Peloton posted fiscal third-quarter results Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations on revenue and revealed a narrow profit for the first three months of the year.

The company touted better-than-expected equipment sales and subscription revenue as helping to drive its sales and profitability, with free cash flow up nearly 60%.

Shares of Peloton closed the day roughly 8% higher after being as high as 13% following the report.

“The first order of business in earnings is reporting how you did financially, and we feel like that was a pretty good quarter in terms of where we are strategically,” CEO Peter Stern told CNBC.

Here’s how the company performed in its quarter ended March 31, compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 6 cents vs. 7 cents expected
• Revenue: $630.9 million vs. $617.6 million expected

The company’s net income for the quarter was $26.4 million, or 6 cents per share, up from a loss of $47.7 million, or 12 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales came in at $630.9 million, up roughly 1% from $624 million a year earlier.

For the full fiscal year, Peloton said it projects total revenue of between $2.42 billion and $2.44 billion, lifting the lower end of the guidance range it provided last quarter.

The company saw revenue for its connected fitness subscriptions come in at $202.9 million, down from $205.5 million a year prior, but beating estimates of $196 million, according to StreetAccount. Subscription revenue also topped estimates and grew 2% year over year, reaching $428 million.

Paid connected fitness subscriber count, however, fell year over year to 2.66 million.

“Some of the vectors that are at play this quarter, and will be in the future, are selling additional equipment to our existing members,” Stern said on a call with analysts. “That doesn’t generate more subscriptions, but it does generate revenue.”

The connected fitness company has been struggling with weak performance and sluggish sales, previously projecting that performance to extend into this quarter. It’s tried to revamp its product assortment and recently raised prices on both its equipment and subscription plans.

Stern said Peloton feels its pricing changes were appropriate.

“We’re really sensitive to the fact that people feel stress in this economic environment, and it’s impacting different people in really different ways,” Stern told CNBC. “That being said, we feel like the price changes that we made in Q2 – it was time. We had added a tremendous amount of value over the succeeding three or four years since we previously made any change in our subscription prices.”

Peloton has also been inking new partnerships and trying new strategies to win back customers. Last month, Peloton announced a deal with Spotify, making more than 1,400 Peloton classes available to Spotify Premium subscribers. It also launched its first Bike and Tread products for high-traffic gym floors in March.

Stern added that the company had already factored the Spotify deal into its revenue guidance because it had been in the works for “a long time.” Peloton also does not count Spotify users toward its subscribers.

“We’re really excited about our deal with Spotify, that allows us to reach Peloton members in a lot more countries and is also a high-margin revenue [stream] for us,” Stern said.

On a call with analysts on Thursday, Stern said Peloton now expects tariffs to represent roughly $30 million of free cash flow exposure for the full year, down from a previous expectation of $45 million.

“I was very pleased that we were able to deliver a Q3 with positive revenue growth, and while we won’t see that likely sustain in Q4 based on our implied guidance for the quarter, I think we’re now in a stage where hopefully we’ll see some steps forward and some steps back as we right the ship,” Stern said.

Telecom regulator Trai on Thursday proposed a stronger consumer grievance redressal framework for telecom operators, including penalties of up to Rs 50 lakh per quarter for improper handling or disposal of customer complaints, PTI reported.The proposed Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal (Fourth Amendment) Regulation, 2026 aims to make complaint registration and tracking more transparent and accessible for telecom subscribers.Under the draft rules, telecom operators will be required to provide clear complaint registration facilities through their websites, mobile applications and chatbots, along with regular status updates on grievances raised by consumers.The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said that if audits find complaints or appeals were improperly dismissed or unsatisfactorily resolved, financial disincentives would be imposed on service providers.According to the draft regulation, telecom companies could face a penalty of Rs 1,000 for every improperly dismissed or poorly handled complaint.For improper disposal of appeals, the penalty would rise to Rs 5,000 per violation.“Provided that the maximum amount of financial disincentive payable by a service provider shall not exceed rupees fifty lakhs per quarter for the licensed/authorised service area,” the draft regulation stated.Trai has also proposed that consumers should be able to register complaints, appeals, service requests and queries through digital platforms with options to upload additional details through text or voice notes.“In case the consumer prefers to give additional information or in the absence of suitable options, the app/portal shall further provide an option for the complainant to share the details of their issue by entering text or via voice note,” the draft said.The regulator further proposed mandatory updates on complaint status, action taken and estimated timelines for resolution through the app or portal interface until final closure of the grievance.Trai also suggested that all telecom operators create a prominently displayed ‘Consumer Corner’ on their websites containing details of complaint centres, appellate authorities, consumer satisfaction surveys and quarterly performance reports.The regulator has invited stakeholder comments on the draft regulation by June 5.

The FTSE 100 struggled on Thursday on a mixed day for stocks in London, and despite fresh falls in the oil price, as investors await fresh developments in the Middle East.

“The wild streak of enthusiasm which hit markets amid hopes for a major de-escalation in the Iran conflict is tempering,” said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.

“There’s a realisation that there are more hurdles to climb for a longer-term resolution to be agreed, even though Iran is reported to be studying a US peace proposal aimed at formally ending the conflict.”

The FTSE 100 closed down 161.71 points, 1.6%, at 10,276.95. The FTSE 250 ended up 50.30 points, 0.2%, at 22,882.72, and the AIM All-Share rose 9.70 points, 1.2%, at 818.32.

The oil price fell back amid continued hopes for a peace deal between the US and Iran.

US President Donald Trump said an agreement could be near after positive talks, with Iran adding that it would pass on its latest position to mediator Pakistan.

Brent crude for July delivery was trading at 97.76 dollars a barrel on Thursday, down compared with 102.12 dollars at the time of the equities close in London on Wednesday.

But with no fresh news to drive further gains, equity markets took a breather, with European markets following London lower.

In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 1.2%, and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ebbed 1.0%.

“Having rallied strongly over the past two sessions, bouncing back from their sharp sell-off at the beginning of the week, there’s been some evidence of profit-taking today,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.

“Investors appear to be expressing some caution and taking some risk off the table as yesterday’s euphoria on hopes of a quick end to the US/Iran war start to fade. While yesterday’s report of a one-page memorandum for ending hostilities is the most optimistic news for several weeks, it does look as if there are some high hurdles to jump for Tehran to accept.”

In New York, markets were mixed, as the record-breaking recent run showed few signs of running out of steam.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury widened to 4.36% on Thursday from 4.35% on Wednesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was at 4.95% on Thursday, up from 4.94%.

The pound firmed to 1.3616 dollars on Thursday afternoon from 1.3602 dollars on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling was little changed at 1.1567 euros from 1.1566 euros on Wednesday.

The euro traded higher against the greenback, at 1.1768 dollars on Thursday from 1.1756 dollars on Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at 156.41 yen, higher than 156.27 yen.

Friday sees the closely watched US jobs report. Goldman Sachs estimates nonfarm payrolls rose by 70,000 in March, slightly above consensus of 65,000.

On the positive side, Goldman expects a 32,000 boost from the end of worker strikes and a moderate tailwind from sequentially better weather after poor weather likely weighed on February payroll growth.

On the negative side, the broker expects a 5,000 decline in government payrolls. Goldman expects the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.4% in March.

Back in London, and investors ploughed through a slew of trading updates and earnings.

On the FTSE 100, JD Sports Fashion took the gold medal, up 7.4%, as an improved free cash flow position offset a continued struggling sales performance.

Deutsche Bank called it a “mixed bag” with in line full-year pre-tax profit, a sequential slowdown in like-for-like sales, 2027 profit guidance around 4% below consensus at the midpoint but a “welcome” free cash beat combined with a new capital return framework of growing dividends and a rolling £200 million share buyback.

Insuer Hiscox also fared well, rising 5.4%, as it said the outlook for 2026 is “positive” and reporting accelerating growth in its retail business.

Chief executive Aki Hussain said: “Hiscox is building on strong momentum delivered in 2025, through capturing diverse, high-quality growth opportunities across each of our businesses.”

The rising gold price lifted Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining for the second day in a row, up 5.8% and 5.1% respectively.

Gold traded higher at 4,742.97 dollars an ounce on Thursday, from 4,692.73 dollars on Wednesday.

Weighing on the FTSE 100, Relx fell 6.2% as it traded ex-dividend and as Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating to ‘equal weight’.

While Shell fell back 2.9%, amid the oil price falls, and as investors weighed first quarter numbers.

The London-based oil major reported profit well ahead of consensus and said it was rebalancing its shareholder distributions.

Shell raised its quarterly dividend by 5% from the prior quarter, but trimmed its quarterly buyback to three billion dollars from 3.5 billion dollars.

On the FTSE 250, Helios Towers surged 14% as it raised guidance for 2026 adjusted earnings to reflect a “significant” tenancy pipeline amid “exceptionally strong” demand for data.

“Demand for data and connectivity across Africa and the Middle East remains exceptionally strong, with our mobile operator customers accelerating investment, driving significantly increased demand for our infrastructure,” said chief executive Tom Greenwood.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were JD Sports Fashion, up 5.00p at 73.00p, Fresnillo, up 201.00p at 3,663.00p, Hiscox, up 84.00p at 1,634.00p, Endeavour Mining, up 238.00p at 4,916.00p, and Autotrader, up 20.60p at 520.80p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Relx, down 163.00p at 2,462.00p, Admiral, down 181.00p at 3,165.00p, Centrica, down 10.80p at 198.70p, BAE Systems, down 97.70p at 1,991.80p, and Smiths Group, down 78.00p at 2,522.00p.

Friday’s global economic calendar has the US jobs report, including nonfarm payrolls, Canada unemployment figures, German trade and industrial production data and the Halifax house price index in the UK.

Friday’s local corporate calendar has full-year results from Airtel Africa.

Contributed by Alliance News