G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) shares are having a day to forget on Wednesday.
In morning trade, the ASX 300 share is down 31% to a multi-year low of 16.5 cents.
This follows the release of a trading update from the childcare centre operator ahead of its annual general meeting.
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ASX 300 share crashes on trading update
This morning, G8 Education announced a program of proactive initiatives to respond to ongoing macro, cost of living, and socio-economic challenges that are affecting the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector.
The ASX 300 share notes that the ECEC sector is experiencing unprecedented change and uncertainty, driven by a combination of socio and macro-economic factors.
Management highlights that occupancy across the ECEC sector is lower compared to 2024 and 2025 due to families experiencing sustained affordability pressures, falling birth rates, increased long-day care supply, and confidence being impacted by serious child safety incidents.
At the same time, it notes that ECEC operators are dealing with increased costs incurred due to inflationary pressures across the economy, persistent workforce challenges, changing regulation and compliance requirements, and a more complex operating environment.
Current occupancy for the ASX 300 share at 24 April 2026 is 56.4%, which is down 7% versus the prior corresponding period. Year-to-date occupancy is 56.1%. This is down 7.9% on the same period last year.
G8 Education's CEO and managing director, Pejman Okhovat, said:
In this environment, G8 Education's focus remains firmly on safety, high quality education and care, disciplined execution, as well as efficient and effective management of the areas within its control. While the operating environment means G8 Education does not expect a material recovery in occupancy relative to pcp this year, we will continue to review and adjust the operating model and cost base of the Group where appropriate.
Big changes
Pejman Okhovat has revealed that big changes are underway. He said:
In response, G8 Education has proactively assessed its network to ensure we remain sustainable, resilient and well positioned to continue delivering safe, high quality early education and care over the long term. We have carefully considered where our resources can be most effectively allocated to support quality early education and care outcomes.
The company has announced several initiatives that are planned to be delivered in FY 2026.
One is the suspension of the operation of approximately 40 challenged and underperforming centres. G8 Education will focus on supporting families to transition to one of its nearby centres and redeploying team members. The ASX 300 share will then consider longer term options for those centres, including lease surrender, divestment, or another alternative.
There are also procurement and cost saving initiatives that will be undertaken. However, it stresses that these will not impact safety, compliance, or the capacity of its centre-based team to deliver high quality education and care.
G8 Education shares are now down almost 90% over the past 12 months.
