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☆ AMC Leaves Saudi Arabia After Falling Behind Local Competitors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Rory Jones | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

AMC’s exit from Saudi Arabia illustrates how the kingdom remains a difficult place for international companies to operate. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. will exit its equity partnership in Saudi Arabia, the cinema giant said Tuesday, leaving a market that was once considered the world’s final frontier for cinema but proved hard to dominate. A subsidiary of the Saudi sovereign-wealth fund will acquire AMC’s equity stake in their joint venture, giving it 100% ownership, according to a joint statement from the subsidiary, Saudi Entertainment Ventures, and the American movie-theater chain. The Saudi firm will take over AMC’s operation in the kingdom and franchise it.

☆ AMC Seeks New Lifeline After Meme-Stock Bubble Pops
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The meme-stock phenomenon is on its last legs, and no company is feeling the comedown more than movie-theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.AMC deftly surfed the meme-stock wave to raise billions of dollars and help it avoid bankruptcy during the pandemic, but its shares have sunk back to roughly where they were trading before the company caught fire in the online trading community. Box-office receipts are falling short, and the meme-stock premium that helped AMC raise fresh capital has all but evaporated.

☆ AMC CEO Adam Aron Asks Board for Salary Freeze in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Dean Seal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CEO Adam Aron won’t take a raise, but he did say AMC will increase pay for its hourly theater employees next year. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Adam Aron has asked the company’s board to freeze his compensation in 2023 following a painful year for the theater chain’s share price. Mr. Aron said in a string of tweets Tuesday that he has asked the board to freeze his target cash and stock pay in 2023, saying he didn’t “want ‘more’ when our shareholders are hurting.”

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms such as JD.Com Inc , Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Pinduoduo Inc (PDD.O) climbed around 2% each in premarket trading. With a handful of trading sessions left this year, investors are hoping for a so-called "Santa rally" at the end of what has been a largely disappointing month for U.S. equities. Economic data so far has offered little hope that the Fed could hit the brakes on its interest rate hikes. ET, Dow e-minis were up 147 points, or 0.44%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 12.5 points, or 0.32%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 5 points, or 0.05%. Reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ AMC Move to Raise Cash Boosts Value of Theater Chain
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Eric Wallerstein | Charley Grant | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

AMC says it will raise $110 million by selling preferred equity units to a hedge fund. The value of publicly traded AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. equity securities jumped nearly 12% after the theater chain said it was raising cash and would ask shareholders to approve a 1-for-10 reverse stock split. The company said Thursday that it would raise $110 million by selling preferred equity units, known as APEs, to the hedge fund Antara Capital at a weighted average price of 66 cents each. The fund would also exchange $100 million of AMC debt for roughly 91 million additional units, AMC said.

The final estimate of third-quarter U.S. GDP revealed gross domestic product increased at a 3.2% annualized rate, above the previous estimate of 2.9%. Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) slipped 3.2% after the chipmaker forecast a bigger-than-expected second-quarter loss, sparking declines in peers. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 5.83-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 3.28-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and nine new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 27 new highs and 180 new lows. Reporting by Shubham Batra, Amruta Khandekar, Ankika Biswas and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

FedEx Corp (FDX.N), which sparked a market selloff in September after pulling financial forecasts, provided financial guidance and announced plans for $1 billion cost cuts. Also, U.S. consumer confidence rose to an eight-month high in December as inflation retreated and the labor market remained strong while 12-month inflation expectations fell to 6.7%, the lowest since September 2021. It's been helped by upbeat corporate commentary and an improvement in consumer confidence," said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis referring to Nike and FedEx. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 7, 2022. On U.S. exchanges 9.81 billion shares changed hands, compared with the 11.16 billion average for the last 20 sessions.

FedEx Corp (FDX.N), which sparked a market selloff in September after pulling financial forecasts, provided financial guidance and announced plans for $1 billion cost cuts. U.S. consumer confidence rose to an eight-month high in December as inflation retreated and the labor market remained strong while 12-month inflation expectations fell to 6.7%, the lowest since September 2021. It's been helped by upbeat corporate commentary and an improvement in consumer confidence," said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones in St Louis referring to Nike and FedEx. The smallest gainer among the sectors was consumer staples (.SPLRCS) but it was still up 1%. The S&P 500 posted 5 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 49 new highs and 211 new lows.

☆ AMC Held Talks About Acquiring Theaters From Bankrupt Cineworld
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. held discussions regarding a potential strategic acquisition of theaters from its rival, the bankrupt Cineworld Group PLC, according to a securities filing by AMC on Wednesday. AMC’s deal talks were held with certain lenders to Cineworld, who have a powerful role in that company’s bankruptcy process. The talks focused on AMC acquiring theater assets of Cineworld in the U.S. and Europe, and how such a deal would be financed.

☆ Theater chain AMC in need of more blockbuster movies, shares fall
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Chavi Mehta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (AMC.N) said its third-quarter loss widened, with the theater chain operator burning through more cash to keep its 950 theaters running as fewer blockbuster releases reduced footfall in cinemas. The company also said it raised just $36.4 million from the sale of 14.9 million of its preferred shares APE , listed in August, sending them down 5.6% in extended trading. On an earnings call with investors, Chief Executive Adam Aron noted the number of big movie titles being released by major studios was still down 20% to 30% versus pre-pandemic norms. It is this: movie theater operators need more movies," he said. "The question for AMC comes down to how to stem losses and manage its balance sheet while facing fewer major movies in the pipeline and ongoing operational challenges," said Jamie Lumley, analyst at Third Bridge.

☆ Meme stock rally could be sign that investor appetite for risk is returning
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The stock's Monday volume, which stood at over 10 million shares after the close, far exceeded the 506,000 shares investors have shorted, he said. "There is no way today’s price move is due to a short squeeze, it is virtually all long buying pressure," Dusaniwsky said. Many meme stocks have been pounded this year as the Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy, sapping investors’ appetite for risk. Shares of GameStop Corp (GME.N), which put meme stocks into the spotlight with its epic rally in 2021, are down 24% for the year to date while AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (AMC.N) has fallen 60%. "If that’s the case that would further tamp down Treasury yields and create a tailwind for equities."

☆ Junk-Rated Companies Search for the Right Time to Tap Investors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Nina Trentmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

While there is limited pressure overall as many businesses refinanced in 2020 and 2021 when funding was cheaper and investor appetite stronger, high-yield companies with immediate financing needs have to find the right time to tap investors, corporate bankers say. Adding loans and revolving-credit facilities, speculative companies have maturities of around $1.47 trillion through 2027, ratings firm Moody’s Investors Service said last week. And the high-yield bond market isn’t closed, it has just become more expensive, bankers said. Movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. on Friday said that its subsidiary Odeon Finco PLC priced a $400 million bond. Bankers said they have received few calls from triple C-rated companies in recent months looking for maturity extensions.

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