Planet Fitness local gym and workout center. Planet Fitness markets itself as a Judgment Free Zone.

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Planet Fitness now has nearly 20 million members

The “judgment-free” gym chain already has over 2,500 gyms in America. Its executives think it can get to 5,000.

1/15/25 9:42AM

Gym owners must feel great in January, as a flood of wide-eyed, resolution-following new customers find their way into the front doors of their businesses all on their own.

Shareholders of America’s largest gym are no exception, with Planet Fitness reporting on Monday that its membership has swelled to 19.7 million members spread across 2,722 gyms, despite the company increasing the price of its hallmark $10 membership for the first time in 27 years earlier in May.

Planet Fitness Gym Growth — Sherwood News

With massive memberships — the average Planet Fitness gym has more than 7,200 members — the company has come to dominate the “high volume, low price” model, adding millions of people who like the idea or option of working out more than they actually like working out. As our colleague Jack Raines wrote last year, “The most popular gym in the US doesn’t actually have enough gym space for all of its members to get fit.”

Twenty sets of relentless growth

The “judgment-free zone” chain operates on a franchise model, with ~90% of the company’s locations franchised as of 2023 and the rest run by Planet Fitness itself. The company makes set-up costs attractive for potential franchisees, but gradually increases royalties over time. Furthermore, Planet Fitness says that “our franchisees are contractually obligated to purchase fitness equipment from us” — which, no surprise, is nicely profitable for Planet Fitness: the company sold equipment worth $234 million in 2023, which it made a profit (EBITDA) of $56 million on.

With more than 2,500 locations in the United States already, you might not think there’s still room to grow in America, but Planet Fitness and its new leadership team are pushing for the burn, with goals to get the chain to 5,000 gyms in the US. That would be more than the number of Chipotle (~3,400) or KFC (~3,800) restaurants in the country. To entice new franchisees to reach that goal, in addition to raising the base membership price by 50%, Planet Fitness also eased the remodeling and royalties requirements.

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JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

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Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

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The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

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GM has reportedly rehired more than 100 former Cruise employees, 18 months after shuttering the robotaxi unit

GM has rehired more than 100 employees it let go early last year when it shuttered Cruise, its former robotaxi business, according to reporting by The Information.

The hiring spree, which also includes employees from Nvidia and Uber, is geared toward ramping up GM’s plans for personal-use self-driving vehicles and not robotaxis. The former had been the focus of Cruise, prior to GM shuttering it in 2024.

Reporting last fall revealed that GM was attempting to rehire some former Cruise employees, but the scope of that effort wasn’t clear. More than 1,000 employees were laid off when the automaker scrapped Cruise, which it invested $10 billion into.

Google’s Waymo, Cruise’s former chief rival, is now worth $126 billion after a $16 billion funding round earlier this year. The company says it’s serving 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US.