Finance and Economics APP learned that on Thursday, Peloton (PTON.US) announced its first-quarter performance, while also announcing the appointment of Ford Motor (F.US) executive Peter Stern as the next CEO, entrusting him to lead this long-struggling fitness company through a transformation.

Peloton stated on Thursday that Stern will join the company on January 1st next year. Stern is currently the President of Ford's Integrated Services Division and previously served as a vice president at Apple (AAPL.US).

In the first quarter, Peloton's EBITDA was $0.1158 billion, with analysts expecting $56.6 million. Despite a 2% year-on-year decrease in revenue, to $0.586 billion, it was better than analysts' expected $0.573 billion.

Peloton flourished during the lockdown period of the pandemic, but has been deeply troubled over the past three years. Barry McCarthy, a veteran in the technology industry, was hired in early 2022 to reverse the decline of this company known for its stationary bikes and online courses, but resigned earlier this year. During Peloton's search for new leadership, Board Chairman Karen Boone and Director Chris Bruzzo have been serving as interim co-CEOs.

Last year, Ford hired Stern to manage a newly established technology-focused department, which focuses on leveraging the growth of automotive software services, such as its autonomous driving features. Under Stern's leadership, the automaker hopes to generate continuous revenue through software services to smooth out the cycles of prosperity and downturns in the automotive industry.

Stern is also one of the former Apple executives who have transitioned to the automotive industry. At Ford, former Apple Mac hardware engineering VP Doug Field was hired in 2021 as the Chief Advanced Technology and Embedded Systems Officer of the automaker. General Motors (GM.US) hired former Apple Cloud Services VP Mike Abbott to launch a new software division.

At Apple, Stern's role as VP of Services was held concurrently by several VPs.

Looking ahead, Peloton expects revenue for the second quarter to range from 0.64 billion to 0.66 billion US dollars. The midpoint of the range is expected to decrease by 13% compared to the same period last year, lower than analysts' expectations of 0.6635 billion US dollars. The number of users is expected to be below analysts' expectations, but the EBITDA guidance is slightly better than expected, indicating that cost cutting efforts may be paying off. Peloton stated that the company's free cash flow has improved.

"Due to strong execution, we have achieved cost savings faster than expected," the company said.

Peloton expects full-year revenue for the fiscal year ending in June to be between 2.4 billion and 2.5 billion US dollars, with the midpoint decreasing by 9% compared to the same period last year, while analysts expected 2.46 billion US dollars. The company expects a decrease of about 9% in its connected fitness users to approximately 2.72 million, compared to analysts' expectations of 2.81 million.

EBITDA is also a highlight of the annual guidance. Peloton's expected midpoint of the range is 0.265 billion US dollars, significantly higher than analysts' forecast of 0.2324 billion US dollars.

Following the financial report, Peloton's stock price rose over 15% in pre-market trading on Thursday.