AMC Entertainment, the largest movie theater operator in the U.S., shattered Wall Street's expectations and reported its highest-quarter revenue and adjusted profit in company history.
"After six long years of navigating AMC through uncharted waters, we can finally say with relief that we have brought our ship into port," CEO Adam Aron told analysts. He said that critics have for years reported that AMC was facing its final chapter, "but they were wrong."
"Looking ahead, I could not be more bullish about the long-term prospects for our company," he added, saying that he has personally bought more AMC stock this year.
Third-quarter revenue jumped 31.6% from a year ago to a record $1.71 billion, sailing over Wall Street's expectations for $1.66 billion.
Net earnings improved to $109.3 million, compared with a loss of $298.2 million in the year-ago third-quarter. And adjusted earnings of 13 cents a share was higher than the 9 cents a share expected.
Shares initially fell 4% on Wednesday afternoon, but improved as Aron began talking about results. The stock closed up 7.3% at $3.52 in regular trading and is up 126% this year through Wednesday's close and up 35.4% over the past 12 months.
AMC, with about 840 theaters and 9,500 screens worldwide, has benefited from a strong run of blockbuster movies this year, which Aron called "the best domestic box office in seven years." He expects industry box office totals to easily surpass $10 billion by the end of 2026, noting that this month's offerings include Amazon MGM's I Play Rocky, Searchlight Pictures' Wild Horse Nine, and Netflix's The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.
Domestic box office sales through Sunday are at about $8.46 billion, or 20.1% more than the comparable period in 2025, according to Rentrak. That leaves approximately $1.54 billion to reach the $10 billion milestone for the first time since 2019.
Rival Cinemark Holdings, the third-largest movie theater operator in the U.S. after AMC and Regal Cinemas, reported record third-quarter revenue and higher-than-expected profits on Tuesday.
Cinemark said it had 64 million moviegoers in the quarter, up 18% from the previous third quarter.