AMC vs RRX: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. AMC and RRX share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined AMC and RRX exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC), headquartered in Leawood, Kansas, is the largest movie-theater exhibitor in the United States and the world, operating theatres across the U.S. and Europe under the AMC, Odeon, and other banners. The company makes money primarily from box-office admissions and from high-margin food and beverage sales, supplemented by on-screen advertising and premium formats. Its results are tightly tied to the strength of the theatrical film slate: a strong year of major releases lifts attendance and revenue, while a thin or delayed slate (as during the pandemic and the 2023 Hollywood strikes) can sharply reduce both. Full-year 2025 revenue was approximately $2.25 billion on attendance of roughly 104.7 million guests, and Q1 2026 revenue grew approximately 21% year over year to about $1.05 billion as the recovery continued.

Full AMC guide

Regal Rexnord sells the hardware that creates, transmits and controls mechanical motion, and it does so through three segments that behave very differently. Industrial Powertrain Solutions is the largest at $1,317.7 million of first-half 2026 sales, about 43% of the company, and it makes bearings, couplings, gearing, clutches and brakes for energy, metals and mining, food and beverage and general industrial customers. Automation & Motion Control produced $934.8 million in the same period, roughly 31%, selling controllers, drives, precision motors, linear actuators and conveying systems into discrete automation, data centers, aerospace and defense and medical applications. Power Efficiency Solutions contributed $785.0 million, about 26%, and covers electric motors and air moving subsystems for residential and commercial HVAC, pool equipment and general purpose applications. The current shape reflects two deliberate portfolio moves: the acquisition of Altra Industrial Motion in March 2023, which brought the coupling, gearing and Kollmorgen precision motion businesses, and the 2024 sale of the industrial motors and generators businesses for roughly $375 million of proceeds. North America accounted for $2,102.2 million of first-half sales, Europe $527.6 million and Asia $246.0 million.

Full RRX guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• AMC drivers: Box-Office Recovery and Film Slate; Premium Formats and Concessions.
• RRX drivers: Automation & Motion Control is where the growth sits; Debt paydown is converting interest expense into equity value.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The dominant risk is the balance sheet: AMC carried roughly $4 billion in corporate borrowings (and a larger total-debt figure including leases) against a few hundred million dollars of cash and a stockholders' deficit as of early 2026, so interest costs and refinancing needs weigh heavily on the equity. For RRX, the most immediate risk is the quality of the 2026 guidance.

Pick AMC if you believe its drivers more; RRX if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AMC and RRX guides.

AMC. AMC's valuation is unusual because the equity story is driven heavily by debt and dilution rather than by a simple multiple of earnings. The company is not consistently profitable on a net-income basis (it reported net losses in 2025 and Q1 2026), so traditional price-to-earnings metrics are not meaningful; instead, the relevant lens is enterprise value relative to a recovering but still-negative free cash flow, against roughly $4 billion of corporate borrowings and a stockholders' deficit. Because shares outstanding have grown into the hundreds of millions, the market capitalization is spread across far more shares than a few years ago, so any operating improvement must be weighed against ongoing dilution. The stock's price has also historically reflected retail sentiment and short interest tied to its meme-stock status, which can decouple it from fundamentals in both directions.

RRX. Two multiples describe this share price and they are almost seven times apart, because roughly $346 million of annual intangible amortization from the Altra purchase sits inside GAAP earnings and outside the adjusted figure. Enterprise value to sales of ~2.54x is the cleaner comparison to diversified motion peers, and it prices Regal Rexnord below where Rockwell Automation or Parker Hannifin have typically traded. The discount tracks the leverage: net debt is about 38% of enterprise value, so a given move in operating profit moves the equity considerably more than it would at an unlevered competitor.

Headline figures (approximate, 2026-06-27): AMC shows revenue (fy2025) ~$2.25 billion (up ~14% YoY), revenue (q1 2026) ~$1.05 billion (up ~21% YoY), attendance (fy2025) ~104.7 million guests (up ~8% YoY), net loss (q1 2026) ~$117 million (narrowed from ~$202 million); RRX shows revenue (ttm) ~$6.06 billion for the twelve months to June 30, 2026, up ~3.5%, versus ~$5.94 billion in fiscal 2025, ~$6.03 billion in fiscal 2024 and ~$6.25 billion in fiscal 2023. Second-quarter sales were $1,558.4 million, up 4.2% reported and 3.3% organic, after $1,479.1 million in the first quarter. Enterprise daily orders grew 8.8% in the quarter, ahead of shipments., earnings and eps GAAP net income of ~$324 million and diluted EPS of $4.86 for the trailing twelve months, against $279.5 million and $4.20 in fiscal 2025, $196.2 million and $2.94 in fiscal 2024 and a $57.4 million loss in fiscal 2023. Second-quarter GAAP EPS was $1.74 and adjusted diluted EPS was $2.99, of which $0.39 came from IEEPA tariff refunds. Full-year 2026 guidance is $5.42 to $5.92 GAAP and $10.35 to $10.85 adjusted, midpoint $10.60 including $0.57 of refunds., segment mix and margins First-half 2026 sales split $1,317.7 million Industrial Powertrain Solutions, $934.8 million Automation & Motion Control and $785.0 million Power Efficiency Solutions. Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA margins excluding tariff refunds were 25.9% for IPS, 19.9% for AMC and 16.2% for PES. AMC grew 15.6% organically while PES fell 6.6% on residential HVAC and pool weakness, a mix shift that lowers the blended margin even as the top line accelerates., cash flow and capital intensity Free cash flow of $154.1 million in the second quarter of 2026 after negative $2.5 million in the seasonally weak first quarter, on first-half operating cash flow of $191.6 million and capital spending of $39.9 million. Fiscal 2025 operating cash flow was $990.8 million against $97.7 million of capex, though that figure was helped by the receivables securitization facility opened on June 30, 2025. Amortization of $173.0 million and depreciation of $75.8 million in the first half explain most of the distance between net income and cash generation. R&D was $198.7 million in fiscal 2025..

AMC and RRX are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined AMC and RRX exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.