Anytime Fitness Franchise Earnings: What Item 19 Really Means

Anytime Fitness gives you more earnings context than many buyers expect, but less certainty than many buyers want. Average total revenue was $384,958 and median was $347,576 for 1,103 franchised clubs using the Training Suite. Those are real FDD-sourced numbers, and having them puts Anytime Fitness ahead of franchise systems that make no Item 19 disclosure at all.

But $384,958 in average total revenue is a top-line number. Understanding what it means for your actual take-home as an owner requires a second layer of analysis that Item 19 does not provide.

What the sample covers

The Item 19 disclosure covers franchised clubs that were using the Training Suite during the measurement period. The Training Suite is Anytime Fitness's integrated management platform, which the FDD requires franchisees to use. Clubs in the sample were open for at least a partial year, though the exact length-of-operation filter matters and should be checked against the current FDD.

The 1,103 clubs in the sample represents a substantial portion of the active US system. That size gives the average more statistical stability than a sample of 50 or 100 clubs. But it also means the average reflects a very wide range of market conditions: urban clubs and rural clubs, strong markets and weak ones, mature clubs and newer openings are all averaged together.

Revenue versus what an owner actually takes home

A club generating $384,958 in annual revenue is not a club where the owner takes home $384,958. From that revenue you need to subtract the Anytime Fitness monthly royalty, the marketing fund contribution, rent or mortgage costs for the club location, staffing costs if you employ front-desk staff or trainers, equipment maintenance and replacement, technology costs, utilities, insurance, and any debt service on your opening investment.

In markets with higher rents, a club at the average revenue figure can leave very little margin after fixed costs. In markets with lower rents and a well-managed membership base, the same revenue figure might support a decent owner income. The location economics matter more than the systemwide average in determining whether the deal works for you.

The median versus the average

The median total revenue of $347,576 is meaningfully below the average of $384,958. When a median is below the average, it usually indicates that a small number of high-performing clubs are pulling the average up. The majority of clubs in the system generate less than the average.

For a buyer assessing whether the deal works, the median is often a more realistic starting point than the average. If your club lands at the median rather than the average, do the economics still work after fees, rent, labour, and debt service? If not, you need a very specific answer for why your location will outperform the typical club in the system.

How to cross-check Item 19 with Item 20

The most valuable cross-check is to take the Item 19 revenue figure and then read Item 20 to understand how clubs are actually performing at a system level. If the outlet count is declining — through closures, transfers, and terminations exceeding openings — that context changes the meaning of the average revenue figure.

Then call franchisees from the Item 20 contact list. Ask whether their revenue has grown, declined, or stayed flat over the last two to three years. Ask what their actual owner income looks like after costs. Ask whether they would buy again at today's economics. Those answers complete the picture that Item 19 begins.

What to do before you rely on the numbers

Build a conservative model. Use median revenue rather than average. Apply realistic local rent, staffing, and marketing costs. Subtract the royalty structure. Then ask whether the result supports your investment thesis at that level of performance.

If the answer is only yes at the average or above, your investment thesis depends on above-median performance. That is not impossible, but it needs explicit justification: a better-than-average location, a stronger-than-average market, or operating experience that justifies above-median membership retention. If you want the full Item 19 breakdown from the Anytime Fitness FDD extracted and explained, fddinsight.com can do that before you make any further commitments.