One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$34.55 our estimate vs market $27.54
Wall Street consensus: $32.25 (-6.7% lower than our fair-value estimate)
20% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
The Marcus Corporation
MCS · NYQ · Communication Services · Entertainment
Current price
$27.54
52-week range
$12.85 - $32.42
Market cap
$849.12M
Balance sheet
Stretched
1.89x Concerning
Net debt $293.64M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
1 Risk
3 rewards · 1 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 4.1% last year.
- Reward Returns 5.0% on equity, ahead of 80% of its peers.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 7/10 years.
- Risk Stock trades 7.1% above its 5-year average P/E.
What this company does
The Marcus Corporation
The Marcus Corporation runs two main businesses, movie theaters and hotels, so its revenue (the total money it makes from sales) comes from things like movie tickets and hotel room bookings. This means the company's success is closely tied to people's desire and ability to spend money on out-of-home entertainment and travel.
How the company got here
The Marcus Corporation began in 1935 when its founder, Ben Marcus, purchased a single movie theater in Ripon, Wisconsin. Over the following decades, the company expanded by opening more theaters, including drive-ins, and ventured into the restaurant business. A significant turning point came in the 1960s when the company entered the lodging industry, most notably with the purchase of the iconic Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. While the company later sold off its restaurant and certain hotel brands, it has continued to grow its two core businesses. A key event in its recent history was the 2018 acquisition of Movie Tavern, which expanded its dine-in theater offerings.
What it actually does
The Marcus Corporation is a company focused on entertainment and hospitality. It operates a large chain of movie theaters and also owns and manages a collection of hotels and resorts. For consumers, this means they might watch a new movie at a Marcus Theatre or Movie Tavern, or stay at one of their hotels, like the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa or the Pfister Hotel. The company aims to provide high-quality out-of-home experiences, whether that's through state-of-the-art movie projection and sound or full-service hotel stays.
Marcus Theatres
This is the company's movie theater business and its largest source of revenue (the money a company brings in from sales). It is the fourth largest movie theater circuit in the United States, with locations primarily in the Midwest. Moviegoers pay for tickets to see films and also purchase food and drinks, which is a significant part of this segment's business. This division operates under several brand names you might see at a local shopping center, including Marcus Theatres, Movie Tavern by Marcus, and BistroPlex.
Marcus Hotels & Resorts
This segment is the company's hospitality division, which owns and/or manages hotels and resorts in several states. Customers include leisure travelers, business travelers, and groups hosting events like conferences or weddings. The company makes money from room rentals, food and beverage sales at on-site restaurants and bars, and fees for hosting events. This division includes a mix of well-known historic properties, branded hotels, and resorts.
What management is betting on now
Management is focused on enhancing the customer experience to encourage people to choose their theaters and hotels for entertainment and travel. For the theater division, this means investing in luxury recliner seating, premium large-format screens, and a wide variety of food and beverage options. In the hotel division, the company is focused on renovating its properties and providing excellent service to attract both individual guests and large groups. The company is also focused on maintaining a strong balance sheet (a snapshot of a company's financial health), which they believe will allow them to invest in growth and return capital to shareholders.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$12.01M
FY2024 Q4
$27.13M
FY2025 Q1
$-58.33M
FY2025 Q2
$14.73M
FY2025 Q3
$18.20M
FY2025 Q4
$26.40M
FY2026 Q1
$-21.87M
FY2026 Q2
$43.96M
Revenue
$231.74M
Net income
$15.84M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$53.96M
Free cash flow
$43.96M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$154.40M
Net income
$-15.35M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$-15.22M
Free cash flow
$-21.87M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$193.50M
Net income
$5.96M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$48.80M
Free cash flow
$26.40M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$210.15M
Net income
$16.23M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$39.09M
Free cash flow
$18.20M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$206.04M
Net income
$7.32M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$31.64M
Free cash flow
$14.73M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$148.77M
Net income
$-16.82M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$-35.33M
Free cash flow
$-58.33M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$188.31M
Net income
$986.00K
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$52.57M
Free cash flow
$27.13M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$232.67M
Net income
$23.31M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$30.50M
Free cash flow
$12.01M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $34.55 vs current price $27.54
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $32.25 (-6.7% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $34.55 a share — about 25.4% above today's price of $27.54, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Stretched
Net debt $293.6M. Interest coverage 1.9x.
Net debt
$293.64M
Interest coverage
1.89x
The Marcus Corporation's profit covers its interest bill about 1.9 times over. which is stronger than every peer shown here and 3 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Stretched
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
MCS
BASELINE
The Marcus Corporation
Total debt $319.98M Interest coverage 1.89x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $434.05M Interest coverage 1.10x -42% vs MCS Carries about 1.7x less debt cushion than MCS.
Total debt $1.40B Interest coverage 0.76x -60% vs MCS Carries about 2.5x less debt cushion than MCS.
Total debt $2.81B Interest coverage 1.21x -36% vs MCS Carries about 1.6x less debt cushion than MCS.
Total debt $2.46B Interest coverage 0.74x -61% vs MCS Carries about 2.5x less debt cushion than MCS.
Total debt $357.19M Interest coverage -0.30x -100% vs MCS This peer has almost no interest-payment cushion compared with MCS.
What you should know
The case for and against MCS
3 Rewards
1 Risk
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 4.1% last year.
-
Returns 5.0% on equity, ahead of 80% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 7/10 years.
Risks
-
Stock trades 7.1% above its 5-year average P/E.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
37.22x
Forward P/E
32.79x
P/B
1.86x
P/S
1.14x
EV/EBITDA
10.74x
PEG ratio
2.50x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
41.6%
Operating margin
12.1%
Net margin
3.0%
ROE
5.0%
ROA
2.3%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.70x
Current ratio
0.43x
Quick ratio
0.28x
Total debt
$319.98M
Total cash
$26.34M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$789.80M
Revenue 5Y CAGR
13.4%
EPS TTM
0.74
EPS 5Y CAGR
—
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$126.63M
Free CF TTM
$989.00K
FCF margin
0.1%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
1.3%
Payout ratio
43.2%
Last ex-div date
2026-08-25