While I tend to prefer writing about the market in the third person, the topic of fitness and the business world around it is a personal matter to me. After all, the fitness market, unlike technology or defense, relies on us, the average person, to remain relevant. For me, staying fit through gym memberships has never quite yielded the same results as spending time outdoors, and I think the reality is the same for most of us.
Unless you live in extreme weather conditions like the deserts of Arizona or the frozen expanses of the Rockies, getting outside and going for a walk, run or hike is likely all the exercise you need to stay healthy. Of course, weight lifting, CrossFit and other training regimens can provide benefits to your musculature, but they’re not the end-all-be-all of fitness.
Unfortunately, with the pressures of social media and the ever-persistent desire to be better, the average person is at the mercy of gyms and fitness providers more than ever before. This has provided strong returns for the industries, but it has also led to the formation of a handful of stocks that are not worth holding for the long run. As such, here are three fitness stocks to sell due to their lacking prospects and value.
Peloton (PTON)
I’ll be the first to admit that when the pandemic made life outside less accessible, particularly in New York City, where I lived at the time, I caved and tried out Peloton (NASDAQ:PTON) for a month. I, like many other consumers, was not impressed with the eye-watering $90 a month at the time. Moreover, the concept of paying monthly for the bike and being able to one day own it but not be able to use it without paying the monthly membership seemed ridiculous. Thankfully, I returned it before the one-month trial period ended and saved myself a lot of dollars.
My experience and that of many others brings us to where Peloton is today, which is nothing more than a cratered stock, trying to hold onto relevance in an increasingly fitness-savvy market. The main issue for the company has been dwindling revenue resulting in an inability to turn a profit since December of 2020, at the height of the pandemic. Then a series of safety recalls hit its high-paying customers hard last May, causing 2 million bikes to need reinspection.
More recently, however, its answer to faltering performance has been to cut 15% of its employees as its chief executive officer steps down. These kinds of moves, while good for a short-term financial adjustment, can severely impact employee morale and cause an exodus of talent.
From its financial performance to the treatment of its customers and employees, there are several reasons why Peloton should be on your list of fitness stocks to sell.
Herbalife (HLF)
If a company devotes an entire webpage to explaining how it’s not a pyramid scheme, does that mean it’s a pyramid scheme? In the case of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF), such allegations have been a long-standing part of its characterization. I’m going to assume it’s not a pyramid scheme for the sake of argument. The bigger issue, I believe, with Herbalife is not its structure, but rather its products.
That’s because Herbalife sustains itself from the production and sale of supplements. These products themselves are notorious for gray marketing tactics and minimal Food and Drug Administration regulation. Most Herbalife products, if not all, have not been evaluated by the FDA to support the claims they make.
While this is universal to the vitamin and supplement industry, one of Herbalife’s central product lines, weight management shakes, has seen consistent year-over-year drops in sales. From 2022 to 2023, the company saw a 3.5% decrease
in sales of weight management shakes from $2.95 billion to $ 2.85 billion. This trend is likely to continue through 2024 as consumers become more health conscious and aware of the unsustainable weight loss provided by meal replacement shakes.
As with many other supplements and natural health solutions, Herbalife benefits from its customers misunderstanding the biochemical pathways that its products claim to interact with. Thus, it’s not likely Herbalife has much of a future ahead of it as consumers become more wary and hold on tighter to their money.
Planet Fitness (PLNT)
The premise of Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) is a venerable one. After all, who wouldn’t like to go to a gym for a low price with low stakes and pressure? For much of its early history, Planet Fitness stood for the little guy – no pun intended. It created an environment in which only the most beginner-friendly fitness machines would be available. Open bench presses and squat racks were traded in for Smith machines and low-weight dumbbells.
Planet Fitness thus marketed itself as a beginner’s gym. However, year over year for the past five years, the company has struggled to provide meaningful returns to its shareholders. While this has impacted investor confidence, it could be due to the overall public perception of the company’s gyms. For starters, a recent scandal regarding its locker room management sent its stock tumbling in March, which started its recent volatile trend.
Moreover, many customers report consistently damaged and inoperable machinery with relatively poor customer service, which further damages future customer recruitment prospects. Finally, economic pressures may begin to undercut the low-price advantage that has allowed it to attract 18.7 million members. All things considered, Planet Fitness, if currently a part of your portfolio, might be best sitting in the bin of fitness stocks to sell.
On the date of publication, Viktor Zarev did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.