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AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron shared on Monday’s quarterly earnings call that the company is setting up IT logistics to support Bitcoin payments. Crypto is anticipated to be a supported method of payments at AMC theaters before the end of the year.
Prepare The Popcorn
Aron noted on the earnings call that the chain would support Bitcoin in all U.S. theaters for online payments of both movie tickets and concessions.
The move brings together two notable investments that have made headlines throughout the year. Bitcoin, of course, is known as the leading asset behind broader crypto, and AMC – a company who’s stock was grouped with the likes of Gamestop ($GME) in Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets saga this year. AMC stock surged over 1,000% during the retail revitalization.
This earnings report this week showed numbers for AMC that were better than expected, including revenues exceed analysts expectations. The firm also reported losses per share at $0.71 versus the expected $0.91. At the end of June, all of the theaters U.S. locations were open, and roughly 95% of international locations were open. The company hosted 22M guests in the second quarter of the year as well.
Aron also expressed optimism that Q4 could be the quarter that the company finally turns around a profit again. AMC is also expected to explore new content as well, such as sports and pre-taped concerts. Additionally, beyond Bitcoin, AMC is expected to start integrating Google Pay and Apple Pay for payments.
AMC shares bumped up over 3% on the day.
Not The First… And Certainly Not The Last
AMC will join a growing list of publicly-traded companies that are implementing Bitcoin in their business in one way or another. Tesla, of course, led by the Doge-king himself Elon Musk, accepted Bitcoin as payments for vehicles for a short time before stopping acceptance in mid-May, citing environmental concerns.
Musk has since shared generally bullish sentiment around Bitcoin, including recent comments around renewable energy usage specifically. However, how that could change Tesla’s previously-enacted policy remains to be seen.
Of course, fintech and adjacent firms – like Square and MicroStrategy – have been adding Bitcoin to their balance sheet. PayPal has been more crypto-friendly recently as well. In recent weeks, Musk hinted that Tesla could own as much as 42,000 BTC.
Sotheby’s auction house has been accepting crypto lately too – and listing NFTs as well. More non-traditional companies are joining the ranks, too, including Microsoft’s Xbox and Starbucks, who partnered with Bakkt to explore crypto payments.
Could AMC be opening the door for more ‘non-crypto-first’ companies to be integrating crypto payments in the U.S.?
AMC saw strong numbers on the day after reporting a solid earnings report, and anticipated Bitcoin payment support by the end of the year. | Source: NYSE: AMC on TradingView.com