What's going on?

After Peloton announced better-than-expected quarterly results late last week, the exercise equipment maker might be hoping you keep digging deep through these lockdowns forever and ever and ever�

What does this mean?

With so many gym-banished fitness buffs working up a sweat in their own homes, demand for Peloton’s services last quarter was pretty extraordinary. The company grew its sales by 232%, and posted a profit of almost $70 million � all the more impressive when you realize it lost $50 million in the same period last year. Still, maybe it needs to spend a bit more time on its own treadmill: the company said it can�t keep up with all the orders, and admitted there�d be shipping delays for the foreseeable future. C�mon, Peloton, you got this!

Why should I care?

For markets: Keep �em busy.�

Analysts are keen to know if Peloton can build a sustainable business, so they�ve been paying close attention to how well it holds on to subscribers. But if � as Peloton itself has said � subscriber retention depends on keeping them engaged, there might be trouble ahead: subscribers only did 20.7 workouts a month on average last quarter � a big drop from the 24.7 of the quarter before. Peloton reckons that�s just because people exercise outdoors in the summer, but investors will be waiting to see if the colder months will get subscribers back on their bikes.

The bigger picture: Ready� set… grow!

Peloton�s investors particularly like the recurring revenue the company makes from its subscription service, which provides a more stable income than its equipment does. So they might be pleased to know it grew 133% versus the same time last year, meaning subscriptions now represent a fifth of Peloton�s sales. Subscriber growth accelerated from the previous quarter too � something even subscription-business veteran Netflix couldn�t do. Then again, Peloton does have more room to grow: the equipment maker only has 1.3 million subscribers to Netflix�s 195 million, and fewer big-name competitors too.