What Will Be AMC's Innovative Recovery Path Post-Pandemic? This Analyst Wants To Wait And Watch

Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey reiterated a Hold rating on AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. AMC.

AMC reported third-quarter revenue of $1.41 billion, up 45.2% year-over-year. 

The company also entered into an equity distribution agreement to sell up to $350 million worth of shares of its common stock from time to time through an at-the-market offering program. 

In Q3, despite a 16% decline in domestic box office attendance compared to 2019, AMC's success was attributed to a 30% increase in contribution per patron and strategic actions taken over the past three and a half years, such as innovative marketing, cost management, and theater optimization, according to the analyst.

Hickey writes that these results reflect AMC's promising growth path to recovery in the post-pandemic era.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, AMC featured its theatrical movie releases, such as "TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR" and "RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ," expressing a positive outlook for potential collaborations with prominent musical artists in the coming years, the analyst adds.

AMC ended the quarter with $729.7 million in cash and equivalents. 

Following the Q3 results, the analyst lowered the FY23 EBITDA estimate to $367 million from $373 million. The analyst also lowered the FY23 revenue estimate to $4.614 billion from $4.494 billion.

Hickey also reduced the FY24 EBITDA estimate to $363 million from $433 million and trimmed the FY24 revenue estimate to $4.630 billion from $4.689 billion. 

Price Action: AMC shares are trading lower by 15.31% to $8.55 on the last check Thursday.