AMC vs IMAX vs MCS Stock Comparison

Amc Entertainment Holdings, Imax and Marcus Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IMAX Imax Corp
$53.44 +0.2% 1M +64.7% 1Y
Market cap
$2.87B
P/E
70.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$416.08M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
7 wins
MCS Marcus Corp
$27.93 +0.5% 1M +107.3% 1Y
Market cap
$857.76M
P/E
37.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$789.80M
Div. yield
–
Movie Theaters Communication Services
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Imax leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Imax 7, Marcus 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAMCIMAXMCSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.10B $2.87B $857.76M IMAX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -3.8x 70.1x 37.8x MCS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 24.5x 31.0x IMAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.4% +14.8% +1.8% IMAX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -10.6% 9.8% 2.9% IMAX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.3% 13.2% 5.0% IMAX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.5x -0.8x 1.2x IMAX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +5.9% +64.7% +107.3% MCS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -62.1%/yr +19.6%/yr +8.4%/yr IMAX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 83.3% 42.8% 37.5% MCS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 62/100 64/100 MCS

Percentile Scorecard

AMCIMAXMCS

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

AxisAMCIMAXMCS
Valuation 75 #4 of 13 35 #132 of 203 100 #1 of 13
Growth 60 #5 of 11 92 #16 of 188 30 #8 of 11
Profitability 50 #6 of 11 83 #33 of 187 60 #5 of 11
Financial Health 25 #10 of 13 83 #38 of 222 67 #5 of 13
Shareholder Returns – 15 #131 of 153 –
Overall 53 62 64
  • AMC ranked among 13 companies in Live Venues
  • IMAX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MCS ranked among 13 companies in Live Venues

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAMCIMAXMCSSPY
1 month +0.7%+0.2%+0.5% -1.0%
3 months +27.3%+23.2%+17.3% +2.9%
6 months +76.2%+46.6%+48.7% +6.4%
Year to date +85.3%+44.6%+80.1% +11.4%
1 year +5.9%+64.7%+107.3% +13.1%
3 years -69.0%+192.2%+81.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year -32.4%+43.0%+22.0% +21.5%
5 years -99.2%+144.6%+49.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year -62.1%+19.6%+8.4% +10.9%
10 years -99.1%+71.2%+11.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year -37.5%+5.5%+1.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAMCIMAXMCSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 83.3%42.8%37.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 75.8%35.9%29.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.790.140.53 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.071.512.86 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -99.8%-43.0%-53.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.9%-5.2%-10.3% -2.5%
52-week high $3.28$56.35$31.13 $779.14
52-week low $0.95$31.70$13.06 $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.

MultipleAMCIMAXMCS
P/E now vs peer median -3.8xmedian 50.6x 71.8xmedian 25.9x 37.9xmedian 50.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 1.4x 7.0xmedian 1.9x 1.1xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.3xmedian 18.0x 18.9xmedian 13.7x 9.5xmedian 18.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -79.0xmedian 17.6x 23.2xmedian 21.1x 12.9xmedian 17.6x
P/B now vs peer median -1.4xmedian 2.4x 6.5xmedian 2.3x 1.9xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -0.08median 0.26 0.67median 1.19 0.24median 0.26

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 monthsAMCIMAXMCS
Revenue $5.23B $416.08M $789.80M
Gross profit $3.44B $248.12M $352.87M
Operating income $228.30M $83.87M $32.28M
Net income -$554.10M $47.12M $22.68M
Free cash flow -$26.40M $126.59M $66.69M
R&D – $6.42M –
EPS (diluted) $-0.77 $0.72 $0.73
Cash & equivalents $778.40M $159.92M $26.35M
Total debt $15.86B $146.59M $149.12M
Shares (diluted) 722.02M 56.57M 31.05M
Enterprise value $189.16M $2.27B $789.35M

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
MetricAMCIMAXMCS
P/E -3.8x 71.8x 37.9x
P/FCF -79.0x 23.2x 12.9x
P/Operating cash flow 9.5x 22.1x 6.8x
P/S 0.4x 7.0x 1.1x
P/B -1.4x 6.5x 1.9x
P/Tangible book -1.3x 7.0x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA 9.3x 18.9x 9.5x
EV/EBIT 22.6x 33.5x 30.4x
EV/Revenue 1.0x 6.8x 1.2x
EV/FCF -195.4x 22.2x 14.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 23.6x 21.1x 7.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.08 0.67 0.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAMCIMAXMCS
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.4% 14.8% 1.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.1% 5.8% 3.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.4% 20.4% 3.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 9.6% 4.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 884.1% 39.8% 39.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 38.0% 42.6% 21.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -52.6% 10.6% 53.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.3% 79.6% 136.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.5% 21.7% 55.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 46.1% 107.7% 155.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 467.6% 72.7% 59.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 35.3% 40.0% 14.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 91.4% 88.4% 1,593%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 66.2% 44.5% 10.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAMCIMAXMCS
Gross margin 65.8% 59.6% 44.7%
EBITDA margin 10.6% 35.7% 13.0%
Operating margin 4.4% 20.2% 4.1%
Pretax margin -10.5% 15.0% 3.0%
Net margin -10.6% 9.8% 2.9%
FCF margin -0.5% 30.4% 8.4%
Operating cash flow margin 4.2% 31.9% 16.0%
Return on equity – 10.7% 5.1%
Return on assets -7.0% 5.2% 2.3%
Return on invested capital 10.3% 13.2% 5.0%
Return on capital employed 3.8% – 3.9%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.4x 2.8x 5.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 6.5% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAMCIMAXMCS
Debt / assets 47.9% 4.2% 14.9%
Debt / equity -2.7x 0.1x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.5x -0.8x 1.2x
Debt / FCF -145.9x 0.3x 2.2x
Liabilities / assets 118.1% 51.0% 54.3%
Equity / assets -18.1% 49.0% 45.7%
Interest coverage 0.4x 11.2x 2.9x
Current ratio 0.5x – 0.4x
Quick ratio 0.5x – 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.4x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score -0.84 – 2.10

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAMCIMAXMCS
Dividend yield – – 1.2%
Net buyback yield -16.0% -0.6% 1.6%
Shareholder yield -16.0% -0.6% 2.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
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.

ConsensusAMCIMAXMCS
Forward P/E – 24.5xFY2026 31.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.15FY2026 $2.18FY2026 $0.90FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +50.3%FY2026 +119.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +7.3% +13.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.28BFY2026 $489.76MFY2026 $793.03MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.9%FY2026 +19.4%FY2026 +4.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.9% -4.7% +9.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAMCIMAXMCS
Held by institutions 60.8% 91.5% 66.6%
Institutions holding 292 257 138
Change in shares held, QoQ +121.1% +4.5% +4.9%
Institutions buying 190 144 69
Institutions selling 35 69 38
Buyers to sellers 5.43 2.09 1.82

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.

AMCIMAXMCS
AMC 1.00 0.17 0.43
IMAX 0.17 1.00 0.20
MCS 0.43 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AMC, IMAX and MCS?

Imax (IMAX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) $2.10B, Imax (IMAX) $2.87B, Marcus (MCS) $857.76M.

Which stock is cheaper, AMC, IMAX and MCS?

Marcus (MCS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) -3.8x, Imax (IMAX) 70.1x, Marcus (MCS) 37.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Imax (IMAX) is cheapest (Imax (IMAX) 24.5x, Marcus (MCS) 31.0x). 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) +6.4%, Imax (IMAX) +14.8%, Marcus (MCS) +1.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Imax (IMAX) has the highest net margin (Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) -10.6%, Imax (IMAX) 9.8%, Marcus (MCS) 2.9%). On return on invested capital, Imax (IMAX) leads (Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) 10.3%, Imax (IMAX) 13.2%, Marcus (MCS) 5.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Marcus (MCS) returned the most: Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) +5.9%, Imax (IMAX) +64.7%, Marcus (MCS) +107.3%. Over five years, Imax (IMAX) compounded fastest (Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) -62.1%/yr, Imax (IMAX) +19.6%/yr, Marcus (MCS) +8.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Marcus (MCS) has been the steadiest (Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) 83.3%, Imax (IMAX) 42.8%, Marcus (MCS) 37.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AMC, IMAX and MCS?

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 7. 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.