Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

(a) Basis of presentation and consolidation

The accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, these interim financial statements do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair presentation of the results of operations, financial position and cash flows for the periods presented have been reflected. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 are unaudited. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2019 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all of the disclosures required by U.S. GAAP. These interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 (the “Annual Report”) filed with the SEC on February 28, 2020. Operating results for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year.

As discussed in Note 1, Planet Fitness, Inc. consolidates Pla-Fit Holdings. The Company also consolidates entities in which it has a controlling financial interest, the usual condition of which is ownership of a majority voting interest. The Company also considers

for consolidation certain interests where the controlling financial interest may be achieved through arrangements that do not involve voting interests. Such an entity, known as a variable interest entity (“VIE”), is required to be consolidated by its primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is considered to possess the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact its economic performance and has the obligation to absorb losses or the rights to receive benefits from the VIE that are significant to it. The principal entities in which the Company possesses a variable interest include franchise entities and certain other entities. The Company is not deemed to be the primary beneficiary for Planet Fitness franchise entities. Therefore, these entities are not consolidated.

The results of the Company have been consolidated with Matthew Michael Realty LLC (“MMR”), PF Melville LLC (“PF Melville”), and Planet Fitness NAF, LLC (the “NAF”) based on the determination that the Company is the primary beneficiary with respect to these VIEs. MMR and PF Melville are real estate holding companies that derive a majority of their financial support from the Company through lease agreements for corporate stores. See Note 3 for further information related to the Company’s VIEs. The NAF is an advertising fund on behalf of which the Company collects 2% of gross monthly membership dues from franchisees, in accordance with the provisions of the franchise agreements, and uses the amounts received to support our national marketing campaigns, our social media platforms and the development of local advertising materials.

(b) Use of estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Although these estimates are based on management’s knowledge of current events and actions it may undertake in the future, they may ultimately differ from actual results. Significant areas where estimates and judgments are relied upon by management in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements include revenue recognition, valuation of assets and liabilities in connection with acquisitions, valuation of equity-based compensation awards, the evaluation of the recoverability of goodwill and long-lived assets, including intangible assets, income taxes, including deferred tax assets and liabilities and reserves for unrecognized tax benefits, the liability for the Company’s tax benefit arrangements, and the value of the lease liability and related right-of-use asset recorded in accordance with ASC 842 (see Note 7).

ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, establishes a three-level valuation hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements. The valuation hierarchy is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability as of the measurement date. Categorization within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The three levels are defined as follows:

Level 1—Inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

Level 2—Inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the financial instrument.

Level 3—Inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.

The carrying value and estimated fair value of long-term debt as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 were as follows:



	March 31, 2020				December 31, 2019
	Carrying value		Estimated fair value⁽¹⁾		Carrying value		Estimated fair value⁽¹⁾
Long-term debt	$	1,730,625	$	1,498,371	$	1,735,000	$	1,765,805
Variable Funding Notes	$	75,000	$	75,000	$	—	$	—

(1) The Company’s Variable Funding Notes are a variable rate loan and the fair value of this loan approximates book value based on the borrowing rates currently available for variable rate loans obtained from third party lending institutions. The estimated fair value of our fixed rate long-term debt is estimated primarily based on current bid prices for our long-term debt. Judgment is required to develop these estimates. As such, the fair value of our long-term debt is classified within Level 2, as defined under U.S. GAAP.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fair value of our long-term debt has fluctuated significantly during the first quarter and may continue to fluctuate based on market conditions and other factors.

(d) Recent accounting pronouncements

The FASB issued ASU No. 2017-4, Intangibles–Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, in January 2017. This guidance eliminates the requirement to calculate the implied fair value, essentially eliminating step two from the goodwill impairment test. The new standard requires goodwill impairment to be based upon the results of step one of the impairment test, which is defined as the excess of the carrying value of a reporting unit over its fair value. The impairment charge will be limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2020 noting no material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued ASU No. 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract, in August 2018. The guidance helps align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license). The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2020 on a prospective basis, noting no material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.