KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. (KLC)Consumer Defensive | Education & Training Services | Lake Oswego, United States | NYSE
1.79 USD
-0.05
(-2.459%) ⇩
(Oct. 16, 2026, 11:46 a.m.
EDT)
|
Hot Take ↕ | Oct. 10, 2026, 8:24 a.m. EDT
The investment case for KinderCare is currently broken by a catastrophic multi-year decline and deteriorating fundamentals. The stock has lost nearly 80% of its value over the last year, a trajectory that signals severe structural issues rather than a temporary market correction. Fundamentally, the company is bleeding value with negative earnings per share, negative return on equity, and shrinking revenues. The balance sheet is precarious, carrying debt nearly 540 times its equity, which leaves no room for error in a sector facing regulatory headwinds. There is no dividend to provide income, and the recent price action shows continued weakness, trading well below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. While the forward P/E looks cheap, it is a trap built on negative earnings and a collapsing business model. The options market confirms this pessimism, with traders aggressively buying insurance against further drops rather than betting on a recovery. Until the balance sheet stabilizes and revenue growth turns positive, this remains a speculative trap to avoid. |
| Model | MAE |
|---|---|
| AutoETS ✓ | 0.757253 |
| AutoARIMA | 0.757257 |
| MSTL | 0.757623 |
| AutoTheta | 0.831553 |
Forecast horizon: 45 days | Selected: AutoETS
| Forecast Reliability | |
|---|---|
| Score | 40% |
| H-stat | 2.36 |
| Ljung-Box p | 0.000 |
| Jarque-Bera p | 0.144 |
| Excess Kurtosis | -1.33 |
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Sector | Consumer Defensive |
| Debt to Equity Ratio | 539.166 |
| Revenue per Share | 23.077 |
| Market Cap | 211,552,896 |
| Forward P/E | 8.31 |
| Beta | 3.88 |
| Profit Margins | -17.23% |
| Website | https://www.investors.kindercare.com |
As of Oct. 10, 2026, 8:24 a.m. EDT: Speculators are overwhelmingly positioned for downside protection rather than upside speculation. Put open interest significantly exceeds call open interest across all expirations, with deep out-of-the-money puts holding substantial volume relative to calls. Implied volatility is markedly higher for puts (ranging from 4.45% to 11.0%) compared to calls (0.77% to 1.69%), indicating a market pricing in significant downside risk. The lack of any in-the-money call positioning suggests traders see the current price as a floor, while the heavy put activity at strikes like 7.5 implies a fear of a further collapse.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| 52 Week Change | -0.68664384 |
| Address1 | 5,005 Meadows Road |
| All Time High | 29.89 |
| All Time Low | 1.75 |
| Ask | 1.8 |
| Ask Size | 1,300 |
| Audit Risk | 10 |
| Average Analyst Rating | 3.3 - Hold |
| Average Daily Volume10 Day | 709,480 |
| Average Daily Volume3 Month | 782,848 |
| Average Volume | 782,848 |
| Average Volume10Days | 709,480 |
| Beta | 3.876 |
| Bid | 1.79 |
| Bid Size | 1,000 |
| Board Risk | 8 |
| Book Value | 3.934 |
| City | Lake Oswego |
| Compensation As Of Epoch Date | 1,767,139,200 |
| Compensation Risk | 8 |
| Country | United States |
| Crypto Tradeable | 0 |
| Currency | USD |
| Current Price | 1.785 |
| Current Ratio | 0.745 |
| Custom Price Alert Confidence | HIGH |
| Date Short Interest | 1,790,726,400 |
| Day High | 1.9 |
| Day Low | 1.78 |
| Debt To Equity | 539.166 |
| Display Name | KinderCare Learning |
| Dividend Yield | 0.0 |
| Earnings Call Timestamp End | 1,786,654,800 |
| Earnings Call Timestamp Start | 1,786,654,800 |
| Earnings Timestamp | 1,786,651,200 |
| Earnings Timestamp End | 1,794,513,600 |
| Earnings Timestamp Start | 1,794,513,600 |
| Ebitda | 233,050,000 |
| Ebitda Margins | 0.085209996 |
| Enterprise To Ebitda | 10.967 |
| Enterprise To Revenue | 0.935 |
| Enterprise Value | 2,555,959,296 |
| Eps Current Year | 0.11009 |
| Eps Forward | 0.2147 |
| Eps Trailing Twelve Months | -3.97 |
| Esg Populated | 0 |
| Exchange | NYQ |
| Exchange Data Delayed By | 20 |
| Exchange Timezone Name | America/New_York |
| Exchange Timezone Short Name | EDT |
| Fifty Day Average | 2.6156 |
| Fifty Day Average Change | -0.83060014 |
| Fifty Day Average Change Percent | -0.31755623 |
| Fifty Two Week Change Percent | -68.66438 |
| Fifty Two Week High | 6.27 |
| Fifty Two Week High Change | -4.485 |
| Fifty Two Week High Change Percent | -0.71531105 |
| Fifty Two Week Low | 1.75 |
| Fifty Two Week Low Change | 0.034999967 |
| Fifty Two Week Low Change Percent | 0.01999998 |
| Fifty Two Week Range | 1.75 - 6.27 |
| Financial Currency | USD |
| First Trade Date Milliseconds | 1,728,480,600,000 |
| Float Shares | 30,740,948 |
| Forward Eps | 0.2147 |
| Forward P E | 8.313927 |
| Free Cashflow | 41,251,624 |
| Full Exchange Name | NYSE |
| Full Time Employees | 35,700 |
| Fullday Change | -0.045000076 |
| Fullday Change Percent | -2.4590206 |
| Fullday Price | 1.785 |
| Gmt Off Set Milliseconds | -14,400,000 |
| Governance Epoch Date | 1,790,812,800 |
| Gross Margins | 0.19966999 |
| Gross Profits | 546,104,000 |
| Has Pre Post Market Data | 1 |
| Held Percent Insiders | 0.059310004 |
| Held Percent Institutions | 0.92525 |
| Implied Shares Outstanding | 118,517,033 |
| Industry | Education & Training Services |
| Industry Disp | Education & Training Services |
| Industry Key | education-training-services |
| Ipo Expected Date | 2,021-11-18 |
| Is Earnings Date Estimate | 0 |
| Language | en-US |
| Last Fiscal Year End | 1,767,398,400 |
| Long Business Summary | KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. provides early childhood education and care services in the United States. The company offers community-based early childhood education services for infants, toddlers, preschool, and kindergarten students; and customized family care benefits for organizations, including care for young children on or near the site where their parents work, tuition benefits, and backup care under the KinderCare Learning Centers (KCLC) and Crème School brands. It also provides before-and after-school programs, including summer camp programs for preschool and school-age children under the Champions brand. The company was formerly known as KC Holdco, LLC and changed its name to KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. in January 2022. KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon. |
| Long Name | KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. |
| Market | us_market |
| Market Cap | 211,552,896 |
| Market State | REGULAR |
| Max Age | 86,400 |
| Message Board Id | finmb_1685545783 |
| Most Recent Quarter | 1,783,123,200 |
| Net Income To Common | -471,227,008 |
| Next Fiscal Year End | 1,798,934,400 |
| Non Diluted Market Cap | 274,959,516 |
| Number Of Analyst Opinions | 7 |
| Open | 1.86 |
| Operating Cashflow | 209,527,008 |
| Operating Margins | 0.0363 |
| Overall Risk | 8 |
| Payout Ratio | 0.0 |
| Phone | 503 872 1300 |
| Previous Close | 1.83 |
| Price Eps Current Year | 16.214006 |
| Price Hint | 4 |
| Price To Book | 0.45373663 |
| Price To Sales Trailing12 Months | 0.077349864 |
| Profit Margins | -0.17229 |
| Quick Ratio | 0.642 |
| Quote Source Name | Nasdaq Real Time Price |
| Quote Type | EQUITY |
| Recommendation Key | hold |
| Recommendation Mean | 3.25 |
| Region | US |
| Regular Market Change | -0.045000076 |
| Regular Market Change Percent | -2.4590206 |
| Regular Market Day High | 1.9 |
| Regular Market Day Low | 1.78 |
| Regular Market Day Range | 1.78 - 1.9 |
| Regular Market Open | 1.86 |
| Regular Market Previous Close | 1.83 |
| Regular Market Price | 1.785 |
| Regular Market Time | 1,792,165,587 |
| Regular Market Volume | 156,384 |
| Return On Assets | 0.01865 |
| Return On Equity | -0.6778 |
| Revenue Growth | -0.004 |
| Revenue Per Share | 23.077 |
| Sand P52 Week Change | 0.16207206 |
| Sector | Consumer Defensive |
| Sector Disp | Consumer Defensive |
| Sector Key | consumer-defensive |
| Share Holder Rights Risk | 6 |
| Shares Outstanding | 118,517,033 |
| Shares Percent Shares Out | 0.028399998 |
| Shares Short | 3,365,037 |
| Shares Short Previous Month Date | 1,788,134,400 |
| Shares Short Prior Month | 4,737,300 |
| Short Name | KinderCare Learning Companies, |
| Short Percent Of Float | 0.104399994 |
| Short Ratio | 5.34 |
| Source Interval | 15 |
| State | OR |
| Symbol | KLC |
| Target High Price | 6.0 |
| Target Low Price | 2.0 |
| Target Mean Price | 3.91429 |
| Target Median Price | 4.0 |
| Total Cash | 174,450,000 |
| Total Cash Per Share | 1.472 |
| Total Debt | 2,513,522,944 |
| Total Revenue | 2,735,013,120 |
| Tradeable | 0 |
| Trailing Annual Dividend Rate | 0.0 |
| Trailing Annual Dividend Yield | 0.0 |
| Trailing Eps | -3.97 |
| Trailing Peg Ratio | None |
| Triggerable | 1 |
| Two Hundred Day Average | 3.63145 |
| Two Hundred Day Average Change | -1.84645 |
| Two Hundred Day Average Change Percent | -0.5084608 |
| Type Disp | Equity |
| Volume | 156,384 |
| Website | https://www.investors.kindercare.com |
| Zip | 97,035 |