When companies hold their quarterly earnings calls with investors, the idea is that the executives get on the phone and tell everyone how great things are going and what the plan is moving forward. Well, things haven’t been great for AMC Theatres, so the most recent earnings call (via Deadline) was anything from typical, as the CEO, Adam Aron, quoted one of the most famous historical figures in a rallying cry to show his optimism.
As mentioned, things aren’t good for AMC. In fact, it’s not crazy to say that things are downright horrific. The company is down approximately $900 million in earnings this quarter in comparison to the same quarter last year. And with theaters continuing to struggle, as studios push more films to 2021, there’s no end to the bleeding in sight. But that didn’t stop Aron from quoting Winston Churchill when trying to drum up enthusiasm.
“In our industry, the gravity of our situation puts us all in almost a warlike position of resolve and determination,” Aron said. “We shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields.”
If that last bit sounds familiar, it’s because Churchill used those lines in one of his most famous war-time speeches in 1940. And while you have to hand it to Aron for pulling out the big guns (so to speak) when trying to rally his AMC troops, it’s hard to feel optimistic about the future of the theater chain when the CEO is comparing the struggle he’s facing to World War II. Obviously, we know the outcome of that conflict and millions of people died but the world did survive. However, when it comes to AMC, this is a fight that has existential stakes but no real way of knowing which outcome we can expect.
This is in stark contrast to previous earnings calls which had Aron talking confidently about AMC living to see another day and how there is light at the end of this unprecedentedly dark tunnel. But when a CEO starts pulling out the Churchill quotes from WWII, you have to wonder just how much fight is left in the company.