With a 52-Week High And a New $150M Acquisition, Planet Fitness Looks Buffer Than Ever (Buy or Not?)

Planet Fitness, the gym where you can get a free pizza after your workout (no, really), is making moves to grow its “no judgment” empire. The same purple and gold gym that hands out free donuts on Columbus Day is now throwing down a $150 million bid at Blink Fitness, the gym that tried to sell "affordable luxury" and ended up more "luxury disappointment." But when you’re Planet Fitness and you've got 18.7 million members and 2,575 locations, it’s hard to stop flexing your biceps.

The deal? Planet’s eyeing Blink’s prime locations, including a bunch of gyms in New York City, after Blink filed for bankruptcy. Blink Fitness, owned by Equinox, thought it could be the Whole Foods of gyms, but with the pricing of Aldi (high-end, but affordable). Well, turns out gym-goers didn’t want to pay Whole Foods prices for protein shakes and treadmills. So now, Blink’s assets are up for grabs, and Planet Fitness smells opportunity.

The only thing standing in their way? UK-based PureGym, who swooped in with a $121 million bid at the first bankruptcy auction hoping to steal Blink right from under them. 

But you know what they say: If at first you don’t succeed, throw more money at it. So Planet’s back with two offers—$142 million if regulators play nice, or $155 million if they have to sweet-talk the antitrust folks. And if they land this deal, they’ll get instant access to high-value real estate in New York and New Jersey, where people already know and love Blink.

But Planet Fitness isn’t just all about buying up competitors—it’s got some solid numbers to back up its swagger. In today’s earnings report, Planet  announced a 5.3% increase in revenue year-over-year, hitting $292.2 million. Same club sales grew by 4.3%, just shy of the 4.5% analysts expected. 

But here’s the thing: Planet just made a huge move by raising the price of its Classic Card membership to $15 for new members. Yep, the first price hike in 25 years. And with 18.7 million people paying to be “judged free” at $10 a month, that extra $5 from newbies is basically free protein shakes for the execs.

In terms of revenue, Planet’s franchise segment raked in $102.4 million, up 4.3%. But the real flex? Their corporate-owned clubs, which saw a 13.1% revenue boost to $128.1 million. While the equipment segment saw a dip (down 6.7% to $61.7 million), this is likely due to lower equipment sales to new franchisees. Maybe they're spending their cash on something a little more exciting... like free pizza Fridays.

On top of that, the company that basically makes bank on people who show up to the gym a few times a year (again, no judgment!), just opened 21 new clubs last quarter. That brings its total to 2,637 locations as of September 30. And don’t expect them to stop hitting the bench press anytime soon. 

They’re projecting 140 to 150 new gyms next year, plus 120 to 130 new equipment placements in franchise-owned locations. At this pace, Planet Fitness is going to be the first gym chain that rivals the number of Starbucks in your city. Pretty soon, you won’t be able to walk five blocks without tripping over a treadmill.

And over in “Stockland,” Planet Fitness is absolutely crushing it. Shares jumped 6.12% on Wednesday, and so far today, they’re up another 10%. The stock is now trading at a new 52-week high. It’s almost like Planet’s figured out that people will gladly pay $15 a month to feel like they’re “on a fitness journey” (even if that journey mostly involves collecting dust on their gym key tag). With a business model that practically prints cash by capitalizing on the “aspirational” gym-goer, Planet’s got a formula that’s hard to beat. And investors are eating it up.

If they manage to pull off this Blink deal, it’s more than extra gyms—it’s an open door to more monthly revenue from folks who like the idea of a gym membership as much as actually using it. So yeah, Planet Fitness stock might be worth looking into.

PS: If Planet Fitness’ latest power moves have you wondering what gains are still out there, it might be time to step up and see for yourself. Planet’s 52-week high and $150 million deal? That’s just scratching the surface. Our last alert (Friday) rocketed up 116% in minutes—and we’ve been hitting 100%+ gains on a weekly basis since we launched. Don’t wait around. Click here to join Stocks.News Premium and get in before the next alert hits.

Stock.News has positions in Planet Fitness, Starbucks, and Equinox mentioned in article.