AMC Entertainment Surprises with Q2 Profit

AMC Entertainment Holdings, the popular movie-theater chain, has exceeded expectations by reporting a surprising per-share profit in the three months leading up to June. The company's current quarter is expected to be even better, thanks to a lineup of highly anticipated summer blockbuster movies.

In the June quarter, AMC reported earnings of 1 cent per share on $1.35 billion in revenue. This surpassed analysts' expectations, as they had projected a loss of 4 cents per share on $1.29 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

Investors reacted positively to this news, and AMC's shares rose 2.7% in premarket trading on Tuesday. This achievement marks the first time since the fourth quarter of 2019 that the company has recorded a per-share quarterly profit. The Covid-19 pandemic severely impacted the theater industry, forcing closures and causing financial turmoil.

Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC, expressed his optimism about the company's progress, stating, "Our ongoing progress is obvious and ever so encouraging." Aron also highlighted the fact that AMC theaters worldwide welcomed over 66 million guests in the second quarter of 2023, which is the highest attendance number the company has seen since the fourth quarter of 2019.

One of the factors contributing to AMC's success is a strong lineup of summer blockbusters. Movies such as Barbie, Oppenheimer, and the latest Mission Impossible installment have attracted a large number of cinema-goers. As a result, July became the highest revenue-generating month in AMC's 103-year history.