Planet Fitness stock closed at $63.96 on May 6, 2026. The next day it fell to $44.01, a one-day drop of about 31 percent. On July 14, a securities class action over that fall landed in federal court.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. It names the company, chief executive Colleen Keating, and Jay Stasz, who was chief financial officer during the period at issue. It covers investors who bought Planet Fitness common stock between November 6, 2025 and May 6, 2026. Shareholders who want to serve as lead plaintiff have until September 14, 2026.
The allegations
The complaint says the company told investors the brand was healthy, that its “We Are All Strong on This Planet” campaign was resonating, that the Black Card price plan rested on testing, and that its low-price subscription model could carry ambitious 2026 and three-year growth targets.
In reality, the plaintiffs allege, the new marketing was not reaching the gym’s core audience of beginners and casual exercisers. They say it intimidated the people the brand was built for. Weak net joins during the first-quarter sign-up season, the complaint contends, put the 2026 guidance and the three-year growth plan out of reach.
What executives said, and when
On November 6, 2025, announcing third-quarter results, Keating pointed to “significant progress in executing our long-term strategy.” She said the join trend remained strong and Black Card members made up 66.1% of total membership. She also said the company would raise the Black Card price to $29.99 after the 2026 peak join season, following “thoughtful consideration, significant testing and data analysis.” Stasz told the call that testing showed the increase had added to average unit volume.
A week later, at the November 13 investor day, the company laid out targets for fiscal 2026 through 2028: low-double-digit revenue growth, mid-single-digit same-club sales growth and new club growth of 6% to 7%. Keating said the marketing “has legs to extend into 2026” and was “driving joins.”
The company issued 2026 guidance on February 24: same-club sales growth of 4% to 5%, revenue growth of about 9%. The complaint says executives brushed off weather and attrition worries. Stasz called them “short-term transitory items” and said join demand was strong.
Stasz left as CFO on March 9. A Form 8-K said his departure was not the result of a dispute over financial statements, named Tom Fitzgerald interim CFO, and reaffirmed the 2026 guidance.
May 7
That reassurance lasted until May 7. Planet Fitness said 2026 was “off to a slower than expected start from a net member growth perspective.” It cut full-year guidance, lowered its same-club sales forecast to roughly 1% from 4% to 5%, paused the national Black Card increase and withdrew the three-year growth targets.
Keating said the marketing had worked better with fitness-minded customers than with beginners and casual gym-goers, the chain’s traditional base. The company, she said, “may have pivoted too far.”
The company
Brothers Michael and Marc Grondahl started the business in 1992 in Dover, New Hampshire, after taking over a struggling Gold’s Gym franchise. Planet Fitness went public on August 6, 2015, pricing 13.5 million Class A shares at $16.00 each. At the end of 2025 it reported about 20.8 million members, 2,896 clubs and $1.3 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue.
