Planet Fitness (PLNT) presents a deeply negative liquidation posture, consistent with prior periods. MFFAIS latest CLV is -$2.82B, LLV -$2.78B, and OLV -$2.77B for the March 31, 2026 period. The structural driver is a highly leveraged balance sheet with $2.51B gross long-term debt face value against an asset base dominated by goodwill ($712M), operating lease ROU assets ($399M), finite-lived intangibles ($132M net), and deferred tax assets ($395M) — all of which receive zero or deeply discounted recoveries under the liquidation lens. Total assets are $3.10B, but after applying standard haircuts (cash $375M at 100%; AR $41M at ~92%; inventory $5M at 60%; PP&E net $452M at 50-60%; intangibles $278M at 0%; goodwill $712M at 0%; deferred tax $395M at 0%; ROU assets $399M at subordinate recovery), recoverable asset value is materially below the $3.26B non-current liability stack plus $332M current liabilities. Long-term debt alone ($2.48B non-current per XBRL) at face value absorbs the majority of any asset recovery. Operating lease liabilities of $407M non-current and $48M current do not extinguish on windup and add to the face-value claim pool. The company's book equity is negative at -$483M (including NCI). The $350M December 2025 ASR settled in January 2026, retiring additional shares funded by new debt issuance (2025 Variable Funding Notes and Series 2025-1 fixed-rate notes per MD&A), which increased gross debt from the prior-year 10-K level and drove Q1 2026 interest expense to $33.0M versus $26.2M in Q1 2025 — a 26% increase that further pressures recovery math. Cash and equivalents of $375M plus short-term marketable securities of $99M and long-term marketable securities of $97M provide the highest-quality recoverable assets, but these are more than offset by the liability stack. The held-to-maturity investment (gross $35.5M face, allowance for credit loss $24.9M, net carrying $68.9M per XBRL — filing notes a $502K credit loss provision increment in Q1 2026) represents a distressed instrument. Deferred revenue of $115.5M ($86M current, $29M non-current) remains a liability at face value in liquidation. Off-balance-sheet lease guarantees for certain franchisees ($3.5M max exposure) are immaterial. The tax benefit arrangement liability (TRA obligations to prior LLC owners) is discussed in MD&A but the current-period face-value TRA liability is not separately tagged in XBRL in this filing — it was remeasured to $0 adjustment in Q1 2026 — practitioners should reference the 10-K for the TRA balance. Recovery to equity holders in a hypothetical liquidation is materially negative and unchanged in direction from the prior annual filing.
▼ Community Notes