AMC CEO Adam Aron unloads another $7M in shares, promises no more selling

AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron has unloaded yet another trove of stock in the movie-theater chain — and claims he’s done selling for now.

Aron revealed he sold another tranche of AMC shares worth $7.1 million this week in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. Since last November, Aron has sold more than $40 million in shares, after disclosing his plan in an earnings call last August.

At the time, the CEO of the world’s largest movie theater chain said he was turning 67 in September, and that he was selling shares for estate planning purposes.

“Prudent estate planning suggests I should diversify my assets a bit, especially with Congress having been discussing imposing potentially soaring capital gains tax rates and significant changes to what can be passed on to one’s heirs,” Aron said.

Aron’s sale come as AMC has been anointed with meme stock status, thanks to amateur traders propping up the stock, and propelling its share price upwards. A year ago, AMC’s $2 a share stock was jolted to a high of over $56 a share. The cinema chain’s stock has dipped in recent months and landed at $22.72 at the end of the day Wednesday.

In a tweet following the disclosure Wednesday, Aron said that he is done selling.

“Back in August, I said that at age 67 I’d sell some AMC shares toward year-end, all trading decisions out of my hands, under guidelines of a Chase 10-b-5-1 plan spread over 3 months,” Aron tweeted. “Those sales are now all finished. I STILL OWN OR PLAN TO VEST IN 2,302,760 AMC SHARES. I am in!”

The movie theater chain was devastated by the pandemic and nearly fought off bankruptcy in late 2020. But, a surge in its stock allowed the company to gain nearly $2 billion in liquidity as it waited for the box office to rebound.

Earlier this year, Aron said he intends to use the cash to lower the company’s debt load, as it expands to other areas like selling non-fungible tokens or NFTs based on popular movies, as well as selling its own popcorn outside of theaters.

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