Marcus NYSE: MCS reported fiscal 2026 first-quarter results that showed year-over-year revenue growth in both business segments and higher consolidated adjusted EBITDA, despite a calendar-related headwind that reduced operating days versus the prior-year period.
Calendar shift created five-day headwind
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Chad Paris said the first quarter of fiscal 2025 included five extra days at the beginning of the quarter—days that fell between Christmas and New Year’s and are “significant days” for the theater division. In fiscal 2026 and going forward, the first quarter began on Jan. 1, which meant the company faced “five fewer operating days” versus the prior-year quarter.
Paris said management provided both as-reported year-over-year changes and “comparable calendar quarter” figures excluding the prior-year extra days to help investors assess underlying performance.
Consolidated results: revenue up, adjusted EBITDA improved
Paris reported consolidated revenue of $154.4 million, up $5.6 million, or 3.8%, versus the prior-year quarter, with growth in both divisions. He said the five fewer operating days negatively impacted consolidated revenue growth by $15.3 million; on a comparable calendar quarter basis, consolidated revenue increased $20.9 million, or 15.6%.
The company posted an operating loss of $19.3 million, improving by $1.2 million year over year. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $2.6 million, an increase of $2.9 million versus the first quarter of fiscal 2025. Paris said the fewer operating days reduced the year-over-year improvement in operating loss and adjusted EBITDA by $5.3 million, and on a comparable calendar quarter basis adjusted EBITDA grew $8.2 million.
Theaters: stronger film slate drove outsized performance
In the theater division, Paris reported first-quarter revenue of $92.9 million, up 6.4% year over year. He said five fewer operating days reduced theater revenue growth by $12.2 million; on a comparable calendar quarter basis, theater revenue increased 23.6%, or $17.8 million.
Using comparable fiscal days, the company reported comparable admission revenue up 9.8% and comparable attendance up 1.9%. On a calendar quarter basis, Paris said comparable admission revenue increased 29% and comparable attendance increased 19.1%.
Paris cited Comscore data showing the U.S. box office rose 5% during Marcus’ fiscal first quarter, and said Marcus theaters outperformed the industry by about 4.8 percentage points on that basis. On a straight calendar quarter basis, he said the company outperformed the U.S. box office by 7.6 percentage points.
Paris attributed the outperformance “primarily” to strategic pricing actions and a film slate that appealed to family audiences. He said average admission price increased 7.8%, reflecting ticket price optimization, a higher percentage of PLF ticket sales, and a favorable day-part mix. Average concession food and beverage revenue per person at comparable theaters increased 2.4%, driven mainly by movie-themed merchandise sales, incidence rate, and inflationary price changes. Film cost as a percentage of admission revenues was “effectively flat,” he said.
Theater adjusted EBITDA was $8.0 million, up $4.3 million year over year. Paris said the fewer operating days reduced the year-over-year increase by $5.0 million; on a comparable calendar quarter basis, theater adjusted EBITDA increased $9.3 million.
Greg Marcus, Chairman, President, and CEO, said the quarter reflected “the best first quarter in the U.S. box office since the pandemic,” helped by better product supply and carryover from holiday films. He also described progress on initiatives aimed at improving per-capita sales, including completing a rollout of tap-to-pay terminals across ticketing and food-and-beverage points of sale, and completing rollout of in-seat QR code ordering to all 20 dine-in theaters.
On the Q&A, Marcus said QR code ordering was “being very well accepted,” and he emphasized that digital ordering can drive larger basket sizes through more consistent upselling and “last chance” add-on prompts before checkout.
Paris told analysts the company is targeting low single-digit concession per-cap growth and said the 2%–3% range is “probably about right” for modeling, with about 3% coming from inflationary pricing and roughly another point from initiatives that raise incidence and basket size.
Marcus also discussed theatrical windows, saying the “trend is our friend” and citing studio announcements on minimum exclusive theatrical windows. He argued that longer windows can improve film performance across the ecosystem and reduce the “I’ll just wait for it at home” effect, adding that he favors a “two and five” model—two months before transactional availability and five months before streaming video on demand.
Hotels: RevPAR rose as renovated assets returned to service
In hotels and resorts, Paris reported revenue of $61.4 million, up $100,000 year over year. Revenue before cost reimbursements at the company’s seven owned hotels decreased $600,000, or 1.1%, but Paris said five fewer operating days reduced growth by about $3.1 million; excluding that impact, revenue before cost reimbursements increased $2.5 million, or 5.1%, on a comparable calendar quarter basis.
Paris said RevPAR for comparable owned hotels grew 13.7%, driven by an 8.9 percentage point increase in occupancy, partially offset by a 3.4% decline in average daily rate (ADR). Average occupancy for owned hotels was 59.2%. He attributed the occupancy gain in part to the Hilton Milwaukee being “fully back in service” compared with the prior-year quarter, when rooms were out of service due to renovation. Paris estimated the prior-year renovation impact accounted for about 4 percentage points of RevPAR growth.
Using Smith Travel Research data, Paris said comparable competitive hotels in Marcus’ markets saw RevPAR decline 2.9%, implying Marcus outperformed its competitive set by 16.6 percentage points, or 11.5 percentage points after adjusting for the renovation impact. He also said the upper upscale U.S. segment increased RevPAR 3.9%, with Marcus outperforming by 9.8 percentage points (or 5.8 after adjusting for renovation effects).
Paris said food and beverage revenue decreased 2.1%, reflecting fewer operating days. “Other revenues” fell $1.4 million, or 9.2%, primarily due to a weaker ski season at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa and the absence of fees from an all-hotel group buyout at a condo hotel property that occurred in the prior-year quarter and did not recur.
Hotel adjusted EBITDA decreased $1.3 million year over year. Paris cited the impact of fewer operating days, lower other revenues tied to ski season and the prior-year group buyout, and higher benefits costs.
Marcus added that hotel seasonality remains significant, and that the division often loses money in winter months. He said the roughly 3% ADR decline was expected, reflecting more room supply returning at the Hilton Milwaukee and softer weekend transient demand at Grand Geneva due to weaker ski conditions; the occupancy improvement more than offset the rate decline. Marcus said group room revenue bookings for 2026 were running about 5% ahead of the prior year at the same point in time, while 2027 group pace was “in line” with last year. He also noted “elevated” economic uncertainty and volatility in key travel costs such as gas and airfare.
In response to an analyst question about post-renovation pricing, Paris said the company typically sees 10%–15% rate uplift after major rooms renovations, citing its experience at The Pfister, Grand Geneva, and Hilton Milwaukee.
Cash flow, liquidity, and capital allocation
Paris said cash flow from operations was a use of $15.2 million, compared with $35.3 million used in the prior-year quarter, reflecting timing of payments and accounts payable, higher EBITDA, and a one-time $3 million benefit from the sale of historic tax credits related to the Hilton Milwaukee renovation.
Capital expenditures were $6.6 million, down $16.4 million year over year. Paris reiterated the company’s expectation for 2026 capital expenditures of $50 million–$55 million and said the planned reduction is expected to drive a “significant increase” in free cash flow, noting a $36.5 million improvement in free cash flow versus the prior year in the first quarter.
The company ended the quarter with over $11 million in cash and over $194 million in total liquidity. Paris reported a debt-to-capitalization ratio of 28% and net leverage of 1.7x. He said the company continues to return capital to shareholders through its quarterly dividend and opportunistic share repurchases, noting that Marcus repurchased about 87,000 shares for $1.3 million during the quarter.
On capital allocation, Paris said the company takes a “balanced approach,” remaining opportunistic on buybacks while maintaining “dry powder” to move quickly on potential M&A opportunities. He also said the planned reduction in capex supports confidence in free cash flow generation, adding that management “controls the CapEx spend” and expects the business not to be flat given the year’s start.
About Marcus NYSE: MCS
The Marcus Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates movie theatres, and hotels and resorts in the United States. It operates a family entertainment center and multiscreen motion picture theatres under the Big Screen Bistro, Big Screen Bistro Express, BistroPlex, and Movie Tavern by Marcus brand names. The company also owns and operates full-service hotels and resorts, as well as manages full-service hotels, resorts, and other properties. In addition, it provides hospitality management services, including check-in, housekeeping, and maintenance for a vacation ownership development; and manages condominium hotels under long-term management contracts.
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