In another time we could easily have connected this chart with the last one, but this is 2021, and the surging share price of AMC Theatres — the largest cinema chain in the US — seems to have little to do with the cinema industry, and a lot to do with risk-seeking internet investors.
Indeed, AMC is now up more than 2300% this year. That is a bigger rise in 2021 than even GameStop experienced, which was the original darling of retail investors on reddit and other internet forums.
AMC management have embraced the chaos. They've been quick to cash in on the meteoric surge in AMC's share price, issuing two new rounds of equity, raising $587m in a round on Thursday morning. They've even started offering free popcorn to shareholders, leaning way more into the joke than GameStop management ever did.
