Financial Trends -- 1/10
AMC is a movie-theater exhibitor whose revenue is box-office-driven (Admissions + Food & Beverage +
Other), so quarterly revenue swings violently with the film slate. The trajectory that matters --
growth direction, margins, share count, and free cash flow -- is not improving. Revenue has
plateaued ~$4.8B; adjusted EBITDA is range-bound ~8% with no expansion; GAAP operating income has
been negative five straight years; free cash flow is negative all five years and actually worsened
(-$296M to -$366M). Mandatory penalties -- negative FCF (-2) and >25% YoY dilution (-2) -- floor the
score at 1/10.
Weight: 25%
Free Cash Flow
Negative
5 straight years | -$366M FY2025
Adj. EBITDA Margin
~8%
Range-bound | No expansion
Share Count
Diluting
+25-64% YoY | Every quarter
Quarterly Revenue Trajectory ($M)
No monotonic acceleration -- pure film-slate noise.
Sequencing the YoY revenue rates (-9.3%, +35.6%, -3.6%, -1.4%, +21.2%) shows violent swings
around a roughly flat-to-low-single-digit underlying base, not a durable growth engine. Revenue
moves with the release calendar, not with structural share gains or pricing power.
Quarterly Key Metrics ($M unless noted)
| Metric | Q2'24 | Q3'24 | Q4'24 | Q1'25 | Q2'25 | Q3'25 | Q4'25 | Q1'26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admissions | $564.4 | $744.2 | $721.4 | $473.5 | $762.6 | $715.1 | $701.6 | $578.4 |
| Food & Beverage | $367.1 | $490.4 | $446.2 | $283.4 | $499.6 | $451.8 | $436.5 | $347.3 |
| Other theatre | $99.1 | $114.2 | $138.8 | $105.6 | $135.7 | $133.3 | $150.2 | $119.7 |
| Attendance (M patrons) | 50.0 | 65.1 | 62.4 | 41.9 | 62.8 | 58.4 | 56.3 | 47.6 |
| Op. Income (GAAP) | -$47.4 | $71.8 | $4.7 | -$145.9 | $92.6 | $35.8 | $0.1 | -$45.7 |
| Adj. EBITDA | $29.4 | $161.8 | $164.8 | -$58.0 | $189.2 | $122.2 | $134.1 | $38.3 |
| Free Cash Flow | -$79.2 | -$92.2 | +$113.9 | -$417.0 | +$88.9 | -$81.1 | +$43.3 | -$174.7 |
| Diluted EPS ($) | -0.10 | -0.06 | -0.35 | -0.47 | -0.01 | -0.58 | -0.25 | -0.22 |
| Diluted Shares (M) | 321.6 | 361.9 | 384.0 | 431.0 | 433.1 | 513.0 | 513.0 | 539.7 |
| Shares YoY | — | — | — | +63.6% | +34.7% | +41.8% | +33.6% | +25.2% |
| Corp. Borrowings + Fin. Lease | $4,258.7 | $4,097.0 | $4,055.8 | $4,020.8 | $4,037.1 | $4,037.5 | $4,065.3 | $3,988.3 |
Relentless dilution is the defining feature.
Diluted shares grow +25% to +64% YoY in every comparable quarter as AMC repeatedly issues equity
(ATM programs, debt-for-equity exchanges) to fund operations and chip away at debt. GAAP operating
income is negative in most quarters, EPS is a loss every quarter, and free cash flow is negative
in 6 of the last 9 quarters. The one genuine positive is debt, down YoY every quarter.
Annual Financial Summary (FY ends December)
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue ($M) | $2,527.9 | $3,911.4 | $4,812.6 | $4,637.2 | $4,848.9 |
| Rev YoY | — | +54.7% | +23.0% | -3.6% | +4.6% |
| Op. Income (GAAP, $M) | -$930.0 | -$522.3 | -$74.3 | -$79.3 | -$17.4 |
| Op. Margin (GAAP) | -36.8% | -13.4% | -1.5% | -1.7% | -0.4% |
| Adj. EBITDA ($M) | -$291.7 | $46.6 | $425.8 | $343.9 | $387.5 |
| Adj. EBITDA Margin | -11.5% | +1.2% | +8.8% | +7.4% | +8.0% |
| Free Cash Flow ($M) | -$706.5 | -$830.5 | -$440.8 | -$296.3 | -$365.9 |
| FCF Margin | -27.9% | -21.2% | -9.2% | -6.4% | -7.5% |
| Diluted EPS ($) | -2.66 | -0.93 | -2.37 | -1.06 | -1.34 |
| Diluted Shares (M) | 477.4 | 1,047.7 | 167.6 | 332.9 | 472.9 |
| Corp. Borrowings + Fin. Lease ($M) | $5,471.2 | $5,174.1 | $4,602.3 | $4,055.8 | $4,065.3 |
Key trends
- Revenue plateaued ~$4.8B: Post-COVID recovery faded ($4,812.6M in 2023 → $4,637.2M in 2024 → $4,848.9M in 2025). A non-growth theme moving only with the film slate
- Adj. EBITDA margin stuck ~8%: FY24 7.4% → FY25 8.0% (+60 bps), no durable expansion; GAAP operating income negative every year
- FCF negative every year and worsening: -$296.3M (FY2024) → -$365.9M (FY2025), a -110 bps margin deterioration even as EBITDA margin rose -- the whole thesis in one line
- Relentless dilution: FY2023 167.6M → FY2024 332.9M → FY2025 472.9M diluted shares (+42% '24→'25, post 1-for-10 reverse split); +25% to +64% YoY every recent quarter
- The one bright spot is deleveraging: total borrowings ~$5.5B (FY2021) → ~$4.0B (FY2025) -- but financed by diluting shareholders, not by internally generated cash
Annual Revenue Mix ($M)
FY2025 mix: Admissions 54.7%, Food & Beverage 34.5%, Other theatre 10.8%. These are not separate
businesses -- they are monetization layers on the same admissions-driven footfall. Admissions and
F&B have been essentially flat (~$2.6B and ~$1.67B) for three years, confirming a non-growth theme.
Score Rationale
Base read against the rubric is roughly 3/10 before modifiers: revenue YoY is not durably accelerating (slate-driven volatility around a flat base); margins are NOT expanding 100+ bps (Adj. EBITDA margin stuck ~8%, GAAP operating margin still negative); share count is heavily diluting; FCF is negative and did not improve (-$296M → -$366M). Revenue-mix stability plus genuine deleveraging keep it above a clean "1" base.
| Penalty Modifier | Detail | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Negative FCF | FCF negative in all 5 fiscal years and 6 of the last 9 quarters; caps score at 6 | -2 |
| Share dilution >25% YoY | Diluted shares +25-64% YoY every comparable quarter (replaces the standard -1) | -2 |
| Rev up, op income down | Not applied -- FY2025 operating loss narrowed as revenue grew | None |
| Debt > revenue growth | Not applied -- debt is declining YoY (genuine deleveraging) | None |
3 − 2 − 2 = −1 → floored at 1/10.
AMC's financial trends are weak across every dimension that defines fundamental strength. The single
bright spot -- genuine deleveraging from ~$5.5B to ~$4.0B -- is financed by diluting existing
shareholders rather than by internally generated cash.
Data sourced from Daloopa. Fiscal year ends December 31. AMC executed a 1-for-10 reverse split (Aug 2023); post-split diluted share counts shown. All financials in USD.