Gym membership sales are rising and one stock to play the trend

The signal: Gym membership sales are rising according to data from Bloomberg Second Measure.

On the wrong side are home equipment companies, like Peloton and Nautilus, which have fallen more than 30% since their stocks surged in 2020.

On the right side are gym operators, which have massively struggled during COVID. Second Measure’s data shows how different gym chains managed in the past year:

• The best: Planet Fitness kept 50% of their customers who started a membership in Mar 2020, a year later.
• The worst: 24 Hour Fitness, who filed for bankruptcy during COVID, only retained 10% of customers a year later.

For investors: There aren’t many gym stocks around and COVID only reduced that number, with Town Sports International ($CLUBQ) filing for bankruptcy.

• Planet Fitness is not only one of the stronger chains, but also one of the only gym stocks standing ($PLNT).
• Earlier in May, it was rumored that Equinox, the owner of SoulCycle, Blink fitness, and other fitness chains were in discussions to go public via Social Capital’s SPAC.

Read more on Planet Fitness.