AMC (NYSE:AMC) stock opened lower by about 9% today after the company reported second-quarter earnings. For the period, revenue tallied in at $1.16 billion. That’s compared to the consensus analyst estimate of $1.18 billion. Net loss improved during the quarter, however, coming in at $121.6 million compared to $344 million year-over-year (YOY). On top of that, AMC reported an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) loss of 24 cents, beating an estimated loss of 27 cents. In the past four quarters, AMC has beaten EPS estimates three times.
However, available liquidity as of June 30 was only $1.17 billion. To improve this figure, the movie theater company announced a special dividend of AMC preferred equity units.
CEO Adam Aron had the following to say:
“This new AMC Preferred Equity gives AMC a currency that can be used in the future to strengthen our balance sheet, including by paying down debt or raising fresh equity […] As a result, this dramatically lessens any near-term survival risk for AMC, as we continue to work our way through this pandemic.”
These new preferred equity units will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker APE on Aug. 22. Let’s get into the details.
AMC Stock Falls After Disclosing APE Preferred Shares Plan
The special dividend will be eligible to AMC holders on record as of Aug. 15. Shareholders will receive one share of APE for each share of AMC stock owned. In total, AMC plans on issuing 516.82 million APE shares. Next, the dividend will be paid out after the market close on Aug 19. APE shares will have the “same economic and voting rights as one share of Common Stock.”
Furthermore, the ex-dividend date will fall on Aug. 22. If an AMC shareholder sells their shares between Aug 16 and Aug 22, the person they sold the shares to is entitled to receive the APE dividend.
Citing a person “close to the matter,” The Wall Street Journal reports that the special dividend allows AMC to “work around constraints” in regards to selling common shares. After issuing an initial 516.82 million APE shares, AMC is eligible to issue an additional 4.5 billion APE shares. These shares will be convertible to AMC stock if shareholders vote to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock.
Shares of AMC stock are currently down over 6% on the news.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
