Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. were down 12.3% Thursday, in the wake of the movie-theater chain’s fourth-quarter results released late Wednesday.
The stock was on pace for its largest percentage decrease since Nov. 9, 2023, when it fell 13.68%, according to Dow Jones Market data. AMC
AMC,
shares were also down 98.7% from their all-time closing high of $339.05 on June 2, 2021, at the height of the meme-stock frenzy.
AMC’s stock, which has hit a series of record lows in 2024, is also set to snap a four-day winning streak.
Related: AMC rode the Taylor Swift and Beyoncé wave, but a ‘bumpy 2024’ is now under way, Wedbush says
The original meme-stock darling reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and a narrower-than-expected loss, boosted by the performance of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s concert films, although shares fell in extended trades and continued their slide Thursday.
“By the share price reaction to AMC’s print, AMC’s shareholders were not pleased that AMC plans to continue issuing shares,” Wedbush analyst Alicia Reese said in a note released Thursday. “However, AMC must cover huge interest payments and leases while preparing for debt repayments coming due over the next three years ($5 million in 2024, $98 million in 2025, $2.9 billion in 2026, and $525 million in 2027). We expect AMC to renegotiate debt terms for its highest balance debt before 2026, at least extending maturities, if not also reducing rates.”
In 2023, AMC raised $865 million of cash through the sale of AMC Preferred Equity units and common stock. Speaking during the conference call to discuss the results, AMC CEO Adam Aron explained that the company ended the year with $884 million of cash. “Do the math,” he said. “Had we not sold that equity, deduct $865 million from $884 million – big companies the size and scope of AMC cannot survive with only $19 million of cash on hand.”
Related: AMC delivers revenue beat helped by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, yet stock drops
“The absolute smartest way for AMC first to survive and then eventually to be in a position to thrive is to have robust cash reserves, period, plain and simple,” he added. “There can be no argument.”
AMC shares have fallen 34.2% in the last three months, compared with the S&P 500 index’s
SPX
gain of 11.1%.
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