Shares of AMC Entertainment (AMC) gained in after-hours trading after the movie theater chain reported earnings for its first quarter of Fiscal Year 2025. Earnings per share came in at -$0.58, which slightly beat analysts’ consensus estimate of -$0.59 per share. In addition, sales decreased by 9.3% year-over-year, with revenue hitting $862.5 million. This beat analysts’ expectations of $837.05 million. The decline in sales was due to lower attendance, as AMC saw 41.9 million moviegoers. This was lower than last year’s figure, as demonstrated by the image below from Main Street Data.
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Interestingly, AMC CEO Adam Aron addressed worries about the movie theater business by saying that the weak box office numbers in early 2025 were unusual and not a sign of long-term trouble. Indeed, he explained that, aside from the COVID-19 years, the January to March box office was the lowest since 1996. However, moviegoing has already bounced back strongly, as April’s box office was double that of 2024, while May is showing huge gains as well. Aron pointed to an exciting lineup of upcoming movies as reasons why he believes movie theaters will perform very well for the rest of 2025 and into 2026.
Aron also said that AMC is expanding its immersive experiences by adding 4DX multi-sensory and ScreenX panoramic auditoriums, as well as growing its partnerships with IMAX and Dolby to offer more premium screens. He made it clear that AMC is no longer just surviving, but growing again. With strong movie demand and big blockbusters coming, Aron is confident that AMC is on track for a full recovery.
Is AMC a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on AMC stock based on four Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AMC price target of $3.10 per share implies 15.5% upside potential. However, it’s worth noting that estimates will likely change following today’s earnings report.
