AMC Caters To Retail Shareholders With Promos, Perks And Free Popcorn

AMC Entertainment Holdings, which is among the so-called “meme stocks,” has launched a new communications program called AMC Investor Connect aimed at its “sizable retail shareholder base.”

If stockholders sign up on the company’s website, they get special offers, such as a free large popcorn when attending a movie at AMC in the U.S. this summer. They may also receive “exclusive promotions, including free or discounted items, and invitations to special screenings,” as well as company updates.

The company said in a press release that it has more than 3.2 million individual shareholders (as of March 11, 2021). That amounts to 80 percent of its ownership.

“Many of our investors have demonstrated support and confidence in AMC,” said Adam Aron, CEO and president of AMC Theatres. He said that AMC Investor Connect will put the company “in direct communication” with these “enthusiastic and passionate” individual shareholders.

Last month, AMC benefited from the influx in trading in meme stocks promoted on social media platforms like Twitter, Stocktwits and the trader chatroom WallStreetBets. The stock for the movie theater company jumped 20 percent, a roughly four-month high.

Bloomberg, which is tracking 37 meme stocks, said the group spiked 5.4 percent, outperforming the S&P 500. Meme stocks took off earlier this year, with GameStop, in particular, being rallied by retail investors to a price of $336 a share.

The Leawood, Kansas-based AMC has held on through the pandemic, which pummeled the entertainment industry. The Motion Picture Association valued 2020’s box-office haul at just $2.2 billion, down from $11.4 billion in 2019.

But now, theaters are reopening in major cities, such as New York and Los Angeles. In March, AMC said that 98 percent of its theaters were open, and Cinemark said 90 percent of its theaters were open. However, theaters will have limited material to show, because movie makers delayed the release of new titles due to COVID-19.