MW AMC's third-quarter results on deck amid signs of a cinema industry rebound

By James Rogers

Movie-theater chain and original meme stock AMC reports third-quarter results after market close Wednesday

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. will report third-quarter results after market close Wednesday amid signs that the cinema industry is bouncing back from the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, AMC $(AMC)$ rival Cinemark Holdings Inc. $(CNK)$ reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, boosted by the company's highest quarterly box office since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Cinemark reported record third-quarter revenue of $922 million and an increase in its average ticket price of 6.3%, to $7.62.

This could have major implications for AMC. Earlier this year, foot-traffic data from analytics company Placer.ai indicated that Cinemark, AMC and Regal Cinemas were still seeing visitor numbers well below prepandemic levels.

Related: Cinemark at 'inflection point,' well-placed for postpandemic recovery, Benchmark says

AMC narrowed its loss in the company's first-quarter results in May and outperformed amid the lingering effects of last year's Hollywood writers and actors strikes, according to Chief Executive Adam Aron. In August, when AMC reported second-quarter results, Aron said that "the box office has started its big upwards climb."

Last month, B. Riley Securities raised its financial estimates for AMC, citing a broader cinema-industry rebound. B. Riley analyst Eric Wold pointed to "an expectation that the domestic and European AMC circuits continued to benefit from share gains coming out of the pandemic" amid "upside" industry results.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet are looking for AMC to report a third-quarter loss of 9 cents a share and sales of $1.334 billion.

Related: AMC's revenue, Ebitda estimates raised by B. Riley, citing industry strength

AMC shares are down 28.8% in 2024, compared with the S&P 500's SPX gain of 19.8%.

Shares of AMC, along with fellow original meme stock GameStop Corp. $(GME)$, skyrocketed earlier this year after influential trader Keith Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty, returned to social media after an absence of three years. Gill had been a pivotal figure in the 2021 meme-stock frenzy.

In July, AMC conducted a major debt restructuring, which extended up to $2.45 billion in debt maturities due in 2026 out to 2029 and beyond. The stock rose recently after AMC shaved almost $153 million off of its debt load.

Of seven analysts surveyed by FactSet, four have a hold rating and three have a sell rating for AMC.

-James Rogers

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November 04, 2024 16:21 ET (21:21 GMT)

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