iRobot Stock CRATERS 30% as Company Admits It's DYING—Amazon Dodged a Bullet…

Pour one out for iRobot—the OG of robotic vacuums is on life support, and management just admitted they might not make it. In short, shares of my dog's worst enemy imploded 30% on Wednesday after the company dropped the financial equivalent of a “we’re totally screwed” press release. In their latest earnings report, they straight-up said there’s “substantial doubt” about their ability to stay in business. Translation: Roomba might be dead in a year.

(Source: Giphy) 

For starters, let’s rewind back to 2022, shall we? Back then, Amazon tried to buy iRobot for $1.7 billion—a lifeline that would have helped the struggling vacuum maker fight off an onslaught of cheaper, better Chinese competitors like Anker, Ecovacs, and Roborock. 

But then… came the regulators. Naturally, the buzzkills across the Atlantic (read: Europeans) threw antitrust roadblocks in front of the deal, and the FTC was reportedly gearing up to nuke it in court. Amazon eventually said, “Screw this,” and bailed in January 2024. Meaning, Amazon walked, and iRobot got absolutely wrecked. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wasn’t shy about calling out regulators either, saying the FTC basically signed iRobot’s death warrant. And judging by the financials, he wasn’t wrong.

(Source: CNBC) 

For more context, if the failed Amazon buyout was the match, and the European regulators were the kerosene soaked rags… then iRobots financials are the atomic bomb with a drunk president holding his finger over the button. 

Case in point: Revenue plummeted 44% year-over-year to $172 million. (Analysts expected $180.8M—so, uh, not great.) Net loss ballooned to $77.1 million ($2.52 per share). Even when you exclude a one-time “manufacturing transition charge,” they still lost $2.06 per share—worse than the $1.73 per share analysts were bracing for. Oh and then there’s the pile up of debt. iRobot had to take a $200 million loan from Carlyle Group just to keep the lights on. Now they’re paying a $3.6 million fee just to restructure it.

(Source: New York Post) 

Oh and in case some investors are clinging to hope that iRobot could innovate its way out of this mess, they just launched eight new Roombas—because if history has taught us anything, it’s that flooding the market with more expensive versions of a struggling product always works. What’s funny though, is that even iRobot doesn’t sound confident in their own Hail Mary: “There can be no assurance that the new product launches will be successful.” Yeah, no kidding. 

In the end, the real problem is that China ate iRobot’s lunch—and left no crumbs. See, the company isn’t just competing with Amazon’s Alexa-powered empire anymore—it’s getting absolutely bodied by Chinese knockoffs. Companies like Anker, Ecovacs, and Roborock have slashed prices, improved tech, and taken massive market share. Which means, iRobot—once the category–defining pioneer—is now just another overpriced brand in a sea of better, cheaper alternatives. Combine that with tariff uncertainty, weak consumer demand, and a dying brand, and you’ve got a perfect recipe for disaster.

(Source: Giphy) 

So what now? Well iRobot’s board is now frantically looking for “strategic alternatives”, but unless some miracle buyer steps in, this is looking like the end of the road. Best case? iRobot gets acquired for scraps and Roomba lives on under a new owner. Worst case? Roomba joins Juicero, Segway, and the Zune in the Silicon Valley graveyard of tech flops. Either way, the stock is toast and my condolences go out to investors impacted.

In the meantime, enjoy the show of another tech demise and place your bets accordingly, friends. As always, stay safe and stay frosty! Until next time… 

P.S. Robert Smalls, a big swingin’ Managing Director for StockBridge dumped $27 million in a little known aerospace company on March 10th. In less than 24 hours, we dropped a deep-dive analysis exclusively for Stocks.News premium members, breaking down the why, what it means, and how to play the aerospace sector moving forward—all while retail investors were still wiping their tears from last week's losses. Meaning, if you aren’t in the Stocks.News premium club, well, it goes without saying that you’re missing out. Don’t miss out. Click here to join ASAP… 

Stocks.News holds positions in Amazon as mentioned in the article.