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what it is
Cinemark runs movie theaters and sells tickets, snacks, and ads to people who still leave home for popcorn.
how it gets paid
Last year Cinemark made $3.1B in revenue.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 2.1% last year. The $2.3B revenue print matters most because it says the business can still throw off a huge quarter when movies show up.
what just happened
The last print showed a $0.16 EPS miss, while EDGAR’s latest quarter shows $2.3B in revenue and $0.77 EPS.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
10/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
19.1x trailing p/e — priced about right
1.5% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
14.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 38/100 — weak
What they do
Cinemark runs movie theaters and sells tickets, snacks, and ads to people who still leave home for popcorn.
You do not replace 5,653 screens overnight. You also do not replace the snack stand, which turns one visit into two sales: ticket sales and concession sales. Leaving is painful because your habits, your local theater, and your Friday night all show up at the same door.
How they make money
$3.1B
annual revenue · their business grew +2.1% last year
total revenue
$3.1B
+2.1%
The products that matter
movie screens, premium formats, and in-theater spending
Theater Operations
$3.1B revenue · +2.1% growth
it is effectively the whole company. that makes the analysis simple and unforgiving. a strong title slate pushes tickets and concessions together. a weak slate hits both.
the whole story
higher-priced screens and seats
Premium Experience
xd, imax, d-box, recliners
management keeps highlighting premium formats because the math is obvious. if attendance is uneven, each visit needs to be worth more. that helps. it does not replace missing traffic.
mix matters
food and beverage wallet share
Concessions Upsell
not broken out in this data set
the data is thin here, so we will not pretend otherwise. but for theater chains, concession spend is where a good visit becomes a good margin. you should treat it as a key variable even without a clean segment line.
thin disclosure
Key numbers
$3.1B
annual revenue
This is the whole business. It grew 2.1% vs. prior year, so you are not buying a dying chain.
19.1x
price vs earnings
You pay 19.1 times past earnings for a business that still needs blockbuster movies to keep growing.
26.0%
operating margin
For every $100 of sales, $26 stayed before interest and taxes. That is strong for a movie theater chain.
$2.0B
long-term debt
Debt equals 41% of capital. That means lenders get a big claim before owners do.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 25 / 100
- long-term debt $2.0B (41% of capital)
- net profit margin 8.6% — keeps 9 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 30% — $0.30 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B — return on equity looks solid but long-term debt needs watching.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in CNK 3 years ago → it's now worth $23,010.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
The last print showed a $0.16 EPS miss, while EDGAR’s latest quarter shows $2.3B in revenue and $0.77 EPS.
Yahoo Finance says the last earnings report came in at $0.16 versus a $0.50 estimate. EDGAR’s latest quarter also shows a much stronger backdrop, with revenue up 173% vs. prior year and EPS up 92% vs. prior year.
$2.3B
revenue
$0.77
eps
173.0%
revenue growth
the number that mattered
The $2.3B revenue print matters most because it says the business can still throw off a huge quarter when movies show up.
-
business prospects for cinemark holdings remain mixed.after a weak third-quarter performance in which revenues and share earnings were well below prior-year figures, we think the company closed out the year with improved results. in early january, management issued a press release noting that in 2025 cinemark achieved its highest-grossing domestic box office since the onset of the pandemic. revenues in the december quarter likely got a boost from the secondhighest grossing thanksgiving weekend ever and the largest christmas day box office ever. the top grossing films during the period included zootopia 2, wicked: for good, and avatar: fire and ash. fourth-quarter share earnings probably increased due to the higher revenues and benefits from recent stock repurchases. however, full-year earnings were probably well below the 2024 figure due to the considerable investments cnk has been making to offer premium theater experiences, including luxury reclining seats, enhanced concession options, and improved screens.
-
we anticipate decent top-line growth in 2026, along with a robust earnings recovery.
-
revenues should get a boost from a solid film slate.the first quarter should continue to benefit from avatar: fire and ash, which opened on december 19th.
-
other highly anticipated films include the super mario galaxy movie, minions 3, and moana.cinemark is also seeing more moviegoers choose premium, higher-priced formats like xd auditoriums, imax, and d-box motion seats.
-
we think management’s investments in these options will help support earnings expansion.too, the company improved the balance sheet when it fully retired the final portion of its pandemicrelated debt.
source: EDGAR and Yahoo Finance, latest quarter
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What could go wrong
the main risk is simple: attendance slips, concession spend follows, and $2.0B of debt makes the downturn feel bigger than the revenue miss alone.
med
film slate risk
all $3.1B of revenue ultimately starts with people showing up for movies. if the release calendar disappoints, ticket sales and concession sales usually weaken together.
direct exposure: essentially the full revenue base
med
fixed-cost pressure
theaters do not get cheap to run just because attendance dips. that is why a 7.2% net margin can compress fast when revenue misses are more than a one-quarter blip.
pressure point: weaker traffic can hit profit faster than it hits sales
med
debt crowding out flexibility
$2.0B in long-term debt equals 41% of capital. that is manageable in recovery mode. it is less forgiving if the box office cools and the equity story loses momentum.
balance-sheet consequence: you stop debating upside first and start debating resilience
med
premium mix not covering traffic weakness
xd, imax, d-box, recliners, and better concessions lift revenue per guest. they help the math. they do not solve the core problem if there are fewer guests.
operating catch: higher spend per visit is useful, but attendance still sets the ceiling
with $3.1B in revenue, a 7.2% net margin, and $2.0B of debt, CNK does not need a collapse to disappoint you. it just needs a weaker slate than the stock expects.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
trend
watch whether attendance is broadening or just clustering around blockbusters
three years of strong stock performance does not mean the operating base is suddenly smooth. you want repeatable traffic, not a business living off a few giant weekends.
metric
track margin against revenue, not just the headline box office mood
7.2% net margin leaves a thin cushion. if revenue softens and margin slips with it, the stock stops being a recovery trade and starts being a quality debate.
risk
keep debt in the picture even when the movie headlines look good
$2.0B of long-term debt against a roughly $3B market cap is fine until the box office stumbles. then it becomes the first number that matters.
calendar
follow the release calendar like you would an earnings calendar
for CNK, movie openings are operating data. if the slate thins out, analyst models usually realize it after consumers already have.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
below average
momentum score 4 — in human-speak, analysts think CNK is more likely to lag than lead in the next stretch.
risk profile
below average
stability score 4 — safer than only 20% of stocks. if you own this, you own the swings too.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — the tape is not giving you a clean edge right now.
earnings predictability
10 / 100
the score is saying the quiet part loud: theater earnings are hard to forecast because movie demand is hard to schedule with precision.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 2 consecutive quarters — 124 buyers vs. 191 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.1B shares. net selling for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$19
$47
$24
current price
$33
target midpoint · +38% from current · 3-5yr high: $50 (+110% · 21% ann'l return)
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