Oprah Winfrey should be happy she stuck with Weight Watchers — whether she has slimmed down or not.
Winfrey bought a 10 percent stake in the diet company in 2015 when shares were trading the mid-$6 range.
In after-hours trading on Thursday, after Weight Watchers reported second quarter profits and sales that exceeded expectations, shares of the company soared more than 14 percent, to nearly $38.
That’s a sixfold increase for Winfrey. The company also raised its forecast for the year.
Revenues were up 10 percent, to $342 million, and income rose 31 percent, to $96 million.
New subscribers were up 20 percent, to 3.5 million.
Not bad for a company that had lost its way and lost members for years, but began a turnaround in 2016 after Oprah jumped abroad.
Weight Watchers’ newly minted chief executive, Mindy Grossman, who hails from HSN and has been on the job for a month, said the company’s future hinges on it becoming a “lifestyle brand.”



