Planet Fitness Stock Drops 6.7% as Same-Club Growth Slows
Khac Phu Nguyen
Fri, August 7, 2026 at 1:29 a.m. GMT+5:30
2 min read
- PLNT
-9.61%
This article first appeared on GuruFocus
Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT), a franchisor and operator of low-cost fitness clubs, posted second-quarter revenue of $365.2 million, up 7.1% from a year ago, but the market was left wanting more as the stock dropped about 6.7% on Thursday. The biggest red flag was slowing momentum. Systemwide same-club sales grew just 1.7%, a sharp slowdown from the 8.2% increase recorded a year earlier. Despite softer comparable growth, GAAP net income still improved to $67.1 million from $58 million
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Planet Fitness continued adding to its footprint, opening 23 new clubs to reach 2,930 locations serving approximately 21.5 million members worldwide. Franchise revenue climbed 13.5% to $135.8 million, although part of that increase reflected a higher national advertising-fund contribution rate, while adjusted EBITDA edged up 3.5% to $152.8 million. Management kept its full-year outlook unchanged, calling for roughly 1% same-club sales growth and 180 to 190 new club openings
The GF Value chart offers another angle on the story. With the shares trading at $52.54 versus a GF Value estimate of $105.26, the stock sits roughly 50% below its estimated fair value. That wide gap suggests investors remain unconvinced that Planet Fitness can reignite growth quickly enough to justify a higher valuation
The company also returned capital aggressively, spending $200 million to repurchase four million shares during the quarter. That helped adjusted earnings per share edge up to $0.88 from $0.86 even as adjusted net income slipped $4.1 million to $68.4 million. In other words, buybacks contributed more to per-share earnings growth than the underlying business did. The next few quarters will be crucial. Investors will be watching for stronger same-club sales, healthy member retention and evidence that new club openings can translate into faster profit growth rather than simply a bigger footprint.
