AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. Q4 Highlights [Wow]

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. just held their Q4 earnings call for 2021.

If you listened to the call, you know there’s so much going on with the biggest movie theatre chain in the world.

In this article I break down AMC’s Q4 highlights in case you weren’t able to digest everything all at once during the earnings call.

Here’s why retail investors are excited.

Welcome to Franknez.com – if you read my article on what to expect for AMC’s Q4 you’re going to recognize how spot on it was to the actual earnings call. There are many great things happening with the company.

Let’s dive right into it!

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AMC now has a positive EBITDA

AMC now has a positive EBITDA after 2 years.

The company announced it has a positive operating cashflow of $160 million.

EBITDA provides investors with a snapshot of a company’s overall financial performance.

Fundamentally speaking, it’s a massive win for AMC Entertainment as a business.

AMC Shareholders were able to arm AMC with more than $1.8 billion in liquidity for Q4 of 2021.

CEO and President Adam Aron said this $1.8 billion will provide AMC with more security and flexibility to go on the offense.

AMC box office grosses improved each and every quarter of 2020 and 2021 as the number of theatre titles increased.

AMC hosted approximately 60 million guests in the United States, Europe, and Middle East in Q4 alone.

The company without a doubt is on a positive path to recovery.

“Those experts greatly underestimated AMC”

Adam Aron said in AMC’s Q4 earnings call that conventional wisdom has typically been wrong.

He stated that when people thought AMC would file for bankruptcy, it didn’t happen.

The movie theatre industry leader also called out financial experts during the earnings call.

When respectable analysts and experts gave AMC a share price of $2, $1, and even $0.01, they were wrong, said Adam Aron.

Titles like Spider-Man, Ghost Busters, Eternals, and Venom were some of the most successful films in the industry.

Spider-Man No Way Home became the third highest grossing movie ever.

The Batman is opening later this week with advanced bookings for the film already very strong.

The film is set to be released on March 4th.

Other films coming this year:

• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
• Elvis
• Scream
• Studio 666 (Foo Fighters)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secret of Dumbledore
• Jurassic World Dominion
• Thor: Love and Thunder
• The Flash
• Avatar 2
• Top Gun: Maverick
• Black Adam
• Halloween Ends
• Batgirl
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

And many more.

Adam Aron is anticipating 2022 box office grossing’s to be nearly double that of 2021’s.

“That makes us at AMC bullish of our continued progress.” – Adam Aron

AMC Q4 Earnings

AMC’s Q4 revenue hit $1.17 billion, up 53% from Q3 of 2021 and more than 7 times the revenue of Q4 in 2020.

The company also adjusted positive EBITDA for the first time in two years of $159.2 million.

The theatre chain is now netting positive cash flow they can use to pay down debt and innovate for future growth.

Debt

AMC Entertainment paid $61 million in Q4 of deferred (postponed) rent, reducing the total debt to $315 million.

It reduced a total of $155 million of deferred rent in the last 9 months of 2021.

At this rate, the company could be caught up with their deferred rent by e2023.

They plan to reduce the deferred rent by $150-$200 million in 2022 leaving them with $160-$115 million left for 2023.

Last year the company sold a $950 million junk bond which enhanced their financial stability.

Related: AMC Theatre debt refinance plan: CEO shows strong resilience

Adam Aron said during AMC’s Q4 earnings call that the company plans to invest in the growth enhancement of the business by focusing on revenue growth.

7 innovations from AMC currently on the works

Adam Aron introduced 7 innovations the theatre chain is currently undergoing.

In short, they are:

1. NFTs
2. Cryptocurrencies
3. Variable pricing
4. AMC Perfectly Popcorn
5. Additional theatre additions
6. Branded credit cards
7. Recovery, Agility, & Transformation

1. NFTs

The highest sold AMC NFT was a Spider-Man NFT that sold for $17,000.

Adam Aron said during AMC’s Q4 earnings call that future NFTs will enhance engagement with guests.

The company is also monetizing their NFTs by receiving a royalty every time the NFT is sold.

2. Cryptocurrencies

AMC continues to explore opportunity and convenience for their guests.

In March people will be able to make online payments using Dogecoin or Shiba Inu coin.

Adam Aron mentioned AMC is looking at issuing their own cryptocurrency depending on how crypto regulatory unfolds.

3. Variable pricing

AMC is charging higher prices for certain movie titles based on the demand of the films.

This is new for the United States, but AMC has been doing this for years in European theatres.

In Europe, they charge a premium for the best seats in the house just like they do in sports events and concerts.

4. AMC Perfectly Popcorn

The branded popcorn business for 2022 is on track.

Adam Aron said 50 tons of popcorn are sold on a peak day and demonstrated his confidence in selling these across retail stores in the United States.

Ellen Copaken formerly of Frito-Lay and Hostess Brands will be leading the project.

5. Additional theatre additions

AMC has acquired multiple theatres across the country and will continue to acquire ‘hot locations’.

Under AMC leadership and management, The Grove and American theatres in Los Angeles, California have ranked among the 30 highest grossing movie theatres in the United States.

Related: CEO strengthens AMC Theatres by acquiring Cinemark Cinema lease

6. Branded credit cards

AMC Entertainment plans to offer branded credit cards to its customers, co-branded with Chase.

7. Recovery, Agility, and Transformation

Adam Aron says that AMC continues to be in a state of recovery from the impact of the pandemic.

He says that the company is agile to achieve its goals under a transforming and robust industry.

The company has steered the ship in uncharted waters.

“Our ambition is grand” – Adam Aron.

90% of retail investors own AMC’s float

During AMC’s Q4 earnings call Adam Aron announced that 90% of retail investors now own the company’s float.

90% of the officially issued 516 million shares are owned by regular people: it’s incredible.

AMC’s shareholder base is now made of more than 4 million investors.

Approximately 615,000 individuals have also self-identified as AMC shareholders on Investor Connect.

Adam Aron paid homage to the ‘AMC apes’ by saying “retail owns the float”.

“The 4th quarter was a spectacular one for AMC, the strongest in two years.”

Adam aron, CEO & president of Amc entertainment

I’m personally going to touch more on this incredible statistic in a new article.

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