Why AMC Stock Still Doesn't Make the Cut

AMC’s CEO keeps hyping a comeback narrative — Q4 box office recovery, 2026 will be “dramatically larger,” all that jazz. But here’s the thing: we’ve been hearing this song for years, and the recovery simply hasn’t materialized.

The real problem? COVID fundamentally broke people’s theater habit. Streaming went mainstream, people got used to $1,500+ TVs at home (average North American screen is now 55 inches), and studios figured out they can skip theaters entirely — Netflix and other platforms are now greenlit critically acclaimed films that would’ve crushed it on the big screen.

By the numbers: box office is stuck ~30% below pre-pandemic peaks and shows no signs of recovering further. More damning? AMC hasn’t posted a quarterly net profit since before the pandemic. Not once in years.

Is a turnaround possible? Sure. Is it probable? Not really. When you’re three years out from lockdowns and still bleeding red, waiting for a “bright future” that never comes starts feeling more like denial than investing thesis.