AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) shares were stuck in neutral Friday morning, trading around $2.09 as investors tried to square upbeat third-quarter results with a stock that's been in free fall for a month.
The Revenue Win and the Loss That Came With It
Earlier this month, AMC reported third-quarter revenue of $1.3 billion, beating Wall Street's $1.23 billion estimate even though sales slipped 3.6% from a year earlier. Not bad for a company that's been fighting an uphill battle since the pandemic upended the theater business.
The less cheerful part? AMC posted an adjusted loss of 21 cents per share and a wider net loss of $298 million. Most of that pain came from non-cash charges related to a July debt refinancing that management has called transformative. Adjusted EBITDA landed at $122 million.
Record Spending Per Customer
CEO Adam Aron highlighted some genuinely impressive customer metrics. Admissions revenue hit a record $12.25 per patron, and food and beverage spending came in near record levels. Premium releases helped, but so did a partnership with Taylor Swift that generated $50 million in box office receipts. When the Eras Tour concert film hits your theaters, apparently people show up.
Aron went further, saying AMC expects the fourth quarter to be its strongest in six years. He's banking on upcoming blockbusters like "Wicked" and "Avatar: Fire and Ash" to pack seats and keep those per-customer numbers climbing.
The Stock Is Testing Its Floor
Here's the problem: none of that optimism has stopped the bleeding. AMC stock has dropped nearly 28% over the past month and now trades just above its 52-week low of $2.05. That gives the company a market value near $1.1 billion, well below its $5.56 high from earlier this year.
According to market data rankings, AMC holds a Growth score of 33.89, while its short-, medium-, and long-term price trends all screen as negative. The technical picture isn't pretty, and investors are clearly waiting for proof that the fourth-quarter optimism is more than just talk.
What Happens Next?
The question for AMC now is whether strong holiday box office results can shift sentiment. The company has shown it can drive revenue per customer when the content is there. The debt refinancing, painful as it was in the short term, could give AMC more breathing room going forward. But with the stock trading near its lows and momentum firmly negative, it's going to take more than a couple of hit movies to convince the market that a rebound is real.
For now, AMC is stuck in limbo—good enough operationally to beat estimates, but not compelling enough to stop the slide.