AMC Entertainment shares rose on Monday after the company reported second-quarter results that beat Wall Street’s expectations. Strong ticket sales for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey also helped boost the stock.
For the quarter ending June 30, AMC reported adjusted earnings of 14 cents per share, beating analysts’ forecast of a 4-cent loss. Revenue grew 14% to $1.59 billion, above the $1.5 billion expected, according to FactSet. Adjusted EBITDA rose 70% to $321.4 million, passing $300 million for the first time in AMC’s history. Free cash flow was $190.1 million.
Attendance was up almost 14% for the quarter. AMC said over 4.3 million people visited its theaters worldwide from Thursday to Sunday, mostly because of high demand for The Odyssey.
AMC shares rose 16% in premarket trading on Monday. IMAX shares also went up about 4%, and Cinemark Holdings saw a small increase.
AMC has often been grouped with stocks like GameStop as a meme stock, with prices usually moving because of retail investor excitement and online trends rather than business results. But Monday’s rally seemed to be based on the company’s strong performance.
CEO Adam Aron called the results extraordinary and said they were the best in AMC’s 106-year history. He credited the company’s focus on guest experience after the industry’s slow recovery from the pandemic.
