AERA vs CNK vs IMAX Stock Comparison

AI Era, Cinemark Holdings and Imax Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AERA AI Era Corp.
$0.02 -83.3% 1M -95.0% 1Y
Market cap
$116.03K
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$10.01M
Div. yield
–
Film and Television Communication Services
2 wins
CNK Cinemark Holdings, Inc.
$39.02 +1.7% 1M +46.4% 1Y
Market cap
$4.52B
P/E
13.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.36B
Div. yield
0.92%
Movie Theaters Communication Services
5 wins
IMAX Imax Corp
$50.49 -10.0% 1M +54.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.77B
P/E
67.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$416.08M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cinemark Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Cinemark Holdings 5, Imax 4, AI Era 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAERACNKIMAXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $116.03K $4.52B $2.77B CNK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -0.3x 13.1x 67.8x CNK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 16.0x 22.0x CNK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +102.4% +4.5% +14.8% AERA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -3.1% 10.2% 9.8% CNK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 8.1% 13.2% IMAX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.0x 3.6x -0.8x IMAX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.92% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -95.0% +46.4% +54.1% IMAX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -80.0%/yr +15.7%/yr +21.8%/yr IMAX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 403.9% 39.5% 42.9% CNK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 77/100 68/100 63/100 AERA

Percentile Scorecard

AERACNKIMAX

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAERACNKIMAX
Valuation 91 #12 of 123 92 #2 of 13 41 #121 of 203
Growth 89 #13 of 107 40 #7 of 11 93 #15 of 188
Profitability 69 #33 of 105 80 #3 of 11 82 #34 of 184
Financial Health 58 #56 of 131 58 #6 of 13 84 #36 of 217
Shareholder Returns – – 15 #130 of 153
Overall 77 68 63
  • AERA ranked among 134 companies in Communication Services
  • CNK ranked among 13 companies in Live Venues
  • IMAX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAERACNKIMAXSPY
1 month -83.3%+1.7%-10.0% +0.9%
3 months -95.5%+11.9%+3.6% +5.9%
6 months -98.0%+34.5%+35.6% +8.5%
Year to date -97.8%+67.9%+36.6% +13.3%
1 year -95.0%+46.4%+54.1% +12.4%
3 years -97.8%+151.6%+181.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year -71.9%+36.0%+41.2% +23.5%
5 years -100.0%+107.6%+167.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year -80.0%+15.7%+21.8% +11.0%
10 years -100.0%+0.5%+66.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year -72.1%+0.1%+5.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureAERACNKIMAXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 403.9%39.5%42.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 448.5%37.8%36.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.970.170.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.241.181.26 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -100.0%-62.2%-42.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -98.7%-2.8%-10.4% -0.9%
52-week high $1.52$40.15$56.35 $779.14
52-week low $0.02$21.93$32.43 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAERACNKIMAX
P/E now vs peer median -0.3xmedian 17.0x 13.1xmedian 51.6x 67.8xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 1.1x 1.3xmedian 1.5x 6.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 9.6x 9.6xmedian 18.1x 17.8xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 9.3x 17.3xmedian 17.3x 21.9xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 1.6x 2.8xmedian 2.5x 6.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.00median 0.32 0.27median 0.26 0.63median 1.41

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAERACNKIMAX
Revenue $10.01M $3.36B $416.08M
Gross profit – – $248.12M
Operating income $3.28M $541.50M $83.87M
Net income -$313.02K $343.60M $47.12M
Free cash flow $2.58M $261.60M $126.59M
R&D – – $6.42M
EPS (diluted) $-0.06 $2.95 $0.72
Cash & equivalents $115.84K $1.01B $159.92M
Total debt $3.47M $3.75B $38.84M
Shares (diluted) 5.46M 116.40M 56.57M
Enterprise value -$534.20K $1.14B $2.26B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAERACNKIMAX
P/E -0.3x 13.1x 67.8x
P/FCF 0.0x 17.3x 21.9x
P/Operating cash flow 0.0x 5.7x 20.8x
P/S 0.0x 1.3x 6.7x
P/B 0.0x 2.8x 6.2x
P/Tangible book 0.0x 4.6x 6.6x
EV/EBITDA 0.0x 9.6x 17.8x
EV/EBIT 0.1x 13.4x 31.6x
EV/Revenue 0.0x 2.2x 6.4x
EV/FCF 0.2x 27.8x 20.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 0.2x 9.2x 19.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.00 0.27 0.63

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAERACNKIMAX
Revenue growth (1Y) 102.4% 4.5% 14.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 65.5% 6.3% 5.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 20.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 9.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 249.5% 15.1% 39.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 44.1% 30.5% 42.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -134.8% 20.8% 10.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 54.6% 319.0% 79.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -40,365% 369.2% 21.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -164.0% 48.6% 107.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 167.3% 70.0% 72.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 57.6% 8.9% 40.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 167.3% 68.4% 88.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 57.6% -18.9% 44.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAERACNKIMAX
Gross margin – – 59.6%
EBITDA margin 117.6% 22.4% 35.7%
Operating margin 32.8% 16.1% 20.2%
Pretax margin -3.1% 10.8% 15.0%
Net margin -3.1% 10.2% 9.8%
FCF margin 25.8% 7.8% 30.4%
Operating cash flow margin 25.8% 23.6% 31.9%
Return on equity -7.1% 21.7% 10.7%
Return on assets -3.3% 3.8% 5.2%
Return on invested capital – 8.1% 13.2%
Return on capital employed 156.1% 7.5% –
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -8.3x 2.3x 2.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% 6.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAERACNKIMAX
Debt / assets 4.1% 40.7% 4.2%
Debt / equity 0.2x 2.4x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.0x 3.6x -0.8x
Debt / FCF 0.2x 14.3x 0.3x
Liabilities / assets 73.9% 82.8% 51.0%
Equity / assets 26.1% 17.2% 49.0%
Interest coverage 46.9x 4.2x 11.2x
Current ratio 0.1x 0.9x –
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.7x –
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.6x –
Altman Z-score -0.43 0.80 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAERACNKIMAX
Dividend yield – 0.9% –
Net buyback yield -449.1% 2.2% -0.7%
Shareholder yield -449.1% 3.1% -0.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 11.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 15.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – -113.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAERACNKIMAX
Forward P/E – 16.0xFY2026 22.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $2.44FY2026 $2.29FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +134.6%FY2026 +57.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +7.4% +4.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $3.46BFY2026 $497.98MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +11.0%FY2026 +21.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +2.9% -5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAERACNKIMAX
Held by institutions – 63.5% 91.5%
Institutions holding – 308 257
Change in shares held, QoQ – +1.4% +4.5%
Institutions buying – 156 144
Institutions selling – 107 69
Buyers to sellers – 1.46 2.09

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AERACNKIMAX
AERA 1.00 0.01 -0.06
CNK 0.01 1.00 0.45
IMAX -0.06 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AERA, CNK and IMAX?

Cinemark Holdings (CNK) is the largest by market capitalisation: AI Era (AERA) $116.03K, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) $4.52B, Imax (IMAX) $2.77B.

Which stock is cheaper, AERA, CNK and IMAX?

Cinemark Holdings (CNK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (AI Era (AERA) -0.3x, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 13.1x, Imax (IMAX) 67.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) is cheapest (Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 16.0x, Imax (IMAX) 22.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

AI Era (AERA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: AI Era (AERA) +102.4%, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) +4.5%, Imax (IMAX) +14.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cinemark Holdings (CNK) has the highest net margin (AI Era (AERA) -3.1%, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 10.2%, Imax (IMAX) 9.8%). On return on invested capital, Imax (IMAX) leads (Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 8.1%, Imax (IMAX) 13.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Imax (IMAX) returned the most: AI Era (AERA) -95.0%, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) +46.4%, Imax (IMAX) +54.1%. Over five years, Imax (IMAX) compounded fastest (AI Era (AERA) -80.0%/yr, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) +15.7%/yr, Imax (IMAX) +21.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 0.92%. AI Era (AERA) and Imax (IMAX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) has been the steadiest (AI Era (AERA) 403.9%, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 39.5%, Imax (IMAX) 42.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AERA, CNK and IMAX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.