MW National CineMedia reintroduces dividend, plans to accelerate stock buybacks

By James Rogers

National CineMedia made its last dividend payment on Sept. 6, 2022

National CineMedia Inc. is reintroducing its dividend, 21/2 years after making its last dividend payment, it announced Thursday. The in-theater advertising company also plans to accelerate stock buybacks.

National CineMedia's (NCMI) annual cash dividend of 12 cents per share of outstanding common stock will be paid quarterly, the company said, in a statement, with the first payment made on April 7, 2025, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 24, 2025. At current share prices, this would imply an approximate annual dividend yield of 2.2%, according to National CineMedia. For tax purposes, the dividend is expected to be treated as a return of capital to investors.

The dividend is the company's first since a dividend of 3 cents per share of common stock was paid on Sept. 6, 2022.

Related: This cinema-related stock is up 77% this year amid box-office rebound. It's not AMC or Cinemark.

"The company was always a high-dividend growth story," National CineMedia Chief Executive Tom Lesinski told MarketWatch. "We feel like that's where we're going back to."

"We're feeling really confident about the ability to sustain the dividend," he added.

The CEO explained that, historically, almost half of investors in the company were dividend funds or dividend-oriented investors.

Related: AMC poised for 'multiyear recovery' fueled by strong 2025 film slate, says analyst

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the cinema industry hard and National CineMedia undertook a major financial restructuring that saw it file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2023. A few months later, the company emerged from bankruptcy and announced the completion of its financial restructuring, which eliminated approximately $1.2 billion of debt.

National CineMedia also said Thursday that it plans to accelerate share repurchases under the $100 million program, which was instituted in 2024 and runs through 2027.

"Now we're entering 2025 with a much better slate [of movies], there's a lot more confidence in doing more," National CineMedia CFO Ronnie Ng told MarketWatch.

Related: Cinemark's stock is dubbed a top pick amid 'compelling' slate of 2025 movies

The company, which is hosting its investor day in New York City on Thursday, also introduced Bullseye, a targeted, AI-powered digital analytics tool for advertisers. "It has become absolutely expected [from advertisers]," Lesinski said, explaining that Bullseye is an addition to National CineMedia's NCMx suite of analytics tools. "We started this three years ago and we have been adding different products every year to these tools."

While the lingering impact of the Hollywood strikes was still felt in the cinema industry in early 2024, the box office improved dramatically as the year progressed, and is expected to continue its rebound in 2025, boosted by a strong slate of coming movies.

National CineMedia's stock has risen 35.5% in the last 12 months, outpacing the S&P 500 index's SPX gain of 8.4%. Shares of movie-theater chain Cinemark Holdings Inc. $(CNK)$ have risen 26.5%, while AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.'s $(AMC)$ stock has fallen 32.6%.

-James Rogers

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March 13, 2025 07:36 ET (11:36 GMT)

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