Peloton Vs. Planet Fitness: Who's Winning The Fitness Race Post-Pandemic?

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The opening line from Charles Dickens' classic novel “A Tale of Two Cities” could perfectly sum up two personal fitness stocks headed in opposite directions.

Peloton Shares Fall: Connected fitness company Peloton Interactive Inc PTON reported revenue of $805.2 million for the first quarter, up 6% year-over-year. The revenue figure came in lower than Street estimates of $810.8 million.

First-quarter revenue was the lowest the company had reported since the first quarter of the previous year and marks two consecutive quarters of declining quarter-over-quarter revenue after steady growth.

Subscriptions and members grew in the first quarter but investors may be concerned to see workouts per user falling. Peloton reported 16.6 workouts on average per subscriber, the lowest figure since the second quarter of fiscal 2020. This is two straight quarters of under 20 workouts per subscriber after four straight quarters above 20.

Planet Fitness Shines: Fitness center operator Planet Fitness Inc PLNT reported third-quarter revenue of $154.3 million, up 46% year-over-year. The revenue total came in ahead of a street consensus of $135.2 million.

“We are emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger than ever,” Planet Fitness CEO Chris Rondeau said.

Planet Fitness reported same-store sales of +7.2% and a total of more than 15 million members. The third quarter marked the best in company history for sequential net member growth. The third quarter was also a company record for franchise segment revenue.

The company opened 24 new locations in the third quarter, ending the quarter with 2,193 locations.

Related Link: Why Peloton Shares Are Falling During Thursday's After-Hours Session 

What’s Next: Peloton is guiding for second-quarter revenue to come in a range of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion, lower than a Street estimate of $1.51 billion. Full fiscal year revenue is now estimated at a range of $4.4 billion to $4.8 billion, well below Street estimates of $5.4 billion.

“We anticipated fiscal 2022 would be a very challenging year to forecast, given unusual year-ago comparisons, demand uncertainty amidst re-opening economies and widely-reported supply chain constraints,” Peloton said.

Planet Fitness raised full-year revenue guidance. The company sees full-year revenue hitting a range of $570 million to $580 million, up from a prior range of $530 million to $540 million. The new guidance comes in ahead of Street estimates of $538.1 million.

The company plans on opening 110 to 120 locations in the current fiscal year.

The fourth quarter is usually the company’s highest in terms of revenue. Fourth-quarter revenue was $191.5 million last year compared to $166.8 million in the third quarter.

“I am more enthusiastic than ever with several factors driving both near and long-term growth opportunities,” Rondeau said.

Planet Fitness celebrates its 30th anniversary next year and will launch an advertising campaign around the event with a shift to one agency covering local and national advertising.

Stock Performance: Peloton shares fell on earnings, hitting new 52-week lows of $48.90. Shares have now traded between $48.90 and $171.09 over the last 52 weeks. Shares were trading at $49.35 Friday morning.

Peloton shares are now down over 59% in the last year and down 66% year-to-date in 2021. Peloton shares remain up 71% from their 2019 IPO price of $29.

Shares of Planet Fitness went the opposite direction hitting new 52-week highs of $99.60 after reporting earnings. The company’s previous 52-week high was $92.17 prior to earnings.

Planet Fitness shares have traded between $64.86 and $99.60 over the last 52 weeks. Planet Fitness shares are up 43% in the last year and up 24% year-to-date in 2021. Planet Fitness shares are up 391% over the last five years, now outperforming Peloton. As of Friday morning, Planet Fitness shares were up 1.57% at $91.83.

Photo: Peloton, courtesy Peloton; Planet Fitness, cropped, by Mike Mozart via Flickr