AMC Is Getting Its Popcorn Ready: What You Need To Know

One doesn’t normally associate popcorn with apes, but one can assume the stock trading primates in love with AMC Entertainment AMC will go bananas over the company’s newly announced foray into the snack food retailing sector.

What Happened: The company announced it will be selling its cinema concession staple AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn in up to 15 select mall retail outlets, supermarkets and convenience stores in 2022. The company also plans to have its popcorn available through food delivery services and for takeout and/or pickup at its theaters.

The retail element of this strategy will be branded as "AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn" stores and will offer a menu of traditional and gourmet-flavored popcorn, candy and other movie theatre treats, Coca-Cola KO Freestyle options and bottled water.

Why It Matters: CEO Adam Aron insisted this was a win-win for the company, tweeting: “So obvious. Who knows more about popcorn than AMC? On a peak day, we sell FIFTY TONS of it!”

And popcorn appears to be a growth industry. According to a recent report by Million Insights, the global popcorn market size is expected to reach $6.24 billion by 2028. North America held the largest market share of more than 30% in 2020, which the report attributed to a growing awareness by consumers about the nature of food ingredients.

“With increasing popularity of on-the-go snacks, the adoption rate of the popcorn is rising among the consumers in major economies, including the U.S., Germany, the U.K. and China,” the report said, adding that companies in this sector are “looking to maintain their brand image and gain customer loyalty by offering innovative, wide range of combinations of popcorn as per customer specifications by analyzing consumer behavior patterns. The key players in the market are offering customized popcorn flavors such as butter, cheesy, chocolate, strawberry, and other.”

AMC Stock Action: As of 9:30 a.m. ET, AMC was trading at $41.30, up 3.12%. The stock's 52-week range spans $1.91 to 72.62.

Photo: AMC