CNK vs IMAX vs MCS Stock Comparison

Cinemark Holdings, Imax and Marcus Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CNK Cinemark Holdings, Inc.
$39.66 +10.8% 1M +50.0% 1Y
Market cap
$4.50B
P/E
13.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.36B
Div. yield
-0.01%
Movie Theaters Communication Services
5 wins
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
4 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
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionCNKIMAXMCSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.50B $2.87B $857.76M CNK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.1x 70.1x 37.8x CNK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.7x 24.5x 31.0x CNK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.5% +14.8% +1.8% IMAX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.2% 9.8% 2.9% CNK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.1% 13.2% 5.0% IMAX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.6x -0.8x 1.2x IMAX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield -0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +50.0% +64.7% +107.3% MCS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.2%/yr +19.6%/yr +8.4%/yr IMAX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 39.5% 42.8% 37.5% MCS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 62/100 64/100 CNK

Percentile Scorecard

CNKIMAXMCS

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

AxisCNKIMAXMCS
Valuation 92 #2 of 13 35 #132 of 203 100 #1 of 13
Growth 40 #7 of 11 92 #16 of 188 30 #8 of 11
Profitability 80 #3 of 11 83 #33 of 187 60 #5 of 11
Financial Health 58 #6 of 13 83 #38 of 222 67 #5 of 13
Shareholder Returns – 15 #131 of 153 –
Overall 68 62 64
  • CNK 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

PeriodCNKIMAXMCSSPY
1 month +10.8%+0.2%+0.5% -1.0%
3 months +21.2%+23.2%+17.3% +2.9%
6 months +39.3%+46.6%+48.7% +6.4%
Year to date +70.7%+44.6%+80.1% +11.4%
1 year +50.0%+64.7%+107.3% +13.1%
3 years +158.0%+192.2%+81.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +37.2%+43.0%+22.0% +21.5%
5 years +94.0%+144.6%+49.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +14.2%+19.6%+8.4% +10.9%
10 years -0.8%+71.2%+11.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year -0.1%+5.5%+1.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCNKIMAXMCSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 39.5%42.8%37.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.7%35.9%29.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.190.140.53 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.271.512.86 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -62.2%-43.0%-53.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.2%-5.2%-10.3% -2.5%
52-week high $40.15$56.35$31.13 $779.14
52-week low $21.93$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.

MultipleCNKIMAXMCS
P/E now vs peer median 13.3xmedian 50.6x 71.8xmedian 25.9x 37.9xmedian 50.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.4x 7.0xmedian 1.9x 1.1xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.7xmedian 18.0x 18.9xmedian 13.7x 9.5xmedian 18.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.6xmedian 17.6x 23.2xmedian 21.1x 12.9xmedian 17.6x
P/B now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 2.4x 6.5xmedian 2.3x 1.9xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.27median 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 monthsCNKIMAXMCS
Revenue $3.36B $416.08M $789.80M
Gross profit – $248.12M $352.87M
Operating income $541.50M $83.87M $32.28M
Net income $343.60M $47.12M $22.68M
Free cash flow $261.60M $126.59M $66.69M
R&D – $6.42M –
EPS (diluted) $2.95 $0.72 $0.73
Cash & equivalents $1.01B $159.92M $26.35M
Total debt $15.47B $146.59M $149.12M
Shares (diluted) 116.40M 56.57M 31.05M
Enterprise value $1.10B $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
MetricCNKIMAXMCS
P/E 13.3x 71.8x 37.9x
P/FCF 17.6x 23.2x 12.9x
P/Operating cash flow 5.8x 22.1x 6.8x
P/S 1.4x 7.0x 1.1x
P/B 2.9x 6.5x 1.9x
P/Tangible book 4.7x 7.0x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA 9.7x 18.9x 9.5x
EV/EBIT 13.6x 33.5x 30.4x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 6.8x 1.2x
EV/FCF 28.1x 22.2x 14.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.3x 21.1x 7.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.27 0.67 0.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCNKIMAXMCS
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.5% 14.8% 1.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 5.8% 3.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 20.4% 3.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 9.6% 4.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 15.1% 39.8% 39.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 30.5% 42.6% 21.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 20.8% 10.6% 53.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 319.0% 79.6% 136.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 369.2% 21.7% 55.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 48.6% 107.7% 155.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 70.0% 72.7% 59.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.9% 40.0% 14.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 68.4% 88.4% 1,593%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.9% 44.5% 10.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCNKIMAXMCS
Gross margin – 59.6% 44.7%
EBITDA margin 22.4% 35.7% 13.0%
Operating margin 16.1% 20.2% 4.1%
Pretax margin 10.8% 15.0% 3.0%
Net margin 10.2% 9.8% 2.9%
FCF margin 7.8% 30.4% 8.4%
Operating cash flow margin 23.6% 31.9% 16.0%
Return on equity 21.7% 10.7% 5.1%
Return on assets 3.8% 5.2% 2.3%
Return on invested capital 8.1% 13.2% 5.0%
Return on capital employed 7.5% – 3.9%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 2.8x 5.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 6.5% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCNKIMAXMCS
Debt / assets 40.7% 4.2% 14.9%
Debt / equity 2.4x 0.1x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.6x -0.8x 1.2x
Debt / FCF 14.3x 0.3x 2.2x
Liabilities / assets 82.8% 51.0% 54.3%
Equity / assets 17.2% 49.0% 45.7%
Interest coverage 4.2x 11.2x 2.9x
Current ratio 0.9x – 0.4x
Quick ratio 0.7x – 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.6x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.80 – 2.10

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCNKIMAXMCS
Dividend yield 0.9% – 1.2%
Net buyback yield 2.2% -0.6% 1.6%
Shareholder yield 3.1% -0.6% 2.8%
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.

ConsensusCNKIMAXMCS
Forward P/E 16.7xFY2026 24.5xFY2026 31.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.38FY2026 $2.18FY2026 $0.90FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +128.8%FY2026 +50.3%FY2026 +119.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +9.2% +7.3% +13.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.44BFY2026 $489.76MFY2026 $793.03MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.4%FY2026 +19.4%FY2026 +4.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.5% -4.7% +9.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCNKIMAXMCS
Held by institutions 63.5% 91.5% 66.6%
Institutions holding 308 257 138
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% +4.5% +4.9%
Institutions buying 156 144 69
Institutions selling 107 69 38
Buyers to sellers 1.46 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.

CNKIMAXMCS
CNK 1.00 0.45 0.55
IMAX 0.45 1.00 0.20
MCS 0.55 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CNK, IMAX and MCS?

Cinemark Holdings (CNK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cinemark Holdings (CNK) $4.50B, Imax (IMAX) $2.87B, Marcus (MCS) $857.76M.

Which stock is cheaper, CNK, IMAX and MCS?

Cinemark Holdings (CNK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 13.1x, Imax (IMAX) 70.1x, Marcus (MCS) 37.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cinemark Holdings (CNK) is cheapest (Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 16.7x, 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: Cinemark Holdings (CNK) +4.5%, Imax (IMAX) +14.8%, Marcus (MCS) +1.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cinemark Holdings (CNK) has the highest net margin (Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 10.2%, Imax (IMAX) 9.8%, Marcus (MCS) 2.9%). On return on invested capital, Imax (IMAX) leads (Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 8.1%, Imax (IMAX) 13.2%, Marcus (MCS) 5.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Marcus (MCS) returned the most: Cinemark Holdings (CNK) +50.0%, Imax (IMAX) +64.7%, Marcus (MCS) +107.3%. Over five years, Imax (IMAX) compounded fastest (Cinemark Holdings (CNK) +14.2%/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 (Cinemark Holdings (CNK) 39.5%, 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, CNK, 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, 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.