IMAX vs LION vs SYM Stock Comparison

Imax, Lionsgate Studios and Symbotic Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IMAX Imax Corp
$50.49 -10.0% 1M +54.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.81B
P/E
68.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$416.08M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
6 wins
LION Lionsgate Studios Corp.
$12.22 +11.3% 1M +91.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.77B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.88B
Div. yield
–
Film and Television Communication Services
2 wins
SYM Symbotic Inc.
$38.97 -7.2% 1M -43.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.81B
P/E
586.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.65B
Div. yield
0.00%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Imax leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Imax 6, Symbotic 3, Lionsgate Studios 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIMAXLIONSYMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.81B $3.77B $4.81B SYM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 68.8x -31.8x 586.3x IMAX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.0x — 205.1x IMAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.8% +9.9% +20.6% SYM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.8% -4.1% 0.3% IMAX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.2% 18.4% — LION
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.8x 9.5x — IMAX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +54.1% +91.8% -43.2% LION
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +21.8%/yr — +31.3%/yr SYM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.9% 49.1% 78.6% IMAX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 40/100 46/100 IMAX

Percentile Scorecard

IMAXLIONSYM

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

AxisIMAXLIONSYM
Valuation 41 #121 of 203 37 #78 of 123 12 #179 of 203
Growth 93 #15 of 188 98 #3 of 107 98 #4 of 188
Profitability 82 #34 of 184 40 #63 of 105 39 #112 of 184
Financial Health 84 #36 of 217 11 #117 of 131 43 #125 of 217
Shareholder Returns 15 #130 of 153 14 #64 of 74 40 #93 of 153
Overall 63 40 46
  • IMAX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • LION ranked among 134 companies in Communication Services
  • SYM ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIMAXLIONSYMSPY
1 month -10.0%+11.3%-7.2% +0.9%
3 months +3.6%-6.4%-3.4% +5.9%
6 months +35.6%+0.2%-32.0% +8.5%
Year to date +36.6%+33.8%-34.5% +13.3%
1 year +54.1%+91.8%-43.2% +12.4%
3 years +181.4%+16.6%+10.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +41.2%+5.3%+3.3% +23.5%
5 years +167.9%—+290.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year +21.8%—+31.3% +11.0%
10 years +66.4%—— +263.4%
10 years, per year +5.2%—— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureIMAXLIONSYMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.9%49.1%78.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.2%39.4%80.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.120.792.91 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.261.87-0.55 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.3%-55.4%-72.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.4%-25.5%-55.4% -0.9%
52-week high $56.35$16.40$87.30 $779.14
52-week low $32.43$6.23$37.90 $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.

MultipleIMAXLIONSYM
P/E now vs peer median 67.8xmedian 25.4x -30.1xmedian 17.0x 608.0xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 1.9x 1.3xmedian 1.1x 8.9xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 14.3x 33.0xmedian 9.6x 563.3xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.9xmedian 21.8x 37.3xmedian 9.3x 29.6xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 6.2xmedian 2.2x -3.0xmedian 1.6x 20.8xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.63median 1.41 —median 0.32 20.84median 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 monthsIMAXLIONSYM
Revenue $416.08M $2.88B $2.65B
Gross profit $248.12M – $563.25M
Operating income $83.87M $133.20M -$250.00K
Net income $47.12M -$118.80M $34.64M
Free cash flow $126.59M $97.40M $795.43M
R&D $6.42M – $203.12M
EPS (diluted) $0.72 $-0.41 $0.06
Cash & equivalents $159.92M $425.80M $1.75B
Total debt $38.84M $1.90B –
Shares (diluted) 56.57M 291.60M 133.25M
Enterprise value $2.21B $2.61B -$2.01B

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
MetricIMAXLIONSYM
P/E 67.8x -30.1x 608.0x
P/FCF 21.9x 37.3x 29.6x
P/Operating cash flow 20.8x 33.0x 26.3x
P/S 6.7x 1.3x 8.9x
P/B 6.2x -3.0x 20.8x
P/Tangible book 6.6x -3.0x 22.4x
EV/EBITDA 17.8x 33.0x 563.3x
EV/EBIT 31.6x 38.4x -87,145x
EV/Revenue 6.4x 1.8x 8.2x
EV/FCF 20.9x 52.5x 27.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.9x 46.4x 24.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.63 – 20.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIMAXLIONSYM
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.8% 9.9% 20.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.8% – 40.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.4% – 40.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.6% – 51.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 39.8% 2,284% 99.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 42.6% – 89.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 10.6% 71.9% 208.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 79.6% – 29.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 21.7% 73.1% 210.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 107.7% – 29.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 72.7% 284.3% 400.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 40.0% – –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 88.4% 234.0% 594.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 44.5% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIMAXLIONSYM
Gross margin 59.6% – 21.3%
EBITDA margin 35.7% 5.4% 1.5%
Operating margin 20.2% 4.6% 0.0%
Pretax margin 15.0% -3.3% 2.4%
Net margin 9.8% -4.1% 0.3%
FCF margin 30.4% 3.4% 30.1%
Operating cash flow margin 31.9% 3.8% 33.8%
Return on equity 10.7% – 3.2%
Return on assets 5.2% -2.2% 1.0%
Return on invested capital 13.2% 18.4% –
Return on capital employed – 6.6% 0.0%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.8x -0.9x 25.8x
Stock comp / revenue 6.5% 4.1% 8.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIMAXLIONSYM
Debt / assets 4.2% 35.7% –
Debt / equity 0.1x -1.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA -0.8x 9.5x –
Debt / FCF 0.3x 19.5x –
Liabilities / assets 51.0% 122.5% 67.8%
Equity / assets 49.0% -22.5% 32.2%
Interest coverage 11.2x 0.5x –
Current ratio – 0.4x 1.3x
Quick ratio – 0.4x 1.2x
Cash ratio – 0.1x 0.8x
Altman Z-score – -0.45 6.38

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIMAXLIONSYM
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -0.7% -0.2% -1.8%
Shareholder yield -0.7% -0.2% -1.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 3.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 0.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -30.4%
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.

ConsensusIMAXLIONSYM
Forward P/E 22.0xFY2026 – 205.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.29FY2026 – $0.19FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +57.9%FY2026 – -17.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.4% – +131.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $497.98MFY2026 – $2.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +21.4%FY2026 – +27.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -5.7% – +18.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIMAXLIONSYM
Held by institutions 91.5% 89.1% 90.6%
Institutions holding 257 291 412
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.5% +1.3% +2.6%
Institutions buying 144 155 260
Institutions selling 69 85 85
Buyers to sellers 2.09 1.82 3.06

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.

IMAXLIONSYM
IMAX 1.00 0.19 0.00
LION 0.19 1.00 0.13
SYM 0.00 0.13 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IMAX, LION and SYM?

Symbotic (SYM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Imax (IMAX) $2.81B, Lionsgate Studios (LION) $3.77B, Symbotic (SYM) $4.81B.

Which stock is cheaper, IMAX, LION and SYM?

Imax (IMAX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Imax (IMAX) 68.8x, Lionsgate Studios (LION) -31.8x, Symbotic (SYM) 586.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Imax (IMAX) is cheapest (Imax (IMAX) 22.0x, Symbotic (SYM) 205.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Symbotic (SYM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Imax (IMAX) +14.8%, Lionsgate Studios (LION) +9.9%, Symbotic (SYM) +20.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Imax (IMAX) has the highest net margin (Imax (IMAX) 9.8%, Lionsgate Studios (LION) -4.1%, Symbotic (SYM) 0.3%). On return on invested capital, Lionsgate Studios (LION) leads (Imax (IMAX) 13.2%, Lionsgate Studios (LION) 18.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lionsgate Studios (LION) returned the most: Imax (IMAX) +54.1%, Lionsgate Studios (LION) +91.8%, Symbotic (SYM) -43.2%. Over five years, Symbotic (SYM) compounded fastest (Imax (IMAX) +21.8%/yr, Symbotic (SYM) +31.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Imax (IMAX) 0.00%, Lionsgate Studios (LION) 0.00%, Symbotic (SYM) 0.00%. Imax (IMAX) and Lionsgate Studios (LION) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Imax (IMAX) has been the steadiest (Imax (IMAX) 42.9%, Lionsgate Studios (LION) 49.1%, Symbotic (SYM) 78.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IMAX, LION and SYM?

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.