AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron Slams Spreaders of “FUD” (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt) After Annual Meeting

Jill Goldsmith

July 30, 2021 at 1:37 p.m.·7 min read

AMC Entertainment CEO and newly anointed chairman Adam Aron is having a moment with shareholders — that army of retail investors he said in June numbered about 4.1 million and own more than 80% of the stock. Some of them found it hard to access the company’s annual meeting Thursday, which was held in person at AMC’s headquarters in Leawood, KS, sparking social media discontent and claims of secrecy.

“Why didn’t you broadcast? There’s shareholders that don’t even live in America?” griped a tweet.

More from Deadline

@CEOAdam sought to clear it up. “So much FUD going around on the internet, like that our shareholder meeting was closed doors or secret. Simply wrong. It was open to any shareholder, and all present were invited to speak on ballot issues and ask questions. All election results have been published publicly,” he tweeted Friday.

Many rallied around him: “How cool is it we have a CEO who uses the word FUD.”

So much FUD going around on the internet, like that our shareholder meeting was closed doors or secret. Simply wrong. It was open to any shareholder, and all present were invited to speak on ballot issues and ask questions. All election results have been published publicly.
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) July 30, 2021

Redditors who weren’t there had begged for details from those who were. A sampling:

“Are you giving a recap?? Are they going to sell AMC t-shirts at AMC theaters?? More Art, please give more info!!”

“Ask Adam if they will offer banana flavor packets for popcorn.”

“Are we going to get another free popcorn? The free coffee was ok but it’s 100 degrees here not in the mood for coffee.”

“Can you ask about the share count, please?”

Tallies of shareholder votes on executive pay and other standard proposals were filed with the SEC today. And Aron said investors who couldn’t access the annual meeting can ask questions on a webcast when the company reports quarterly financial results. He promised that day and time that will be announced later Friday.

The back-and-forth, very unusual for a public-company CEO, has become the new normal for Aron. He’s embraced the outspoken group that first coalesced around the largest U.S. theater chain early this year on Reddit chatroom WallStreetBets, surging into select stocks led by GameStop in a watershed moment for financial markets. GameStop and AMC have high name recognition and were hit hard by respective shifts in retail and moviegoing exacerbated by the pandemic. An #SaveAMC campaign helped catapult the two-dollar stock of a company that struggled all through 2020 to stave off bankruptcy to a high of over $70.

AMC sold shares on the ride up, raising more cash than it could have imagined just months earlier including $587.4 million from the sale of 11.55 million shares in an at-the-market transaction at average price of $50.85, and $230 million from selling 8.5 million shares to investment firm Mudrick Capital.

“Redditors were a lifeline for AMC,” said one analyst. “It was very fortunate.”

AMC Entertainment CEO Reflects On Wild Pandemic Year, Goodbyes To Stakeholders Wanda And Silver Lake

Big stakeholders Silver Lake and Wanda also cashed out, leaving the Reddit crowd front and center. AMC, in fact, had postponed today’s annual meeting from its initial date in early May “to provide additional time for its millions of current individual shareholders to have their voices heard and more time to cast ballots on important shareholder matters.”

Wall Street analysts, whose share price targets depend on their evaluation of fundamental business prospects, threw up their hands. Shares are well off their high but still healthy, changing hands Friday at about $37.

A stated goal of Redditors in driving the stock higher, and urging one another to stick with it, is squeezing short-sellers — hedge funds that to them represent big, bad institutional Wall Street. Short sellers borrow shares, betting that the price will fall and they can make a profit selling them at market price and buying them back cheaper, before returning them. But if the shares rise, they have to scramble to cover their positions. Retail investors also have been clamoring about so-called synthetic shares, or artificially created positions, even urging AMC to issue a dividend to flush them out.

Aron tried to calm the waters. “As to the existence of so-called fake or synthetic shares, or the naked short selling of AMC shares, we are unaware of any information validating these theories,” he said. “Also, we are unable to make any comment on the considerable trading of puts/calls derivatives.”

So far he’s engaged with his new fan club brilliantly, creating a dedicated investor tab – Investor Connect — on AMC’s website offering them free popcorn, coffee and membership in loyalty program AMC Stubs. As of July 17, he said, nearly a quarter million shareholders had signed up.

“After all, these people are the owners of AMC, and I work for them,” Aron said when announcing the program.

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing. Aron and the AMC board badly wanted to sell more stock to raise more cash but backed down in the face of very vocal chatroom opposition. The company reluctantly yanked a proposal it had on the agenda for the annual meeting seeking authorization to sell an additional 25 million shares. Some on Wall Street think it missed a good opportunity to raise fresh funds in a still uncertain environment for movie theaters.

AMC had also said it wanted funds to buy more theaters. Earlier this month, it announced a deal with Los Angeles real estate titan Rick Caruso for leases to the 14-screen Grove Theatre in Los Angeles and the 18-screen Americana at Brand Theatre in Glendale.

Best of Deadline

Yahoo Finance
Fed's Goolsbee: 'It makes sense to wait' before cutting rates
One of the Fed's more dovish officials said Friday that 'progress on inflation has stalled' and that 'it makes sense to wait' before cutting interest rates.
a minute ago
The Telegraph
McLaren sued for £10m after top surgeon injured in snowmobile crash
A top neurosurgeon is suing McLaren for £10m after being left with a “significant” hand tremor following a snowmobile crash on a £23,000 adventure holiday.
4 minutes ago
The Guardian
‘We move on’: Ten Hag forgives Garnacho and calms talk of divided squad
Alejandro Garnacho has apologised for liking a critical social media post while Sancho starred for Dortmund in this week’s Champions League
5 minutes ago
Yahoo Finance Video
What a Sony, Apollo buyout of Paramount looks like: Analyst
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SONY) has entered talks with Apollo Global Management (APO), the parent company of Yahoo Finance, to discuss a possible joint buyout bid of Paramount Global (PARA,PARAA). According to the New York Times, both companies, through a joint venture, would offer cash for shares of Paramount, taking the company private. Citi Managing Director Jason Bazinet joins The Morning Brief to discuss the potential joint buyout bid from Sony and Apollo and what it could mean for all companies involved and investors moving forward. In terms of what consumers can expect, should a deal go through, Bazinet says: "I think you'll see fewer apps...If this bid between Apollo and Sony is right, Sony is really sort of an arms dealer, right? So they're going to presumably take the studio and just feed everybody's app. Then I would think that someone on the private equity side would, sort of, not want to absorb the losses from a streaming app like Paramount+ and would just focus on the cash-generative assets and pay down debt to create equity value." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino
6 minutes ago
Reuters
Italian activist jailed in Hungary to run for EU elections in June
An Italian anti-fascist activist held in Hungary for allegedly assaulting far-right militants will be a candidate for a left-wing party at European elections in June, possibly putting an end to her detention. The Italian Green and Left Alliance announced late on Thursday she would be among their candidates at the European ballot, in agreement with her father Roberto, who is campaigning for her release. "We want to defend the rights and the dignity of a European citizen in the face of the inertia of the Italian authorities," said Angelo Bonelli, one of the leaders of the Green and Left grouping, which is running at around 4% in opinion polls.
7 minutes ago
Insider Monkey
Here’s Why Polen Focus Growth Strategy Trimmed ServiceNow (NOW)
Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen Focus Growth Strategy” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The US stock market started 2024 optimistically. In the first quarter, the fund returned 8.29% (gross) and 8.09% (net) compared to 11.41% for the Russell 1000 Growth Index and […]
7 minutes ago
Local Journalism Initiative
Niverville 2024 Budget Includes Tax Hike to Support Greater Spending
Niverville’s town council introduced their 2024 budget at a public meeting held on April 16. Residents can expect to see their property taxes go up this year. Council has determined that a 2.5 percent municipal tax increase is needed in order to meet the budget. According to CAO Eric King, this will increase property taxes on the average house assessed at $324,000 to the tune of $52.89. In recent weeks, the Hanover School Division also introduced an increase to local taxes, adding 6.2 percent to
7 minutes ago
Reuters
UPDATE 1-G7 pledges swift aid for Ukraine, seeks to calm Middle East
Group of Seven (G7) major powers pledged on Friday to bolster Ukraine's air defences to counter increasingly deadly Russian attacks and told China to stop supporting Moscow's military industry if it wanted good relations with the West. Foreign ministers from the G7, comprising the United States, Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Britain, wrapped up three days of talks on the island of Capri that were dominated by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
7 minutes ago
Storyful
Timelapse Footage Shows Storm Clouds Moving Over Jackson Suburb
Timelapse video captured ominous clouds moving over a suburb of Jackson, Mississippi, on Thursday, April 18, as weather officials warned of gusty winds, lightning, and hail.These videos, filmed by Carter Bentley, show the storm as it moved across Flowood, just east of Jackson.A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect for Jackson and several nearby cities on Thursday evening. Credit: Carter Bentley via Storyful
8 minutes ago
Yahoo TV UK
This Morning fans react to the UK’s ‘best’ Taylor Swift lookalikes
This Morning went on the hunt for Taylor Swift's best UK lookalikes.
8 minutes ago
Reuters
US STOCKS-Dow, S&P inch up as AmEx gains; Netflix slump drags down Nasdaq
The Dow and the S&P 500 edged higher on Friday on gains in American Express after upbeat earnings and as initial jitters about an escalation in the Middle East conflict subsided, while Netflix weighed on the Nasdaq following its dour forecast. Netflix slumped 6.6% following the streaming video pioneer's lackluster second-quarter forecast.
9 minutes ago
The Guardian
NHL 2024 playoff predictions: will the Rangers end the Presidents’ Trophy curse?
New York are a talented but messy team. Instead it could be the Dallas Stars who come out on top in the Stanley Cup final
9 minutes ago
Baystreet
TSX Hikes at Open
Equities in Toronto reached for the heavens Friday, even as investors looked to minimize risks following ...
9 minutes ago
The Telegraph
Pictured: Capsized yacht washes up on East Sussex beach
A yacht washed up on the southern coast of England on Thursday night spilling its contents over the beach.
10 minutes ago
Yahoo Life Shopping
'Leaves the tush feeling clean and groovy': This popular bidet is marked down to just $23 at Amazon
This bidet uses the water line running to your toilet to generate pressure, no electricity required.
10 minutes ago
Local Journalism Initiative
Brampton landlord licensing program relaunches after backlash
Applications for Brampton’s refined Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) Pilot Program are now open after pushback from landlords forced the City to delay the effort earlier this year. The RRL requires landlords renting between 1 and 4 units within Wards 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 to register with the City and pay a $300 fee. The program is designed to ensure landlords are following City Property Standards bylaws and keep their properties clean and safe for tenants. Being registered with the program means t
10 minutes ago
The Independent
Emma Raducanu vs Iga Swiatek start time and how to watch Stuttgart Open on TV
Raducanu has won four matches in a row and now faces Swiatek for a place in the Stuttgart semi-finals
11 minutes ago
Insider Monkey
20 Best Cheap Phones for 2024
In this article, we will look at the 20 best cheap phones for 2024. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to the 5 Best Cheap Phones for 2024. Overview of the Global Smartphone Industry The global smartphone industry is one of the fastest evolving industries and experiences regular updates […]
11 minutes ago
The Independent
7 of the best solo cruise lines for single passengers
Avoid hidden fees and higher prices with this range of cruise operators that cater to solo travellers
12 minutes ago
Evening Standard
Erling Haaland injury: Man City striker suffers new muscle issue ahead of FA Cup semi-final vs Chelsea
The striker is now a doubt for the Wembley clash on Saturday
13 minutes ago

Latest Stories