Retail investors turned AMC into a meme stock and saved the company from the cusp of bankruptcy in 2021. However, since rallying to extreme highs, the stock has stabilized and continues to face fierce competition from streaming services. So, is it worth investing in AMC? This guide will analyze the most important facts about the movie theater chain, as well as explain how to buy AMC stock. In addition, we will go through the risks involved in trading the stock and provide you with an overview of the best brokers to use.
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What is AMC?
Furthermore, after merging with Odeon, UCI, and Carmike Cinemas in 2016, it became the world’s largest movie theater operator. As of December 31, 2021, AMC owned, leased, or managed 946 cinemas and 10,562 screens across 12 countries, including 593 theaters in the United States and 353 in European markets and Saudi Arabia.
In 2021, AMC’s revenue added to almost $2.53 billion, up from 1.24 billion a year earlier, producing an annual increase of 103%. Yet, despite the growth, the 2021 figure amounted to just 46.2% of the 5.47 billion revenue recorded in 2019. This stunning downfall followed, of course, the COVID-19 outbreak, which in 2020 forced locations across the country to shut down, resulting in a net loss of $4.3 billion.
The company revenue continued to grow in the third quarter of 2022, reporting $968.4 million, up 27% from the year prior. However, the third quarter of 2022 amounted to less than 74% of the $1.3 billion-dollar revenue recorded in the third quarter of 2019, before the pandemic.
Note
The AMC stock symbol is AMC, and it trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). You can acquire AMC stock via multiple brokers, which we will overview later in this guide.
Where to buy AMC stock? Step-by-step process
AMC is a publicly traded company, which means you can buy AMC stock through a broker. The steps involved in purchasing AMC shares are summarized in the following section in detail.
Step 1: Choose a broker
To buy AMC stock online, you’ll need a brokerage account. While several platforms are available, the right one will depend on your investment style (long-term buy-and-hold strategy or active day trading) and needs (e.g., whether you want to trade more advanced financial products such as options). When assessing brokers, consider the following features:
- Fees: Brokerage fees are a type of fee collected by brokers to execute your transactions or provide specialized services. Fortunately, today, the vast majority of online brokers offer commission-free stock and exchange-traded funds (ETF) trading;
- Security: Pick a trustworthy broker by ensuring it is fully licensed by state regulatory authorities as well as FINRA and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
- Trading tools: Active traders may prefer brokerage accounts with all the bells and whistles. Some brokers offer fully customizable platforms with comprehensive analysis tools or access to additional data for an extra cost. If such additions are unnecessary for your purposes, avoid paying extra for them. It’s typically a good idea to look for a user-friendly platform with a competitive fee structure if you are new to stock trading. A dedicated section with investing tips and tricks is a bonus;
- Access to market data: You should search for a platform that allows access to solid market research and reporting tools to help you trade confidently with updated data;
- Fractional stock trading: Fractional shares allow investors to buy stock or ETFs by the dollar amount instead of the number of shares; especially helpful for investors who don’t have unlimited capital but want to build a diversified portfolio or are looking to set up a dollar-cost averaging strategy.
Where can I buy AMC stock (AMC)?
Access to financial markets has never been easier and more affordable, thanks to various online brokers. However, choosing the right broker optimized for your needs (investing goals, educational tools, trading style) is crucial for a hassle-free trading experience.
To securely invest in AMC and buy AMC stock, consider these brokers:
1. eToro
- Commission-free stock trading;
- 2,000+ stocks from 17 exchanges;
- Fractional shares available;
- User-friendly platform.
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eToro USA is registered with FINRA for securities trading.
- Commission-free stock trading;
- Global stock-trading on 90+ market centers;
- Fractional shares available;
- Extra income on fully paid shares;
- Lowest financing rates for margin accounts in the industry;
- No account minimum.
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Step 2: Fund your account
Once you have found a broker, the next step is funding your trading account. Remember, it can sometimes take up to three days for the funds to be deposited.
Step 3: Research the company
When investing your money in the stock market, research is crucial. The best place to start your research on a stock is to go through its public filings with the SEC. As a publicly traded company, AMC’s quarterly earning reports (form 10-Q), SEC filings, shareholder presentations, and recent press releases can be accessed directly from its investor relations section.
Within those reports, you can find details on AMC’s financial performance and strategies for the future, as well as information about challenges facing the company or industry as a whole, such as the rising popularity of at-home streaming providers or continued concerns about the coronavirus.
Step 4: Decide how much you want to invest
After you’ve done your research and decided that AMC stock is the right choice for you, you’ll need to determine how much you want to invest.
The amount of money you invest ultimately depends on the stock price and the number of shares you want to buy. If the share price of a stock you’re interested in is financially out of reach, you can also explore fractional shares. Fractional shares allow you to purchase shares on the dollar amount you’re comfortable with, so you may end up with less than a whole share, a whole share, or more than a whole share.
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Because investing can have unpredictable returns, it’s essential only to invest what you can afford to lose and to be mindful of your risk appetite.
Step 5: Place your order and buy AMC stock
Once you decide on the number of shares or the dollar amount you’d like to purchase, you can place your order. If you’re working with an advisor, tell them you’d like to buy AMC stock and how much you can invest, and they’ll do it for you. If you’re using a brokerage account, simply log in and enter the ticker symbol AMC in the search bar.
There are a few different execution options to choose from, including:
- Market order: A market order is an order to buy the stock at the current market price that is generally executed immediately (subject to availability);
- Limit order: A limit order is processed once the stock reaches your specified price. For example, imagine you want to buy AMC stock at $5 or lower. You would then set the limit price at $5, and the order will only execute when the stock reaches the set price or lower;
- Options contract: Options speculation allows for leveraged positions in a security at a fraction of the cost of the underlying asset. A call option allows the trader to profit if the price of the stock increases, and a put option enables them to profit if the stock price declines. Remember, derivative instruments can only be traded on a margin account, which typically has higher minimum balance requirements than standard brokerage accounts.
Note
Step 6: Monitor your investment
Investors in AMC can expect price volatility as AMC share price continues to weather the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, AMC is up against another existential threat – streaming – indicating a shift in consumer behavior and a potential risk for movie theaters across the country.
In fact, preferences for catching a new release in a cinema instead of via streaming in the US have changed significantly between 2018 and 2020, with consumers now favoring home entertainment, as seen in the table below.
Worse, AMC is losing its merits to exclusivity as film studios make deals with streaming services to release new movies on these platforms at the same time they are released to AMC theaters (sometimes bypassing theater releases altogether), potentially impacting AMC’s profitability.
So, while “set it and forget it” is a solid strategy for a diversified portfolio of ETFs, for single stocks like AMC, investors should keep a close watch on press releases, company health indicators such as revenue and customer growth, industry performance as well as overall film industry conditions. Then, depending on your financial goals, use that knowledge to reassess whether it’s best to hold onto the stock or sell it.
You may also want to track the performance of similar stocks in the sector for comparisons, such as Cineworld Group plc (FRA: DQ6) or Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (FRA: ZZA).
AMC stock price today
Should I buy AMC stock?
Besides looking at AMC’s fundamentals, you can use technical analysis to evaluate the company and identify trading opportunities in price trends and patterns seen on charts.
This gauge displays a real-time technical analysis overview for your specified timeframe. It can be a valuable technical analysis tool for many traders by simplifying trading decisions by demonstrating the real-time recommendations of popular technical indicators such as moving averages and oscillators.
Disclaimer: TradingView does not recommend trading financial instruments based exclusively on the advice of the Technical Rating indicator. These recommendations cannot predict future movements and are meant as assistance for spotting potentially favorable buy/sell conditions if this is consistent with their strategy.
Common mistakes to avoid when investing in stocks
Mistakes are expected when investing in stocks but can be avoided if you recognize them. For an in-depth guide on investing mistakes, we have compiled a list of 17 common mistakes and tips for preventing them. But, for now, let’s list some of the most typical ones:
- Not performing your due diligence on the stock;
- Having unclear financial goals;
- Attempting to time the market;
- Failing to diversify;
- Letting your emotions rule the investment decision-making process.
How to sell AMC stock?
You can sell AMC stock if you see the company performing differently than expected or after reaching your desired financial goal.
If you’re working with an advisor, they can create a sale order for you. However, if you have your own broker account, simply log on, navigate to the stock’s detail page, input the number of shares or dollar amount you want to offload, and tap sell.
Pros and cons of buying AMC stock
AMC is still a viable business as there will always be people who want to experience movies on the big screen. However, with streaming services looming over the industry as well as continued fears about the pandemic, can the company stay afloat? That is why you should always investigate the pros and cons of a stock before investing. With that said, let’s briefly summarize AMC’s pros and cons.
Pros
- Solid rebound from pandemic lows: The company doubled its revenue in 2021 after taking a significant beating due to pandemic-era policies;
- An industry that is likely to stay: The big-screen experience is expected to keep drawing in consumers, particularly for blockbuster movies.
Cons
- Low attendance: Many people are still avoiding movie theatres due to the ongoing threat of COVID-19;
- The growing popularity of streaming services: Many consumers will opt for home entertainment in favor of going to the cinema;
- No dividends: AMX does not pay dividends to its stockholders.
Important
In conclusion
AMC’s stock may never reach the same peaks as seen during its meme stock period, but it’s still a viable business as movie-going is likely to remain a beloved consumer experience. However, the growing competition from streaming platforms and home entertainment systems, as well as the ongoing impact of the pandemic, pose a real challenge to AMC’s business as well as the movie theater industry as a whole.
So, as always, remember to do your own independent research and have solid risk management tools in place before entering the market. Ultimately, the goal of investing is to make money over the long term, so investors should focus on where companies will be ten years from now rather than short-term fluctuations in the stock market.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
FAQs about how to buy AMC stock
What is AMC?
AMC Entertainment Holdings, or simply AMC, is an American movie theater chain that owns, leases, or operates movie theaters located in the United States and Europe (as well as Saudi Arabia).
How to buy AMC stock?
AMC is a publicly traded company, and its stock is available on the NYSE exchange under the ticker AMC, which means you can buy shares of AMC through your brokerage account.
Is AMC stock a buy?
Whether AMC is a suitable investment should be based on your risk tolerance, portfolio size, financial goals, and market experience. So always conduct your due diligence before trading. Also, note that past performance doesn’t guarantee future returns.
Where to buy AMC stock?
You can buy AMC stock at various online brokers such as Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and eToro.
Where can I buy AMC stock UK?
If you want to buy AMC stock in the UK, you can do so via a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) licensed broker like eToro.
Highly Rated Stock Trading & Investing Platform
-
Invest in 2,800+ stocks and other assets including 70+ cryptocurrencies and commodities.
-
0% commission on buying stocks - buy in bulk or just a fraction from as little as $10. Other fees apply. For more information, visit etoro.com/trading/fees.
-
Copy top-performing traders in real time, automatically.
-
eToro USA is registered with FINRA for securities trading.
