Adam Aron Requests Board to Refrain from Salary Increase in 2023

AMC stock is down 2.94%.

Entertainment Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Adam Aron has asked the company's board to freeze his compensation in 2023 following a difficult year for the theater chain's share price. Aron believes that this action will show shareholders that he is committed to the long-term success of the company.

In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Mr. Aron said that he has asked the board to freeze his target cash and stock pay for 2023. He explained that he doesn't "want 'more' when our shareholders are hurting."

The CEO, who received compensation valued at $18.9 million in 2021, said he has also asked more than a dozen senior officers at the company to forgo raises to their cash salaries in 2023. The company is based in Leawood, Kansas.

"When CEO's 'ask,' execs usually agree," he said in a tweet. "I sincerely thank them for that."

Mr. Aron said that inflation is expected to rise significantly this year, which will likely lead to companies granting significant salary raises in 2023. He signaled in a later tweet that AMC will increase pay for its hourly theater employees next year.

This year has been tough for AMC, with shares down more than 75%. The pandemic has taken a toll on theater attendance, and AMC is still feeling the effects. In 2021, the company's popularity among individual retail traders helped its shares reach an all-time high of $44.61.

Shares of the company closed at $4.03 on Tuesday and were 1% lower in premarket trading on Wednesday.

Mr. Aron sold a significant amount of AMC stock during the meme-stock frenzy, filing in November 2021 for the sale of about 1.25 million shares. Half of these shares were sold at an average price of $40.53 million. The CEO said in January that he was done making stock sales, which had netted him more than $40 million at that point.

Last week, AMC announced that it would raise $110 million through the sale of preferred equity units, known as APEs. These units were first issued in August in order to circumvent a limit on the company's ability to issue more common stock.

Mr. Aron said that the APEs have been working as intended and have allowed AMC to raise cash, buy back debt, and explore deals. He added that the APEs have already raised $162 million prior to last week's capital infusion.