By Sam Becker
It hasn’t been a cinematic day for AMC Entertainment, the parent company of AMC Theatres.
As of late Thursday morning, AMC’s stock price fell by nearly 20% shortly after the company released its third-quarter 2023 earnings results. That earnings report wasn’t necessarily bad—it showed the company grew revenue by more than 45% year-over-year to $1.4 billion and generated a profit of $12.3 million—powered by strong theatrical attendance for movies such as Barbie and Oppenheimer.
So, what the hell happened?
It appears that additional information from AMC caused investors to head for the exits. A filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the company was planning to offer $350 million in stock in an at-the-market offering to pay down debt and pad its cash accounts.
“We intend to use the net proceeds, if any, from the sale of our Class A common stock offered by this prospectus supplement to bolster our liquidity, to repay, refinance, redeem, or repurchase our existing indebtedness (including expenses, accrued interest, and premium, if any) and for general corporate purposes,” the company said in the filing.
That was enough to spook many investors, causing a sell-off that sent share prices below $8.90 on Thursday. Less than a month ago, share prices topped out at $11. AMC stock, year-to-date, has fallen more than 70%. The S&P 500, conversely, is up nearly 15%.
In September, AMC completed a similar at-the-market offering, this one of 40 million shares, and the company also completed a reverse stock split in August. This all comes as the company’s CEO, Adam Aron, has continued to warn investors about AMC’s financial peril. In July, Aron posted an open letter on X, which said that “in leading AMC through this once-in-a-century pandemic and its aftermath, I have been driven by this overarching goal: Do not let AMC fall into financial ruin, ensure that AMC survives, put AMC on a path to eventually thrive.”
The subsequent additional stock offerings, such as the one announced Thursday, align with that plan. But despite the positive earnings report, the additional filing and attempt to raise more money is a signal that the company still has a ways to go, which is likely what’s spurring the sell-off.
In 2021, AMC was among the companies swept up in the meme-stock craze, with shares at one point trading at more than 25 times what they’re worth today.
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