Planet Fitness On Expansion Spree, Opens 2000th Store In CO

Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) , which banks on solid brand presence and continual expansion, has opened its 2000th store in Colorado Springs. Notably, the store situated in Colorado on E. Woodmen Rd. was opened on Dec 31, 2019. It has also opened its 2,001st store on the same date in the year, thereby bringing its 2019 total store count to a record 261.

Chris Rondeau, chief executive officer of Planet Fitness stated, "I am proud to announce this milestone, which demonstrates how our judgement free, affordable approach to fitness continues to resonate with consumers and the tremendous work being done every day across our system by our franchisees, their team members on the front lines, and our corporate employees."

Expansion to Spur Growth

Recently, the company signed an agreement, per which it will open minimum 35 Planet Fitness locations in Australia over the next few years.

In a bid to expand presence, Planet Fitness has been focusing on strategic partnerships and international expansions. In this regard, it also partnered with Kohl’s. Per the terms of the agreement, Planet Fitness can open stores adjacent to select Kohl’s stores. In 2019, Planet Fitness intends to open up to 10 stores, adjacent to select Kohl's retail locations across the country.

Planet Fitness is one of the largest and fastest growing franchisors, as well as operators of fitness centers in the United States. As of Sep 30, 2019, Planet Fitness had more than 14.1 million members and 1,899 stores in 50 states. This apart, Planet Fitness is committed to open an additional 1,000 stores under prevailing area developments agreements.

Backed by solid expansion strategies and a strong brand presence, shares of Planet Fitness have gained 30.3% in the past year as compared with the industry’s 7.5% growth.

We believe the company’s expansion strategy will help it to drive the top line. In the third quarter, revenues of $166.8 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $162 million and increased 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. System-wide same-store sales also increased 7.9% year over year in the quarter.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Planet Fitness currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the leisure space include Carnival Corp. (NYSE:CCL) , Trip.com Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:TCOM) and STUDIO CITY IH (NYSE:MSC) each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Carnival and Studio surpassed all the trailing four quarters with the surprise being 11.3% and 90%, on average, respectively.

Trip.com has an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 14%.

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