The most important roundup of news for AMC April 14 2021

1. Gary Gensler, notorious supporter of “the little guy,” confirmed 53-45 by Senate to lead the SEC as Wall Street’s top regulator; plans to investigate SPACs and market manipulation by hedge funds (particularly in relation to Gamestop and AMC)

The GameStop saga has led congressional Democrats to ask the SEC to reexamine the practice of payment for order flow, whereby stock brokers are paid to direct customer orders to market makers, as well as features in trading apps that critics say exemplify the use of so-called gamification techniques to encourage harmful overuse of those apps by retail investors. . . .  The blowup of Archegos, meanwhile, could encourage Gensler to propose new rules for institutional investors that require the disclosure of short positions in stocks as well as derivative positions that mimic stock ownership.

2. Adam Aron interview with Trey’s Trades!

Notable Adam Aron quotes from the interview, in sequential order:

• “I am in this for the long haul [as CEO], 5-10 more years.”
• “I am a fellow shareholder.”
• “Long-term, I am a bull.  I own over 3,000,000 shares of AMC stock.”
• “I want to continue growing the company each year moving forward.”
• “Our main goal is to increase shareholder value.”
• “Our company is under attack by short sellers.”
• “I haven’t sold a single share in 5 years, and don’t plan to.  I am a believer in this company.”
• “The last time we authorized 500 million shares, we didn’t use any shares [32,000,000] until 3.5 years later!  We didn’t use shares again [300,000,000] until 3.5 years after that!  Each time, AMC’s stock price rose 200%-300%.”
• “Flooding the market with 500 million shares would be crazy and foolish.”
• “If AMC shareholders authorize the 500 million shares, we will pledge in writing that we will not issue a single share in calendar year 2021!”
• “I’m tired of playing defense.  I want to play offense.”
• “We would only use shares to acquire other theater chains to instantly increase value for shareholders.  Or to buy back debt at a significant discount to increase value.  Or to entice landlords to accept stock NOW (at a discount) instead of waiting on cash over the course of 24-36 months.”
• “If you don’t vote at all, your vote will be counted as a “No” by default.
• “You own AMC.  This is YOUR company!”
• “I will give you one prediction:  50 years from now, analysts will be claiming that XYZ is going to put AMC out of business.  Why [will AMC still be here]? Because there is something magical about going to the movie theater!  . . .  Watching at home just doesn’t have the same impact.”
• “Going to the movie theater is a cheap date.  The average movie ticket in the U.S.  is about $10.  Where else can you go to be entertained for 2-3 hours for only $10? You can’t!”
• “In 2019, the movie theater industry sold 7 times as many tickets as the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS combined!”
• “I think that AMC’s best days are still to come.”
• “I say to those people who are betting against us:  I don’t think it’s a good idea to bet against movie theaters.  It’s certainly not a good idea to bet against AMC.  And I’d like to think that it’s not a good idea to bet against Adam Aron, either.”

3. 2,709,393 FTD shares!