Financial research concept

Fitness Club New Club Openings

measures fitness clubs opened across the system during a reporting period.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 26, 2026

Research context

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Research date: Sep 26, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context: 17 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Fitness Club Franchise & Membership Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples: 1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.

Openings are a flow, not the ending footprint
New clubs can pressure economics before they mature
Openings feed several revenue streams on different schedules
Part of the Fitness Club Franchise & Membership Economics
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Fitness club new club openings measure locations opened or acquired across the system during a reporting period.

Planet Fitness opened 181 new clubs system-wide in 2025, including 158 franchisee-owned and 23 corporate-owned clubs.

Openings are a flow, not the ending footprint

Planet Fitness began 2025 with 2,722 clubs and ended with 2,896.

The year-end increase was smaller than 181 because the footprint also changed through debrandings, sales, consolidations, and refranchising between ownership categories.

Use openings to measure development activity and ending club count to measure system scale.

New clubs can pressure economics before they mature

Planet Fitness says new clubs require higher-than-normal marketing during the start-up period and can have operating expenses that are elevated as a percentage of monthly revenue.

New locations may not be profitable immediately, and their revenue can differ from historical patterns.

That makes opening count a growth input, not proof of attractive unit economics.

Openings feed several revenue streams on different schedules

A new franchisee-owned club can contribute equipment sales before opening, member billings after opening, and royalty revenue as the membership base develops.

It does not enter the same-club sales base until the issuer's seasoning requirement is satisfied.

Primary sources: Planet Fitness 2025 Form 10-K and Planet Fitness fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results.

Part of the Fitness Club Franchise & Membership Economics

Connects fitness-club member scale, pricing and premium mix with same-club demand, franchise royalty economics, owned-versus-franchised footprint growth, equipment monetization, and mature corporate-club unit economics.

Browse the full operating model in Company Analysis →

Where this concept fits

Franchise royalty economics and ownership footprintCurrent relationship
Average royalty rate converts franchisee member billings into franchisor economics, while franchisee-owned and corporate-owned club counts show ownership mix. New openings expand both channels, and segment revenue separates franchise monetization from directly operated club revenue.
Average Royalty Rate Corporate-Owned Club Count Corporate-Owned Club Revenue Franchise Segment Revenue Franchisee-Owned Club CountNew Club OpeningsCurrent concept
Member scale, pricing, premium mix, and same-club demand
Member count and net member growth show the customer base, average dues and premium membership penetration show monetization mix, system-wide sales aggregate member billings, and same-club growth plus the same-club base isolate performance in seasoned locations.
Average Monthly Dues per Member Member Count Net Member Growth Premium Membership Penetration Same-Club Sales Base Count Same-Club Sales Growth System-Wide Sales
Equipment monetization and mature corporate-club unit economics
Equipment segment revenue and new-club equipment placements connect franchise development and refresh cycles to product sales, while mature corporate-club AUV and four-wall Adjusted EBITDA margin show seasoned unit-level revenue and profitability.
Corporate Club Average Unit Volume Corporate Club Four-Wall Adjusted EBITDA Margin Equipment Placement Count Equipment Segment Revenue

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

PLNTOpen operating-model research →17 of 17 reviewed concepts in Fitness Club Franchise & Membership EconomicsFranchise royalty economics and ownership footprint6 of 6 bridge concepts supportedContinue through this bridge:Average Royalty Rate Corporate-Owned Club Count Corporate-Owned Club Revenue Franchise Segment Revenue Franchisee-Owned Club Count

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Compare club development

Compare opening pace with start-up costs, franchise equipment demand, and the lag before new clubs enter same-club metrics.

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