AMC Earnings Beat the 2019 Revenue Record as the Chain Turns a Profit

By Stock Titan Editorial Team Published November 4, 2026, 04:25 PM EST · Updated November 4, 2026, 05:13 PM EST

Every company reporting the same week, with its date and time, is in StockTitan's Earnings Calendar for the Week of November 2, 2026.

AMC earnings set records for revenue and adjusted EBITDA

Revenue for the quarter that ended September 30 was $1,711.1 million, up 31.6% from $1,300.2 million a year earlier. The figures come from AMC's results release, which AMC also filed with the SEC as part of a Form 8-K.

Before 2026, AMC's best quarter for revenue was the second quarter of 2019. That was the last full year before theaters shut during the pandemic. The second quarter of 2026 beat that record, and the third quarter beat it again.

AMC also set a record for adjusted EBITDA, a profit measure that leaves out interest, taxes, the wear on buildings and equipment, and some one-time items. It reached $347.5 million, up 183.7% from $122.5 million. That beat the $321.4 million record of the second quarter of 2026, which had broken a record dating from the fourth quarter of 2017.

Every part of the business grew. Ticket sales, which AMC calls admissions, brought in $953.5 million, and food and drinks added $589.4 million.

The company said it beat Wall Street's expectations on several key figures. It did not say which forecasts it compared against.

Did AMC make a profit?

Net earnings came to $0.12 per diluted share, against a loss of $0.58 a year earlier.

Much of last year's loss came from one item. In the third quarter of 2025, AMC booked $196.0 million of net losses on paying off debt early or swapping it. That cost shows up in the release as other expense. This year, other expense was only $2.9 million.

The business itself also earned more. Operating income, what is left from running the theaters before interest and taxes, rose to $248.7 million from $35.8 million. Interest expense was still large, at $130.0 million for the quarter.

AMC also reports adjusted net earnings, which removes items such as gains and losses on investments and on debt. That figure was $116.9 million, or $0.13 per share, after a loss of $110.0 million a year earlier.

The year as a whole is not yet in profit. For the first nine months of 2026, AMC still shows a net loss of $19.2 million. That is far smaller than its $505.0 million loss in the same months of 2025.

How many people went to AMC theaters, and what they spent

The 2019 revenue record came with much bigger crowds. About 97.0 million people went to an AMC theater from April to June 2019, the company's all-time record for a quarter, according to AMC's second quarter 2019 results. This time it was 74.9 million, about 22 million fewer.

The same months of 2019 make a closer match. From July to September 2019, 87.1 million people came, so the gap shrinks to about 14%.

Part of the gap is size. AMC had 10,662 screens open on average from July to September 2019, and 9,177 now. So for their size, its theaters were about as busy as in 2019, with roughly 8,160 visitors for each screen in the third quarter of both years.

Show the data

Category	Value
Q2 2019	97.0M
Q3 2019	87.1M
Q3 2025	58.4M
Q2 2026	71.3M
Q3 2026	74.9M

Crowds grew in both of AMC's regions from a year earlier. U.S. attendance rose 23.3%, and attendance at its theaters in Europe and the rest of the world rose 41.5%.

The average ticket price was $12.73, up from $12.25 a year earlier.

Food and beverage revenue per patron, AMC's measure of what each visitor spends on popcorn, drinks and other snacks, rose to $7.87 from $7.74.

Next to 2019, the rise is far bigger. In the record quarter of 2019, the average ticket cost $9.24 and food and beverage revenue per patron was $5.08. These are dollars of each year, not adjusted for the rise in prices across the economy since 2019.

Chairman and chief executive Adam Aron said total revenue per patron hit an all-time record. Total revenue divided by attendance came to $22.84, against $15.53 in the record quarter of 2019.

Next to the second quarter of 2026, the picture is mixed. The average ticket price rose from $12.11. Food and beverage revenue per patron slipped from $8.08, according to AMC's second quarter 2026 results.

Show the data

Category	Average ticket price	Food and beverage revenue per patron
Q2 2019	$9.24	$5.08
Q3 2019	$9.15	$4.82
Q3 2025	$12.25	$7.74
Q2 2026	$12.11	$8.08
Q3 2026	$12.73	$7.87

Aron said the quarter was driven by "a resurgent box office, market share gains in both domestic and international markets, and the achievement of all-time record revenue per patron." He also credited AMC's loyalty programs and its growing number of premium large format rooms, the big screens that charge higher prices.

AMC did this with fewer screens. It ran 840 theaters at the end of September, down from 856 a year earlier. The average number of screens open fell 1.9% to 9,177.

Cash, debt and the October refinancing

The cash figure compares with $365.8 million at the end of September 2025, an increase of 105.5%. It leaves out $39.6 million of restricted cash that AMC cannot freely use.

The business also produced cash this time. Cash from operations was $176.6 million, after $14.9 million went out a year earlier. Free cash flow, the cash left after spending on theaters and equipment, was $109.3 million. A year earlier it was negative $81.1 million.

Free cash flow was lower than in the second quarter of 2026, when it reached $190.1 million, according to AMC's second quarter 2026 results. Cash from operations fell to $176.6 million from $235.4 million.

Spending on theaters and equipment rose to $67.3 million from $45.3 million in the second quarter. The $109.3 million of free cash flow happens to match the quarter's net earnings. The two figures measure different things.

AMC's corporate borrowings stood at $3,747.4 million on September 30. That is down from $4,038.5 million at the end of 2025. In July, AMC paid off $125.5 million of notes that were due in 2027.

On October 5, after the quarter ended, AMC completed a $3.97 billion refinancing that covers about 97% of its debt. The new debt is due in 2031 and 2033, and AMC said it lowers the average interest rate it pays. Most of it is first lien debt, the kind that is paid back first if a company fails.

The quarterly report AMC filed on November 4, its Form 10-Q, gives the new rates. The new first lien notes pay 8.875% a year, and the new second lien loan pays a fixed 11.25%. Second lien debt is paid back after first lien debt if a company fails. The rate on the new first lien loan moves with market rates.

Some of the old debt cost more. On September 30, AMC's largest loan carried a rate of 9.891%, and its senior secured notes due 2029, a kind of bond, carried 15.0%.

Paying off those notes early cost AMC a premium of $144.3 million on top of what it owed. AMC expects to book a loss of about $182.7 million on the refinancing in the last three months of 2026.

The quarterly report also counts the debt by its principal, the amount AMC borrowed and will repay. That amount rose with the October deal, to $4,086.1 million from $3,782.6 million on September 30.

The deal also pushed the due dates back. Most of the old debt came due in 2029. Most of the new debt comes due in 2031, and $1,120.0 million in 2033.

AMC's balance sheet still shows a stockholders' deficit of $1,343.1 million, meaning its debts and other obligations are larger than its assets. That gap was $1,894.8 million at the end of 2025.

Why AMC has more shares, and whether it pays a dividend

The new shares came in several batches, according to the quarterly report. AMC sold 105.3 million shares on the stock market bit by bit, for $150.0 million before fees.

In May, AMC gave 142.1 million shares to the holders of its exchangeable notes, a kind of debt that can be swapped for stock. That swap ended those notes. Earlier in the year, another 33.1 million shares went to debt holders as fees for agreeing to changes in the terms of their debt.

In June, AMC sold 95.25 million shares to a group of investors at $2.10 each.

No new shares came out from July to September, and the count was still 892.6 million on November 3. In the report, AMC says it may issue more shares, for example to raise cash or to pay off debt. More shares mean each existing share owns a smaller part of the company.

Those new shares also raised the average share count AMC uses for earnings per share. AMC spread its quarterly profit across an average of 896.6 million diluted shares, against 513.0 million a year earlier.

On dividends, AMC's annual report for 2025 says: "We are currently not paying a cash dividend." The new debt agreements also limit any payout to shareholders, the quarterly report says. The results announced no share buyback.

How AMC stock moved after the earnings

The shares had traded at $3.52 at the 4:00 p.m. bell. Between 4:01 and 4:37 p.m., after-hours trades ranged from $3.22 to $3.59.

After-hours trading is light. About 1.5 million shares changed hands in its first 37 minutes, against 40.6 million in the regular session that day.

The price, chart and news for the shares are on StockTitan's AMC stock page, and the AMC stock return calculator shows what the shares did over any period you pick.

What AMC expects for the rest of 2026

The company gave no revenue or profit forecast. Aron said the strong quarter "gives us confidence to expect that AMC will achieve the much-welcomed milestone of positive annual Free Cash Flow for the full year 2026." Free cash flow for the first nine months was $124.7 million. AMC scheduled a webcast for investors at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on November 4.

He said U.S. box office sales in October were about 35% higher than in October 2025. He listed films still to come in November and December, including "The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping", "Dune: Part Three", "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Jumanji: Open World."

AMC expects those films to push the box office in the United States and around the world to its highest full-year level in seven years. That would make 2026 the best year since 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.

Aron ended his remarks with a strong claim. "Today, we can finally say that AMC has recovered," he said. The money has recovered, with revenue above the 2019 record. The crowds have not, though for their size AMC's theaters are about as busy as in the same months of 2019.

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The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment recommendation, or an endorsement of any particular investment strategy. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.

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