Moviegoers watch the movie “Ne Zha 2” at the IMAX GT Cinema in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China on February 23, 2025.
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Wall Street is buzzing with the news. IMAX I’m looking for a sale.
The movie theater technology company’s stock rose about 14% Friday on speculation about a potential buyer. A person familiar with the company told CNBC that IMAX has held “preliminary talks” through an intermediary, but that the company has not made a formal offer.
A CNBC source spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussion. The Wall Street Journal first reported the potential sale process.
IMAX may not be actively selling, but CEO Rich Gelfond is leaving the door open to a potential acquisition. He told shareholders at the company’s investor day in December that IMAX is “a very valuable company, both as a fully differentiated public company and as part of a larger company.”
Wall Street analysts widely see IMAX as an attractive asset that could attract interest from a variety of companies, from Hollywood studio and theater partners to technology companies. Multiple analysts have written that IMAX is currently undervalued.
“IMAX is a rare company that combines a globally recognized premium brand, an asset-light licensing model, and a structurally expanding revenue profile,” Alicia Reese, senior vice president of equity research at Wedbush, said in a research note published Friday. “IMAX is not only considered a strategic acquisition target, but is also trading at a discount to its business value as a standalone entity, compared to what we believe it is worth.”
As of midday Friday, IMAX stock was trading at nearly $39 per share, giving it a market cap of about $2.1 billion.
“A potential takeover candidate would be acquiring one of the most defensible moats in entertainment for a sum comparable to the rounding errors on the balance sheets of major studios and technology platforms,” Reese wrote.
Who can afford IMAX?
Reese suggested that IMAX’s most likely suitors would include private equity. Netflix, apple and sony.
She noted that private equity would avoid potential conflict issues because there would be no competing interests regarding the screen.
Netflix, on the other hand, does not rely on theatrical releases as part of its core programming strategy, so its conflicts of interest will be smaller than those of traditional Hollywood studios. Additionally, Reese said, owning IMAX would give filmmakers who sign a deal with Netflix the opportunity for premium theatrical screenings, which could serve as a “powerful recruiting tool.”
As for Apple and Sony, both companies have strong technology businesses in addition to theatrical and streaming content. However, while Sony doesn’t have its own streaming platform, Apple does have AppleTV.
“Given the competition from other studios for key IMAX release windows (and the potential reluctance of one studio to share box office revenue with others), I would be surprised if a major Hollywood studio moves forward with an IMAX acquisition,” Eric Wald, executive director of equity research at Texas Capital Securities, said in a note to investors Thursday. “Similarly, we don’t believe any major box office company wants another theater to control its IMAX release schedule and share in its box office revenue.”
The pool of potential buyers could be even wider, said Benchmark Equity Research Analyst Mike Hickey.
“We believe the potential buyer base is unusually broad because IMAX operates as a more premium entertainment technology platform rather than a traditional theater chain,” he said in a memo published Friday. “The logical strategic candidates are Sony, Apple, Amazon, disney, comcast/NBC Universal, Netflix, sphere entertainment, Then Cinepolis partnered with an entertainment investor backed by Sovereign. ”
Why buy IMAX?
Last year, IMAX achieved a record $1.28 billion at the global box office. This is an increase of more than 40% compared to 2024 and a 13% increase over the previous record set in 2019.
Wald expects revenue of $448 million in 2026, higher than the $396 million the company raised in 2019. Additionally, the company expects adjusted earnings to reach $197 million, up from $149 million in 2019.
But while IMAX has outperformed 2019 metrics, its valuation has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, Wald noted. He reiterated that the company’s price target is $53 per share.
IMAX hit a 52-week high in late February, trading at $43.16 a share, but the stock fell following tough first-quarter comparisons to 2025, including the record performance of China’s “Ne Zha 2.”
Additionally, the company canceled screenings of Greta Gerwig’s The Chronicles of Narnia over the Thanksgiving holiday after production was postponed due to an injury on set, causing a significant shift in the calendar. IMAX later replaced the film with David Fincher’s The Adventures of Cliff Booth, based on the character who broke out in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The company still has universal and “The Odyssey” directed by Christopher Nolan. warner bros” and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part 3” are scheduled for release in July and December, respectively, and both are expected to derive a significant portion of their box office revenue from IMAX screenings. This is in addition to Disney’s “Toy Story 5” and “Moana,” along with Warner Bros. “Supergirl,” Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” and Universal’s “Minions & Monsters.”
“In 2027, the company is shooting at least 10 IMAX titles, including The Chronicles of Narnia and a good mix of major series (Star Wars, Superman, Batman) and other films like ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ and ‘Miami Vice,'” Steve Frankel, senior research analyst at Rosenblatt, said in a note released Friday. “Beyond Hollywood, the company’s lineup of local language titles continues to expand, with multiple titles filmed for IMAX and alternative content such as live coverage of F1 races continuing to fill gaps in the schedule.”
IMAX’s “filmed for IMAX” content is accelerating and is expected to grow significantly through 2028. Movie buffs are drawn to titles shot with IMAX cameras intended to be shown on larger, more impressive screens. Previous titles include Nolan’s Oppenheimer, James Cameron and Disney’s Avatar films, as well as works from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Studios.
But IMAX is diversifying beyond Hollywood. Internationally, we have partnered with China, Japan, and South Korea to screen content in local languages. In doing so, the company has reduced its dependence on a single market or single content source, Reese said.
The company is also actively expanding its business. The company told CNBC last year that about 160 to 175 IMAX systems will be installed in 2026, and contracts have already been signed to build hundreds more.
“We continue to believe in the IMAX story,” Frankel wrote. “The continued consumer shift toward premium viewing experiences, the company’s growing influence with major filmmakers, and a diversified film lineup that extends beyond Hollywood tent poles to include local languages and alternative content, combine to set the stage for strong box office growth and margin expansion.”
