WeBankrupt
Adam Neumann’s destruction of wealth is complete
At its peak, WeWork was once valued at $47 billion, making it one of the most valuable tech companies (honestly, who were they kidding) in the world. It has since endured a staggering 99.9% decline, left with a meager market cap of less than $50m. The stock price, which hit an ATH of $520 in October 2021, closed at $0.84 on Friday.
And now, it finally happened. Only 8 months on from a multibillion-dollar rescue package, WeWork announced yesterday that the company was filing for bankruptcy. Or, as they put it, “Strategic action to significantly strengthen balance sheet and further streamline real estate footprint.” Adam Neumann would have been proud of that one.
It marks yet another low point in a remarkable fall from grace. The filing revealed a few details that highlight the extent of the troubles facing WeWork, most notably, the 18.6 billion dollars it listed in debts. It also cited $2.9 billion in long-term debts, which have been crippling the company, and even 100 million dollars in unpaid rent. Numbers that large are hard to pay off when your business doesn’t make profits. In the 13 years WeWork has been operational, it has had one month of profitability, which came last December (and that was adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.)
