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what it is
Planet Fitness makes money from franchise fees, company-run gyms, and selling equipment to its own franchisees.
how it gets paid
Last year Planet Fitness made $1.3B in revenue. Franchise royalties and fees was the main engine at $0.55B, or 42% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 12.1% last year. The quarter was helped by the Classic membership move from $10 to $15 in mid-2024 and a higher mix of premium Black Card members at.
what just happened
Planet Fitness delivered $0.83 EPS, beating the $0.75 estimate by 10.67%.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
35/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
33.0x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
17.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 53/100 — below average
What they do
Planet Fitness makes money from franchise fees, company-run gyms, and selling equipment to its own franchisees.
Planet Fitness wins because your monthly bill feels too small to fight. The Classic plan jumped from $10 to $15 in mid-2024, and the business still kept its momentum. Black Card at $24.99 nudges you to pay more for perks you may barely use, which keeps revenue climbing without asking you for luxury-gym prices.
How they make money
$1.3B
annual revenue · their business grew +12.1% last year
Franchise royalties and fees
$0.55B
+15.0%
Corporate-owned stores
$0.48B
+10.0%
Equipment sales
$0.25B
+9.0%
Other revenue
$0.02B
+5.0%
The products that matter
entry-level monthly membership
Classic Membership
$10 → $15
the classic plan jumped from $10 to $15 in mid-2024, and that price change drove about 80% of same-club sales growth through the first nine months. this is the base of the funnel.
pricing test
premium membership tier
Black Card
66% of members · $24.99/mo
black card reached 66% of members by the end of the september quarter, up 300 basis points — 3 percentage points — from a year earlier. that's where the model gets more profitable.
mix shift
company-owned gym base
Company-Operated Stores
$1.3B revenue
the snapshot data only gives one revenue bucket here, so we are not going to pretend we have a clean segment split. what we do know is the business produced $1.3B in annual revenue and 21.6% net margin while new openings, foot traffic, and equipment sales all helped results.
data thin
Key numbers
33.0x
trailing p/e
P/E → how many dollars you pay for $1 of earnings → so what: you are paying $33 for each $1 Planet Fitness earned over the last year.
29.8%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit left after running the business → so what: nearly 30 cents of every sales dollar stays before interest and taxes.
$2.1B
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over many years → so what: the balance sheet has real weight if growth slows.
17.5%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on the money tied up in the business → so what: Planet Fitness is still turning invested dollars into solid returns.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 45 / 100
- long-term debt $2.1B (20% of capital)
- net profit margin 28.6% — keeps 29 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 50% — $0.50 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in PLNT 3 years ago → it's now worth $12,000.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Planet Fitness delivered $0.83 EPS, beating the $0.75 estimate by 10.67%.
The quarter was helped by the Classic membership move from $10 to $15 in mid-2024 and a higher mix of premium Black Card members at $24.99. Revenue hit $948M, up 187% vs. prior year.
$948M
revenue
$0.83
eps
10.67%
eps surprise
the number that mattered
The 10.67% EPS beat matters because it shows price increases are still flowing through without breaking demand.
-
planet fitness continues to pump up its bottom line.the gym operator posted solid sales and earnings results through the first three quarters of last year and we believe the cadence continued in the december period. (the company was scheduled to announce full-year results shortly after we went to press with this issue.) there were three key factors that helped to drive profit growth for the year: increased membership rates, strong sameclub sales growth, and black card premium membership penetration.
-
the transition of the classic membership from $10 to $15 (implemented in mid-2024), markedly drove rate growth, which accounted for about 80% of the increase in same-club sales through the first nine months of the year.
-
what’s more, the percentage of members choosing the premium black card (typically $24.99 a month and includes premium services) rose to 66% by the end of the september quarter, representing a 300-basis-point increase from the previous year.other notable contributors to the profit gains were facility openings, increased foot traffic, and increased equipment sales.
-
we look for the healthy momentum to continue this year.
-
we believe that the story will remain largely the same as we turn our attention to 2026.management has a solid game plan in place, which ought to result in continued strong profit growth thanks to the expansion of its gym footprint, along with increased sales at existing locations. the company’s profits should be shielded from economic headwinds as even its premium memberships are attractively priced relative to the competition. though only neutrally ranked for timeliness, these shares are a more alluring selection for longer-term accounts. indeed, capital appreciation potential is above-average for both the 18-month and 3 to 5-year horizons at the recent valuation. conservative accounts should note that although planet is a high-growth story, its stock is of roughly average risk based on our metrics. while planet’s stellar rate of growth will ultimately slow as it does for virtually every company, we believe that planet still has some wind left in its sails.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is member churn after the $10 to $15 classic price hike.
high
price hike fatigue
the classic membership moved from $10 to $15, and that price change drove about 80% of same-club sales growth through the first nine months. if churn rises, the easiest growth lever is gone.
puts 100% of the $1.3B revenue base under a tougher retention test
med
premium mix stalls
66% of members are already on black card. that's good news, but it also means the next leg of mix improvement gets harder from here.
slower mix gains would make the 21.6% net margin harder to defend
med
valuation without much room for a miss
the stock trades at 33.0x trailing earnings even though three-year returns still trail the index and earnings predictability is just 35/100. that is a premium price for a still-proving story.
any slowdown in pricing, openings, or foot traffic can pressure the multiple before it pressures revenue
the business model is simple: keep people paying every month. if price-led growth cools, all of the $1.3B revenue base and much of the 33.0x valuation premium get harder to justify.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
risk
does the $15 classic price keep holding
about 80% of same-club sales growth came from pricing through the first nine months. if churn ticks up, the story changes fast.
metric
black card penetration
66% of members were already on the premium tier. if that keeps climbing, revenue quality improves even without heroic member growth.
calendar
next update on same-club sales
this is where management tells you whether growth is still coming from price, traffic, or both. you want both.
trend
new openings and foot traffic
openings, higher foot traffic, and equipment sales all helped results. if those stay healthy, the model looks less dependent on a one-time pricing reset.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts do not see a strong short-term edge here.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 means this sits around the middle of the pack on risk. not a bunker stock, not a disaster magnet.
chart momentum
top 20%
technical score 2 means the chart looks better than most stocks right now. price action is stronger than the fundamentals headline.
earnings predictability
35 / 100
that is low. translation: quarterly results can swing more than you want for a stock trading above 30x earnings.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
184 buyers vs. 218 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 91.7M shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$81
$176
$101
current price
$129
target midpoint · +28% from current · 3-5yr high: $215 (+115% · 21% ann'l return)
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