News that Opendoor CEO Carrie Wheeler is leaving the company boosted the company's stock price to its third-highest level since the run-up began at
The announcement was made before trading started on Friday morning. When the markets did open, Opendoor began the day at $3.415 per share and in early trading hit a high of $3.485 before settling back to $3.405 at 11 a.m. On Thursday, it closed at $3.04, but it opened the day at $2.29.
Wheeler's departure as CEO as well as board chair is effective immediately; she will stay through the end of the year as an advisor to the board to aid in the transition, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing said.
Wheeler's resignation follows
However, the company said Wheeler approached the board in mid-2025, at which time it began a succession planning process, retaining Spencer Stuart to assist.
It comes shortly after the company
"We've built a stronger, more focused company, expanded our offerings, and set the stage for the future — all in one of the most challenging real estate markets in history," Wheeler said in a press release. "I believe now is the right moment for a leadership transition, and I'm confident the company is on a strong path forward."
Wheeler became CEO in December 2022 after serving as chief financial officer, replacing co-founder Eric Wu in that role.
In the meantime, the board promoted Shrisha Radhakrishna to president and interim principal executive officer. Since last November, Radhakrishna was its chief technology and product officer. Before then he held a similar role at LegalZoom and also worked for Intuit.
Eric Feder, president of LenX, Lennar Homes' strategic investing arm, has been named lead independent director.
"The company is well positioned to focus on its considerable data and unique assets in today's high-tech AI world," Feder said. This includes the continued scaling of Key Connections,
Wheeler will be well compensated for her advisor services, the SEC filing said.
"During the Advisory Term, Ms. Wheeler will be entitled to receive cash compensation of $62,500 per month upon completion of each month of services during the Advisory Term, and reimbursement of COBRA premiums," the filing said. "In addition, Ms. Wheeler's outstanding time-based equity awards will continue to vest during the Advisory Term, subject to Ms. Wheeler providing advisor services pursuant to the Advisory Agreement through each applicable vesting date."
The leadership change also follows the Aug. 12 downgrade of Opendoor's stock rating to underperform by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Ryan Tomasello.
On its second quarter earnings call, Opendoor said it was undertaking a strategic pivot to a real estate agent led distribution model.
"While high retail interest may continue to support valuation, we downgrade the shares to underperform from market perform as we expect widening losses in 2H coupled with uncertainty from the strategy pivot to weigh on the shares, which trade near the high end of historical multiples," Tomasello said.
The strategy has numerous risks which in the near term outweigh advantages, and so he is advising investors to take a wait and see approach to Opendoor's stock.
"In particular, we are cautious on the road to stabilized profitability that will be highly dependent on adjacent services monetization," Tomasello said. "Further, well-entrenched incumbents are increasingly making progress on a more vertically integrated housing transaction."
On a GAAP basis, Opendoor lost $29 million during the second quarter. This compared with losses of $85 million in the first quarter and $92 million in the second quarter of 2024.
This was helped by an increase in revenue, to $1.6 billion, a gain of 36% from the first quarter and 4% one year ago.
