AMC shares have sunk to record lows, ending the week under $1 per share for the first time in the company’s history. Concerns abound over the future of the exhibitor, buffeted by the COVID era shutdowns in 2020 and 2021 and a slow box office recovery ever since. AMC has also struggled to manage the sizeable debts it incurred in the years leading up to the pandemic, when it acquired competitors Carmike and Odeon Theatres and invested in costly upgrades to create the world’s largest and most luxurious chain of movie theatres.
If AMC stock remains below $1 per share for an extended period, it risks being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, impacting its ability to use the public markets to raise capital to refinance its debts. The specter of bankruptcy is hanging over AMC, especially after several of its competitors have blazed that trail in order to restructure debts and shed underperforming locations.
In a post on X this week, the company’s CEO Adam Aron acknowledged that he is “distraught” over the decline in the company’s stock price. However, Aron argues that the strong slate of films scheduled for release in 2026 and 2027 will produce “materially improved” results and lead to a higher EBITDA.
