Life Time's Earnings Show Why Expensive Gyms Are Winning

Most commercial gyms have the same business model: build a good enough gym with competitive pricing, and hope as many people sign up as possible. The people who frequently show up, you hope to upsell with amenities, drinks, shakes, and bars. The people who don't show up, you hope don't check their credit card statements and forget about the monthly payments.

Life Time is pulling a George Costanza by doing the exact opposite, and it's working. They reported a total revenue of $788.7 million, up nearly 12% from the year prior. They have 190 clubs overall with 837,903 center memberships. This is despite being one of the most expensive gym memberships you'll ever find.

But you get what you pay for. Life Time gyms have top-of-the-line equipment, pools, pickleball courts, cafes, and a myriad of different classes. Average revenue per membership rose to $930 (from $844), which means members are paying more and/or buying more in-center services.

The growth is real and broad. It's not just driven by one-time items; it's coming from both membership growth and members spending more once they're in the door.

You may ask how this is possible with so many people seemingly struggling financially. The reason is that Life Time isn't marketing to this demographic. Affluent people are able to withstand changes in the economy, interest rates, unemployment, etc. As the wealthy get wealthier, they become even more robust.

The numbers don't lie: Life Time is on track to open another 12-14 clubs this year. Many Life Time clubs even have waitlists for people who haven't signed up yet.

Life Time's results back up its thesis: create a premium product that affluent, engaged customers are happy to pay up for and actually use. The growth in average revenue per membership, the strengthening margins, and the new club waitlists all point to genuine demand. Whether that demand holds up if the broader economy weakens further is the real open question. For now, Life Time is proving that betting on the customers who show up, rather than the ones who don't, can be a very profitable business model.

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This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 2:50 PM.