Key Words: AMC CEO touts record U.S. food and beverage sales

This post was originally published on this site

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. CEO Adam Aron says that the movie-theater chain and meme-stock darling saw record U.S. food and beverage sales per patron last month.

“Apparently our guests are coming to see movies hungry and thirsty. Food/Bev sales per patron in U.S. in May — the highest month EVER for AMC!” Aron tweeted Sunday.

AMC
AMC,
+0.44%

recently reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings. During the first quarter, which ended March 31, food and beverage spending per patron was $6.90 globally and $7.99 in the U.S., up from $6.46 globally and $7.52 in the U.S. in the prior year’s quarter.

Related: AMC’s Investor Connect program has hit 1 million members, CEO says

In a statement released with AMC’s first-quarter results, Aron said that spending on food and drinks at AMC theaters continued at “a blistering pace” compared with prepandemic levels. “This is especially welcome given the high-margin nature of our food and beverage activity,” he added.

Last month AMC reached an agreement to settle a shareholder lawsuit over the conversion of AMC Preferred Equity units
APE,
-0.63%

 into common stock.

AMC’s stock rose 1.5% Monday, outpacing the S&P 500’s 
SPX,
+0.06%

gain of 0.2%. The APEs rose 0.9%.

Related: AMC’s ‘road to recovery getting better,’ says Macquarie

The movie-theater chain’s shares have risen 13.5% in 2023, while the S&P 500 has gained 11.8%. The APEs have risen 13.8% this year.