Good Company

BARK Is Exiting BARK Air to Put Its Capital Back Into Commerce

BARK reached a preliminary deal to sell BARK Air's customer list and license the brand from January 1, 2027, exiting a loved but small travel business to fund commerce, partnerships and new products after Q2 revenue beat guidance at $87.6 million.

By Good Company Editorial Desk

BARK logo

The News

BARK is getting out of the airline business. The New York based omnichannel dog brand has reached a preliminary agreement to sell BARK Air's customer list and license the BARK Air brand, GlobalPETS reported on November 9, with the transaction expected to take effect on January 1, 2027, subject to definitive agreements.

BARK confirmed the outline in its fiscal second quarter 2027 results, released November 5. "Subsequent to quarter end, we reached a preliminary understanding to sell BARK Air's assets and license the brand beginning January 1, 2027," Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Matt Meeker said in the release. "The arrangement remains subject to definitive documentation and there is no assurance it will be completed. If completed, this arrangement would allow us to redirect capital to Commerce, our partnership pipeline, supply chain, and innovative products like Licksters."

This is not a business that failed to find customers. The company says BARK Air recorded average seat utilization of around 90 percent, and 99 percent of passengers gave the service five star reviews, according to GlobalPETS. Meeker told investors the problem was contribution, not demand. "Taking into consideration the broader macro environment, BARK Air no longer aligns with where we see our long-range strategy heading and was not generating the bottom-line contribution needed to justify continued investment," Meeker said, as reported by GlobalPETS.

BARK Air was still small inside the company. It contributed $3.5 million to direct to consumer revenue in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, about 4 percent of BARK's total quarterly revenue of $87.6 million. That context matters, because the rest of the quarter pointed the other way: toward the core business getting leaner and, in one segment, growing again.

Total net revenue of $87.6 million beat the high end of guidance at $83 million to $85 million, even though it fell 18.1 percent from $107.0 million a year earlier, mainly on a planned pullback in marketing spend and a smaller subscriber base. Commerce revenue, from retail and marketplace sales, rose 3.6 percent to $25.7 million. Net loss narrowed to $3.8 million, adjusted EBITDA turned positive at $2.0 million, and cash rose to $19.0 million with no debt.

Why It Matters

BARK Air was the most visible experiment in pet. Launched in May 2024 with a jet charter partner, it offered flights designed around dogs and their owners, starting with routes connecting the New York area with Los Angeles and London. It later expanded to Paris, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix and Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and added private charters. By its first anniversary in May 2025, BARK said it had transported more than 1,000 dogs across 142 flights and nearly 400,000 miles.

The growth was real: $2 million in quarterly revenue in January 2025, then $3.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 37 percent year over year, before $3.5 million in the second quarter. A service can grow, fill 90 percent of seats and earn five star reviews, and still be the wrong place to put the next dollar. That is the decision Meeker described.

The structure of the exit tells the second part of the story. BARK is not simply shutting the service down. Selling the customer list and licensing the brand, if the definitive deal is completed, keeps the name and the customer relationship alive under another operator while BARK collects value without funding the operation. It is a cleaner break than a closure, and it protects a brand asset the company spent two and a half years building in public.

Meanwhile, the core mix is shifting. Subscriber retention improved to 94 percent from 92 percent, average order value rose to $31.40 from $30.87, and gross margin expanded about 100 basis points to 58.9 percent, the company said. Commerce growing while direct to consumer shrinks on purpose is the strategy in one line: fewer, better subscribers, and more revenue through retail partners. BARK also launched Licksters, a new line of enrichment toys, and said it shipped two of the largest retail orders in its history in the fiscal third quarter.

The Numbers

  • Total net revenue, Q2 fiscal 2027 (ended September 30, 2026): $87.6 million, above guidance of $83 million to $85 million, down from $107.0 million a year earlier (BARK, November 5, 2026)
  • BARK Air revenue in Q2: $3.5 million, about 4 percent of total revenue (BARK; GlobalPETS, November 9, 2026)
  • Direct to consumer revenue: $61.8 million, down from $82.1 million, 70.6 percent of total; Commerce: $25.7 million, up 3.6 percent, 29.4 percent of total (BARK)
  • Gross profit: $51.6 million; gross margin 58.9 percent, up about 100 basis points (BARK)
  • Net loss: $3.8 million, or $0.43 per share, improved from $10.7 million, or $1.25 per share; adjusted EBITDA: $2.0 million, up $3.4 million year over year (BARK)
  • Cash: $19.0 million, up $2.9 million from June 30, 2026; no outstanding debt; inventory $72.4 million, unchanged (BARK)
  • Subscriber retention: 94 percent, up from 92 percent; average order value $31.40, up from $30.87 (BARK)
  • BARK Air, per the company via GlobalPETS: seat utilization around 90 percent, 99 percent five star reviews; launched May 2024, more than 1,000 dogs on 142 flights by May 2025
  • Guidance, reaffirmed: Q3 revenue $88 million to $92 million; full year fiscal 2027 revenue $325 million to $340 million, adjusted EBITDA $7 million to $10 million (BARK)

What It Means For You

If you run a brand with a beloved side bet, run the BARK Air test on it honestly. The test is not whether customers love it, fill it or review it well. BARK Air passed all three. The test is whether it produces bottom line contribution that beats the next best use of the same capital. For BARK, that next use is named in its own release: commerce, the partnership pipeline, supply chain and new enrichment products. If your experiment cannot name what it is beating, it is probably living on attention instead of economics.

If you sell through retail, note where a former direct to consumer star is putting its money. Commerce grew 3.6 percent to $25.7 million while total revenue fell, reaching 29.4 percent of sales. BARK said growth came from retail and marketplace strength and new and existing partners, and it shipped two of its largest retail orders ever in the following quarter. Wholesale is not a side channel for this brand anymore.

If you operate a service business, study the exit structure before you need it. A customer list sale plus a brand license can beat a quiet shutdown, but only if the list, reviews and brand rights are clean enough to transfer. Build transfer value in from day one: separate branding, clean customer data and documented demand.

What To Watch

Watch whether the definitive agreement actually lands, and on what terms. BARK was explicit that there is no assurance the preliminary understanding will be completed, and the expected January 1, 2027 start date leaves a short window. Terms of the customer list sale and the license, including any royalty or revenue share, were not disclosed in the release or in GlobalPETS reporting, so the value BARK keeps from BARK Air is still unknown.

Watch the guidance math next. BARK reaffirmed full year fiscal 2027 revenue of $325 million to $340 million and adjusted EBITDA of $7 million to $10 million, and Meeker said the outlook already considers the potential loss of one quarter of BARK Air revenue if the deal proceeds, with management confident it was trending toward the higher end even without that revenue, according to GlobalPETS. The third quarter guide of $88 million to $92 million will show whether commerce and the two record retail orders can carry that claim.

Watch who operates BARK Air next, and whether it keeps its routes and review scores under a licensee. If it thrives without BARK's balance sheet, this becomes a template for spinning out experiences a brand proved but cannot profitably scale.

Sources

  • BARK Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2027 Results, BARK, Inc. press release, November 5, 2026: https://s27.q4cdn.com/974260903/files/content_files/FINAL_BARK_Q2-FY27-Press-Release_NOV-5-2026.pdf
  • BARK to exit air travel business: what we know so far, GlobalPETS, November 9, 2026: https://globalpetindustry.com/news/bark-to-exit-air-travel-business-what-we-know-so-far/