Should You Buy AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) Stock While It's Below $3?

Should You Buy AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) Stock While It's Below $3?

Selena Maranjian, The Motley Fool

Sat, September 5, 2026 at 11:08 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• AMC +4.33%
• NVDA +0.84%

AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) is an interesting stock. For a while, in 2021, it was a "meme stock," often in the news and surging more than 1,100% that year to more than $600 per share. The next years were different, with shares crashing 85%, 85%, 35%, and 61% in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively. Altogether, that's more than a 99% decline. Ouch!

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So far, 2026 has been quite different, with shares up about 63% (as of Sept. 4). Still, they were recently trading for $2.67 apiece. In other words, AMC Entertainment's shares are firmly in penny-stock territory. Should you buy shares now, while they're below $3? Maybe.

Penny stocks are notoriously volatile and risky, often tied to young, unproven companies, and occasionally hyped online. They're generally to be avoided. But AMC Entertainment, while definitely not a no-brainer, blue chip stock, is not a typical penny stock. Its market value was recently $2.4 billion, for example. Its last earnings report, for its second quarter, featured revenue of $1.6 billion, up 14% year over year.

So -- should you buy into AMC Entertainment? Here are some reasons you might:

• Movie theaters are having a great year, with summer ticket sales up 26% over last year and above most recent summers.

• AMC seems to have its mojo back, with Q2 also featuring adjusted earnings in the black, not the red.

• The stock's valuation arguably looks reasonable, with a low price-to-sales ratio of 0.28, below the five-year average of 0.31.

However, keep in mind:

• Other movie stocks may be better buys, with lower valuations.

• AMC doesn't have a solid track record of profits.

• It doesn't pay a dividend.

• The company has issued many more shares, diluting the value of existing shares.

• It's carrying a lot of debt.

Overall, I'm taking a pass. But dig deeper, if you're intrigued, and see what you think.

Should you buy stock in AMC Entertainment right now?

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Selena Maranjian 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.

Should You Buy AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) Stock While It's Below $3? was originally published by The Motley Fool