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.

Max Knoblauch3h

Nintendo is reportedly cutting back Switch 2 production by 33% as US sales underperform

Nintendo will produce 4 million units of the Switch 2 this quarter, down one-third from its original 6 million-unit target, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The decision, spurred by weaker-than-expected US holiday sales, is not expected to impact estimates of 20 million Switch 2 unit sales for the fiscal year ending this month.

Nintendo ADRs were down 6% in US premarket trading, and shares closed down nearly 5% in Tokyo. With Tuesday morning’s drop, Nintendo ADRs have entirely shed their gains from the unexpected success of “Pokémon Pokopia.”

Weaker holiday sales weren’t just a Nintendo problem: the season saw the worst November in 30 years for overall American gaming console unit sales, per data from Circana. The Switch 2 rebounded in December, but reports that the company would stop producing its popular (and pricier) “Mario Kart World” bundle dampened investors’ moods again toward the end of the year.

Nintendo Cuts Switch 2 Output by Over 30% on Weak US Sales

Tom Jones3/23/26

Danone acquires meal replacement shake maker Huel for ~$1.2 billion

Very big things are happening today in the world of nutritionally complete products that taste like chalk, as Danone has agreed to buy the celebrity-backed protein bar, powder, meal, and meal replacement shake maker Huel for €1 billion, or around $1.2 billion.

In a statement announcing the acquisition, Danone — apparently the No. 1 yogurt producer in the US and the nation’s top plant-based food and beverage company as well — said that buying Huel will enhance its “presence in functional nutrition and extend its portfolio into the fast-growing Complete Nutrition space.” Danone, the parent company behind Evian and Actimel, also praised Huel’s “best-in-class digital execution” and fan bases across the UK, Europe, and the US.

Bulking season

Huel, a portmanteau of “human” and “fuel,” was only set up just over a decade ago, but thanks to its marketing efforts, a buzzy product range that marries on-the-go eating with nutrient-dense, plant-based ingredients, and a decent list of (mostly UK-based) celebrity investors, like actor Idris Elba and talk show host Jonathan Ross, sales have soared.

Millie Giles

Slow coach

3/23/26

US airlines are still doubling down on premium seats, as the K-shaped economy takes off

There’s really not much room in economy these days.

United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner Flight

Max Knoblauch3/20/26

China’s EV startup trio have all become profitable

China’s EV startup trio, Nio, Li Auto, and XPeng, are now all profitable, following the latter’s Q4 results released Friday.

XPeng reported a quarterly net profit of about $55 million, compared to rival Nio’s Q4 net profit (also its first) of about $40 million. Li Auto posted Q4 net profit of less than $1 million.

All three companies being profitable offers a stark contrast to the EV market in the US, where Rivian quietly delayed its 2027 profitability target in a filing about its Uber robotaxi partnership yesterday. Lucid is likely further away, and last month cut 12% of its US workforce as part of its “path toward profitability.”

Still, it’s not all rosy for China’s EV startups, either. XPeng ADRs were down more than 6% in Friday morning trading as its Q1 sales forecast came in below estimates. As China rolls back subsidies, auto sales are slumping. Chinese retail EV and hybrid sales fell 32% in February from the same month last year.

9.3%

Max Knoblauch3/19/26

As the war with Iran produces the biggest spike in US gas prices since Hurricane Katrina, car retailer CarMax is continuing to see heightened interest in EVs, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids.

“From Feb 1st - March 1st (inclusive), compared to March 2nd to March 15th (inclusive), we saw a 9.3% lift in page views for these vehicles,” a spokesperson for the company told Sherwood News.

As industry insiders recently told us, EV interest climbs when gas prices rise. That appears to be holding true even without EV tax credits, which the Trump administration ended under its new budget package.

CarMax also saw EV searches spike in 2022, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting oil price spike.