AMC vs CNK vs IMAX Stock Comparison

Amc Entertainment Holdings, Cinemark Holdings and Imax Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CNK Cinemark Holdings, Inc.
$40.08 +13.6% 1M +39.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.64B
P/E
9.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.56B
Div. yield
0.90%
Movie Theaters Communication Services
5 wins
IMAX Imax Corp
$48.08 -5.0% 1M +43.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.65B
P/E
19.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$483.98M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Imax leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Imax 6, Cinemark Holdings 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAMCCNKIMAXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.75B $4.64B $2.65B CNK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -18.8x 9.6x 19.7x CNK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 15.8x 20.7x CNK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +15.9% +13.1% +28.1% IMAX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -2.6% 13.4% 27.7% IMAX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 18.4% 9.7% 24.1% IMAX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.9x 2.5x — CNK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.90% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +23.2% +39.2% +43.3% IMAX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -62.6%/yr +12.6%/yr +18.3%/yr IMAX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 84.8% 38.8% 43.6% CNK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 66/100 68/100 IMAX

Percentile Scorecard

AMCCNKIMAX

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

AxisAMCCNKIMAX
Valuation 92 #2 of 13 83 #3 of 13 57 #88 of 204
Growth 90 #2 of 11 50 #6 of 11 96 #8 of 191
Profitability 60 #5 of 11 80 #3 of 11 94 #13 of 189
Financial Health 25 #10 of 13 50 #7 of 13 78 #49 of 221
Shareholder Returns – – 13 #138 of 159
Overall 67 66 68
  • AMC ranked among 13 companies in Live Venues
  • CNK ranked among 13 companies in Live Venues
  • IMAX ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAMCCNKIMAXSPY
1 month +4.1%+13.6%-5.0% -5.9%
3 months +19.8%+5.6%-3.3% -4.6%
6 months +102.6%+45.9%+34.9% +0.2%
Year to date +97.4%+72.5%+30.1% +7.5%
1 year +23.2%+39.2%+43.3% +8.2%
3 years -71.9%+162.8%+168.9% +68.3%
3 years, per year -34.5%+38.0%+39.1% +19.0%
5 years -99.3%+81.3%+131.7% +56.5%
5 years, per year -62.6%+12.6%+18.3% +9.4%
10 years -99.0%+0.6%+54.8% +251.5%
10 years, per year -37.0%+0.1%+4.5% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureAMCCNKIMAXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 84.8%38.8%43.6% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 78.9%37.2%37.7% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.920.190.32 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.271.010.99 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -99.8%-61.6%-42.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.7%-0.8%-14.7% -5.9%
52-week high $3.53$40.40$56.35 $779.14
52-week low $0.95$21.93$33.09 $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.

MultipleAMCCNKIMAX
P/E now vs peer median -18.8xmedian 41.0x 9.6xmedian 41.0x 19.7xmedian 23.4x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.3x 1.3xmedian 1.3x 5.5xmedian 1.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 16.5x 7.0xmedian 16.5x 11.9xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.4xmedian 18.5x 88.5xmedian 18.5x 18.2xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 2.8x 2.9xmedian 2.8x 4.5xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median -0.30median 0.48 0.14median 0.48 0.28median 1.02

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 monthsAMCCNKIMAX
Revenue $5.64B $3.56B $483.98M
Gross profit $3.71B – $307.15M
Operating income $441.20M $726.10M $129.71M
Net income -$146.60M $480.20M $141.58M
Free cash flow $168.00M $52.50M $145.98M
R&D – – $6.81M
EPS (diluted) $-0.16 $4.10 $2.31
Cash & equivalents $751.90M $1.11B $207.92M
Total debt $3.75B $3.75B –
Shares (diluted) 896.63M 116.40M 58.01M
Enterprise value $451.22M $1.07B $2.09B

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
MetricAMCCNKIMAX
P/E -18.8x 9.6x 19.7x
P/FCF 16.4x 88.5x 18.2x
P/Operating cash flow 6.7x 7.5x 17.5x
P/S 0.5x 1.3x 5.5x
P/B -2.0x 2.9x 4.5x
P/Tangible book -1.8x 4.7x 4.7x
EV/EBITDA 7.5x 7.0x 11.9x
EV/EBIT 13.0x 10.0x 18.9x
EV/Revenue 1.0x 2.0x 5.1x
EV/FCF 34.2x 138.8x 16.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.0x 11.8x 16.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.30 0.14 0.28

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAMCCNKIMAX
Revenue growth (1Y) 15.9% 13.1% 28.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 5.6% 7.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.3% – 38.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.2% – 11.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 3,547% 95.1% 86.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 70.7% 27.3% 32.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 77.1% 2,568% 183.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 33.7% 63.3% 66.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 86.9% 3,073% 224.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 62.5% 67.4% 71.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1,056% -10.6% 38.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 63.9% -8.6% 28.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 156.1% -85.4% 49.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 34.3% -57.3% 30.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAMCCNKIMAX
Gross margin 65.8% – 63.5%
EBITDA margin 13.6% 29.3% 42.5%
Operating margin 7.8% 20.4% 26.8%
Pretax margin -2.3% 16.8% 22.4%
Net margin -2.6% 13.4% 27.7%
FCF margin 3.0% 1.5% 30.2%
Operating cash flow margin 7.3% 17.3% 31.3%
Return on equity – 30.2% 27.3%
Return on assets -1.8% 5.2% 14.5%
Return on invested capital 18.4% 9.7% 24.1%
Return on capital employed 7.1% 9.6% –
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.8x 1.3x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 1.0% 6.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAMCCNKIMAX
Debt / assets 46.8% 40.5% –
Debt / equity -2.8x 2.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 3.9x 2.5x –
Debt / FCF 22.3x 71.5x –
Liabilities / assets 116.8% 82.8% 42.8%
Equity / assets -16.8% 17.2% 57.2%
Interest coverage 0.8x 5.6x 17.4x
Current ratio 0.6x 1.0x –
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.8x –
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.7x –
Altman Z-score -0.62 0.95 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAMCCNKIMAX
Dividend yield – 0.9% –
Net buyback yield -12.1% 2.2% -1.1%
Shareholder yield -12.1% 3.1% -1.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 8.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 80.2% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – -48.8% –
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.

ConsensusAMCCNKIMAX
Forward P/E – 15.8xFY2026 20.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.09FY2026 $2.53FY2026 $2.32FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +143.3%FY2026 +60.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +5.1% +4.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.41BFY2026 $3.49BFY2026 $499.59MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.6%FY2026 +11.9%FY2026 +21.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.1% +2.6% -5.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAMCCNKIMAX
Held by institutions 60.8% 63.5% 91.5%
Institutions holding 294 308 257
Change in shares held, QoQ +121.1% +1.4% +4.5%
Institutions buying 190 156 144
Institutions selling 35 107 69
Buyers to sellers 5.43 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.

AMCCNKIMAX
AMC 1.00 0.42 0.19
CNK 0.42 1.00 0.45
IMAX 0.19 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AMC, CNK and IMAX?

Cinemark Holdings (CNK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) $2.75B, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) $4.64B, Imax (IMAX) $2.65B.

Which stock is cheaper, AMC, CNK and IMAX?

Cinemark Holdings (CNK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) -18.8x, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 9.6x, Imax (IMAX) 19.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) is cheapest (Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 15.8x, Imax (IMAX) 20.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Imax (IMAX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) +15.9%, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) +13.1%, Imax (IMAX) +28.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Imax (IMAX) has the highest net margin (Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) -2.6%, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 13.4%, Imax (IMAX) 27.7%). On return on invested capital, Imax (IMAX) leads (Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) 18.4%, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 9.7%, Imax (IMAX) 24.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Imax (IMAX) returned the most: Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) +23.2%, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) +39.2%, Imax (IMAX) +43.3%. Over five years, Imax (IMAX) compounded fastest (Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) -62.6%/yr, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) +12.6%/yr, Imax (IMAX) +18.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) 0.00%, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 0.90%. Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) and Imax (IMAX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) has been the steadiest (Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) 84.8%, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 38.8%, Imax (IMAX) 43.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AMC, 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, Imax (IMAX) leads on 6. 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.