The Marcus Corporation

Reported Q2 2026 consolidated revenue was $232 million, up 12.5% year over year. Operating income was $27 million versus $13 million a year ago; adjusted EBITDA was $46.2 million, up 43%; net earnings were $15.8 million, up 116%; and EPS was $0.51 per diluted share, up more than 121%. Theatre revenue was $150.6 million, up 14.4%, with comparable theatre attendance up 10.9% and comparable theatre admission revenue up 16.6%; theatre adjusted EBITDA was $36.3 million, up nearly 37%. Hotel revenues before cost reimbursements were $70.8 million, up 9.6%, and comparable owned-hotel RevPAR increased 13.9%, helped by a 5.9 percentage-point occupancy increase and 4.7% ADR growth. Cash flow from operations was $54 million versus $31.6 million last year, free cash flow was $44 million in the quarter, and the company ended with approximately $26 million in cash, over $245 million in total liquidity, a 25% debt-to-capitalization ratio, and net leverage of 1.1x. For 2026, management now expects capital expenditures of $45 million to $50 million and said full-year RevPAR outlook remains industry growth in the low single digits, with potential to outperform markets.

Gregory S. Marcus struck an upbeat tone, saying the theatrical experience is "thriving" and pointing to a strong film slate, including family, horror, and original films, as a key driver of attendance. He emphasized that both businesses outperformed and said the company entered Q3 with solid momentum. On hotels, he highlighted strong group bookings, resilient leisure demand, and new amenities like the Wee Nip short course at Grand Geneva as examples of asset quality and execution.

Chad Paris focused on the quarter’s hard numbers and balance-sheet strength, highlighting revenue, EBITDA, earnings growth, and strong free cash flow. He said theatre outperformance was driven by strategic pricing and a favorable film mix, while hotels benefited from group business, leisure demand, and the Hilton Milwaukee returning to service; he also noted the prior-year renovation favored RevPAR growth by about 4.4 percentage points. On capital allocation, he said lower capex should meaningfully lift free cash flow in 2026, that capex is now expected at $45 million to $50 million, and that the company ended the quarter with over $245 million in liquidity.

Analysts asked about younger moviegoers, and management said the return of that demographic has been building for about a year, with younger customers again preferring theatres over home viewing. Chad added that Backrooms materially outperformed their normal market share while Obsession was roughly in line, and Greg said loyalty, mystery-movie programming, and social media are all being used to build frequency. Questions also centered on theatre margins, market share, acquisitions, RevPAR outlook, and theatrical windows; management said incremental theatre EBITDA flow-through is around 50% over time, market share has normalized but remains strong, hotel RevPAR guidance is unchanged at low-single-digit industry growth, and longer windows are a net positive but will take time to show up in results.