Oprah Winfrey’s ownership stake in WW International, formerly known as Weight Watchers, has dropped $435.8 million in value since June of 2018, according to a Tuesday-published Bloomberg report.
Bloomberg reported:
Oprah Winfrey, who owns more than 8 percent of Weight Watchers, saw the value of her stake drop to $122.7 million after the wellness company forecast that 2019 profit will be well short of Wall Street estimates. The value of her stock has plunged by $435.8 million since June 20, when the shares peaked at $103.09. She also owns options to purchase an additional 2.1 million shares.
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[WW shares] tumbled as much as 34 percent late Tuesday after warning member recruitment will decline in 2019. It’s targeting profit between $1.25 and $1.50 a share this year, a far cry from the $3.36 analysts had been estimating. Revenue will be about $1.4 billion, below the nearly $1.7 billion projected.
On Tuesday, Weight Watchers described its first quarter of 2019 as a “soft start” relative to 2018, adding that its “Winter Campaign did not recruit as expected.”
Mindy Grossman, Weight Watchers’ president and CEO, promised that Winfrey “will play a central role in” forthcoming TV and digital marketing materials.
Weight Watchers invites potential clients to “Live your life like Oprah” via its online marketing.
Forbes estimates Winfrey net worth at approximately $2.5 billion.
Winfrey joined Weight Watchers in October of 2015 as an adviser on Weight Watchers’ board following her purchase of a 10 percent ownership stake in the company. At the time, Weight Watchers’ stock doubled in value following Winfrey’s announcement.
Winfrey actively supports and endorses Democrats. Most recently, she offered her star power to Beto O’Rourke and Stacy Abrams.
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