Oprah Winfrey's weight-loss tweet bulks up Weight Watchers by $150m

Talkshow host’s video claiming she lost 26 pounds by using the weight-loss programme adds about $12.5m to the value of her stake in the company



Weight Watchers’ share price surged by almost 20% after Oprah Winfrey tweeted a video ad about how she lost 26 pounds using the programme.

The talkshow star, who took a 10% stake in the company in October, posted a 32-second video ad telling her 31 million Twitter followers how she shed the weight – while eating bread every day.

“I love bread,” says Winfrey in the new commercial. “That’s the genius of this programme. I lost 26 pounds and I have eaten bread every single day.”

The endorsement by the billionaire, who has a seat on the board of the company, saw Weight Watchers’ share price surge by 19.5% to $13.29 at the close of trading on Tuesday.

Winfrey, who has a deal with the company that includes making personal endorsements, singlehandedly added nearly $150m to Weight Watchers’ market capitalisation, with her stake gaining about $12.5m in value.

Winfrey paid $43m for a 10% stake in the weight-loss company in October, after which its stock value rose from $6.79 to $15, before sliding back.

She owns about 15% of the company when 3.5 million of stock options are included