Planet Fitness: Can National Marketing Fuel Scalable Growth in a $100B Market?

Planet Fitness has built a formidable scale, but its next phase of growth depends on whether it can leverage that foundation to capture a larger slice of a vast global market. The company's current footprint is substantial: it ended 2025 with approximately 20.8 million members and a system-wide club count of 2,896. This growth is not just from existing locations; the company added 181 new clubs in 2025, demonstrating a capital-light expansion model where franchisees bear much of the upfront cost. This model provides a clear path to scaling operations without proportional increases in corporate debt or equity.

The real question for a growth investor is the ceiling on that expansion. The total addressable fitness market is over $100 billion, a figure that suggests significant room for growth if Planet Fitness can increase its penetration. The company's own metrics show it is still gaining share, with net membership growth of about 1 million since the end of 2023 and consistent system-wide same club sales increases that reflect sustained demand. Yet, with 20.8 million members, the brand likely still represents a small fraction of the total market, leaving ample opportunity for further penetration.

The scalability of the franchise model is the engine here. Each new club opened-whether corporate-owned or franchised-adds to the network with relatively low corporate risk. The challenge now is to fuel that expansion with more effective national marketing. The company's recent agreement with franchisees to shift some advertising funds to a national pool is a direct step toward this goal, aiming to build a stronger, more cohesive brand presence. For Planet Fitness, the path to higher long-term growth rates is clear: it must use its scale and cash flow to invest in national marketing that drives awareness and membership sign-ups, thereby accelerating its penetration of that $100+ billion market.

The Marketing Shift: National Advertising as a Scalability Lever

Planet Fitness is making a clear strategic pivot, moving from a fragmented local marketing model to a coordinated national campaign. This shift is designed to be a direct lever for faster, more efficient unit expansion. The mechanism is straightforward: franchisees have agreed to redirect a portion of their contributions from local advertising funds into a centralized National Advertising Fund (NAF), with this change set to take effect in 2026. This pooling of resources aims to build a stronger, more cohesive brand presence that drives consistent recognition and new member acquisition across the entire network.

The financial signal of this structural change is already visible. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the company reported $1.9 million of higher National Advertising Fund revenue compared to the prior year period. While this is a starting point, it represents a tangible increase in the corporate-owned marketing budget and signals the early stages of the new fund's growth. More importantly, CEO Colleen Keating highlighted a "revised advertising fund structure" as a notable development in 2025, explicitly framing it as part of the company's effort to strengthen brand positioning.

For a growth investor, this is a critical move. The scalability of the franchise model depends on each new club not just opening, but also quickly attracting members. A national campaign can accelerate that acquisition phase by creating top-of-mind awareness and a unified brand promise, reducing the reliance on individual franchisees to build local demand from scratch. This coordinated approach should lower the effective cost of customer acquisition at scale and make new locations more profitable faster. By investing in national marketing, Planet Fitness is betting that a stronger brand will fuel the very expansion it needs to capture a larger share of its $100 billion market.

Financial Leverage and the Path to Acceleration

The strategic shift to national marketing is designed to accelerate Planet Fitness's growth, but the ultimate test is whether this investment translates into stronger financial performance and validates the market's bullish stance. The company's underlying demand remains robust, as evidenced by full-year system-wide same club sales increasing 6.7 percent in 2025. This consistent growth at existing locations shows members are utilizing their memberships, providing the stable cash flow needed to fund expansion and new marketing initiatives.

The capital-light franchise model is the engine that makes rapid scaling possible. The company added 181 new clubs system-wide in 2025, with the vast majority of the build-out and equipment costs borne by franchisees. This structure allows Planet Fitness to expand its footprint quickly without proportionally increasing its own debt or equity requirements, directly fueling the growth narrative. The recent agreement to redirect local ad funds to a national pool is a natural extension of this model, using franchisee contributions to build a brand asset that benefits all locations.

The market is clearly pricing in this growth potential. The stock has rallied 14 percent year-to-date in 2025, a move that suggests investors are betting on the company's ability to capture more of the $100 billion fitness market. This price action, which saw the stock hit a post-IPO high, sets a high bar. Future performance will hinge on whether the national marketing engine can drive unit economics that meet or exceed these elevated expectations.

For investors, the key metrics to watch will be the trajectory of same-club sales growth and the rate of new club openings in 2026. The company has already raised its full-year same-club sales target for 2025 to 6.5 percent, showing confidence in its demand. The real signal will come from the 2026 results, where the impact of the new national advertising fund should become visible in both top-line growth and the efficiency of new unit acquisition. If the marketing investment pays off, Planet Fitness could accelerate its penetration of the global fitness market, turning today's strong fundamentals into a higher-growth future.

Catalysts, Risks, and What to Watch

The strategic shift to national marketing is now in motion, but the coming months will provide the first real validation of its impact. The immediate catalyst is the company's scheduled release of its full fiscal year 2025 financial results along with its outlook for 2026 on February 24, 2026. This report will offer detailed financial metrics and growth guidance, setting the tone for the year ahead. Investors will scrutinize whether the company's strong finish to 2025-marked by full-year system-wide same club sales increasing 6.7 percent and a membership base of 20.8 million-can be sustained and accelerated.

The key risk to the expansion thesis is the national marketing fund's ability to generate a measurable return on investment. The new fund, which begins operations in 2026, is designed to drive future member growth, but its success is not guaranteed. The company's brand modernization plans and initiatives like the High School Summer Pass Program are positive steps, but they are qualitative enhancements. The real test is whether the pooled advertising dollars translate into a higher volume of new memberships at each new club, thereby justifying the structural change to franchisee contributions.

For investors, the metrics to watch are clear. The pace of new club openings will signal the health of the franchise model and the efficiency of the expansion engine. While the company added 181 new clubs in 2025, the focus in 2026 will be on whether the national marketing support helps new locations ramp up membership faster. Equally important are the trends in same-club sales and overall membership growth. Consistent increases in these figures would confirm that the brand's value proposition is resonating and that the marketing investment is paying off. Conversely, any signs of saturation or a slowdown in these key drivers would raise questions about the scalability of the current model.

The bottom line is that Planet Fitness has set a high bar with its recent stock performance and ambitious growth targets. The February 24 report will be the first concrete data point on whether the company can meet those expectations. The coming year will be defined by the execution of its new national marketing strategy and the market's response to it.