Is AMC Stock Going to $0?

Since its time as a meme stock, AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) stock has attracted significant attention. After a run-up in 2021, the stock of the U.S.'s largest movie chain lost around 99.8% of its value as ticket sales remain far below where they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

At around $1.70 per share as of the time of this writing, it has fallen deep into penny stock status. With that development, the question surrounding AMC stock is whether it will fall to $0, or will it stage a recovery?

Image source: Getty Images.

What investors should know about AMC stock

The most surprising thing about AMC stock is that the problems may be limited to AMC itself.

Indeed, the move theater industry has shrunk since 2019, when the industry sold about 1.23 billion tickets. Still, the multiplex isn't dead, and movie ticket sales actually increased in 2025, according to Statista. The 769 million movie tickets sold in the U.S. and Canada in 2025 rose from 760 million in 2024.

Image source: Statista.

This helped boost AMC's revenue in 2025, which came in at $4.8 billion, a 5% increase from 2024 levels. Unfortunately, that led to a net loss of $632 million for the year, well above the $353 million AMC lost in 2024. That stands in contrast to rival Cinemark, which earned a profit in both years.

Worse, AMC reported a negative free cash flow of $366 million in 2025. This creates a dire situation for AMC, which currently holds about $429 million in liquidity. To stay in business, it has issued massive amounts of shares. Consequently, the outstanding share count rose by 404% over the last five years to almost 514 million.

However, AMC relieved some of the pressure on its finances when it refinanced $425 million of its debt in March. It paid off outstanding secured notes due next year with a 12.75% interest rate. Under the terms of the new loan, AMC will pay a 10.5% interest rate, with the loan coming due in 2031.

Although AMC will still have to manage a massive debt load, the move buys it some time. Additionally, the company reported record revenue over the Easter weekend, indicating its business is not dead. Still, it will take more than one strong weekend to revive AMC's business.

Is AMC Entertainment stock headed to $0?

Considering its debt refinancing and strong ticket sales over Easter, AMC is unlikely to fall to $0 in the immediate future, but investors cannot rule out such a scenario in the long term.

Indeed, higher ticket sales and more favorable debt terms are bullish for the stock.

However, the company appears to remain dependent on diluting shareholders to cover losses. Also, the fact that Cinemark can earn a profit shows that one can only place so much blame on the challenging business environment.

For now, investors should not expect a near-term collapse of the company. Nonetheless, until free cash flows turn positive and the share dilution dramatically slows, it is likely best to avoid AMC stock.

Will Healy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.