC parent Comcast-NBCUniversal is an investor in Peloton.


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