The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS) Rallies On Momentum Signals While Margins Lag

Near-term technical momentum points toward further upside, yet negative operating margins and cash-flow pressure constrain valuation and raise the probability of a retracement before durable recovery.

Recent News

Mar 19, 2026 — Management scheduled company participation at the 38th Annual ROTH Conference. Apr 16, 2026 — The company announced the first-quarter fiscal 2026 release date and conference call to occur April 30, 2026. Apr 23, 2026 — UNITE HERE Local 1 released research alleging potential related-party concerns tied to the company. May 21, 2026 — Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share, payable June 15, 2026 to shareholders of record June 1, 2026; the company also scheduled a virtual Annual Meeting of Shareholders for May 21, 2026.

Technical Analysis

Directional Indicators (ADX/DI+/DI-): ADX at 34.34 signals a strong underlying trend; DI+ at 29.72 increasing while DI- at 10.81 decreasing denotes a bullish directional setup that supports near-term upside versus the current valuation premium.

MACD: MACD at 0.64 with the signal at 0.42 and an increasing MACD trend indicates bullish momentum; the MACD sits above its signal line, which constitutes a bullish signal for price momentum and aligns with recent outperformance versus moving averages.

MRO (Momentum/Regression Oscillator): MRO at 26.99 and rising places price above the model target and implies downside risk pressure from an overshoot relative to target levels; that suggests any rally may encounter profit-taking or mean-reversion pressure unless momentum accelerates further.

RSI: RSI at 62.52 and increasing shows sustained buying pressure while approaching overbought range, supporting continued short-term strength but signaling reduced incremental upside without new momentum drivers.

Price vs Moving Averages and Bands: Last close $21.11 trades above the 20-day average $19.53 and the 200-day average $16.10, reflecting a bullish multi-horizon price position; price sits above the 1x upper Bollinger band ($20.61), which favors mean-reversion risk toward the mid-band if momentum falters. SuperTrend lower support sits near $19.23, offering a technical reference for near-term support.

 


Fundamental Analysis

Profitability: EBIT of -$20,362,000 and an EBIT margin of -13.19% contrast sharply with the industry peer mean EBIT margin of 11.95% and industry peer median of 15.26%; QoQ EBIT margin deteriorated by -17.71% while YoY EBIT margin declined by -8.12%, indicating continued margin pressure from operating cost and depreciation increases.

Revenue and Growth: Total revenue $154,404,000 with revenue growth YoY at -20.20% and revenue growth QoQ at +154.97% (as provided) shows a mixed picture: annual revenue contraction but a sequential rebound that may reflect calendar effects or timing of operating days.

Cash Flow and Liquidity: Operating cash flow stood at -$15,221,000 and free cash flow at -$21,869,000, with cash balance $11,229,000 and cash-and-short-term investments $11,229,000. Current ratio equals 0.35, below the industry peer mean current ratio of 0.80 and median of 0.68 but above the peer low of 0.29, signaling constrained short-term liquidity relative to typical peers.

Capital Structure: Total debt $349,902,000 with debt-to-assets 0.3527 and debt-to-equity 0.7931. Interest expense $2,630,000 and an interest-coverage ratio of -7.74 reflect operating losses that suppress coverage metrics despite a low cost of debt (~0.676%).

Earnings Per Share: Reported EPS actual -$0.51 versus estimate -$0.54 produced an EPS surprise ratio of +5.56% and a $0.03 positive difference to estimates, a modest beat that slightly improves near-term sentiment but does not alter negative operating results.

Valuation Indicators: Price-to-book 1.21 sits below the industry peer mean of 2.12 and median of 1.64; price-to-sales 3.46 sits well below the peer mean of 12.45. Forward PE appears stretched at 118.94 given low forward EPS expectations, while trailing PE is negative at -34.11 due to losses. The current valuation as determined by WMDST: over-valued.

MOST-RECENT QUARTERLY REPORT
REPORT PERIOD ENDING: 2026-03-31
REPORT DATE: 2026-04-30
NEXT REPORT DATE: 2026-07-30
CASH FLOW  Begin Period Cash Flow $ 26.6 M
 Operating Cash Flow $ -15.22 M
 Capital Expenditures $ -6.65 M
 Change In Working Capital $ -18.23 M
 Dividends Paid $ -2.41 M
 Cash Flow Delta $ -12.23 M
 End Period Cash Flow $ 14.4 M
 
INCOME STATEMENT REVENUE
 Total Revenue $ 154.4 M
 Forward Revenue $ -10.42 M
COSTS
 Cost Of Revenue $ 103.7 M
 Depreciation $ 17.8 M
 Depreciation and Amortization $ 17.8 M
 Research and Development —
 Total Operating Expenses $ 173.6 M
PROFITABILITY
 Gross Profit $ 50.7 M
 EBITDA $ -2.53 M
 EBIT $ -20.36 M
 Operating Income $ -19.18 M
 Interest Income —
 Interest Expense $ 2.6 M
 Net Interest Income $ -2.63 M
 Income Before Tax $ -22.99 M
 Tax Provision $ -7.64 M
 Tax Rate 33.2 %
 Net Income $ -15.35 M
 Net Income From Continuing Operations $ -15.35 M
EARNINGS
 EPS Estimate $ -0.54
 EPS Actual $ -0.51
 EPS Difference $ 0.03
 EPS Surprise 5.556 %
 Forward EPS $ 0.14
 
BALANCE SHEET ASSETS
 Total Assets $ 992.1 M
 Intangible Assets $ 75.0 M
 Net Tangible Assets $ 366.2 M
 Total Current Assets $ 50.4 M
 Cash and Short-Term Investments $ 11.2 M
 Cash $ 11.2 M
 Net Receivables $ 16.6 M
 Inventory —
 Long-Term Investments $ 24.0 M
LIABILITIES
 Accounts Payable $ 31.7 M
 Short-Term Debt —
 Total Current Liabilities $ 145.2 M
 Net Debt $ 162.8 M
 Total Debt $ 349.9 M
 Total Liabilities $ 550.9 M
EQUITY
 Total Equity $ 441.2 M
 Retained Earnings $ 250.8 M
VALUATION & PER-SHARE METRICS EQUITY & PER-SHARE METRICS
 Book Value Per-Share $ 14.36
 Shares Outstanding 30.714 M
 Revenue Per-Share $ 5.03
VALUATION
 Market Capitalization $ 534.3 M
 Enterprise Value $ 873.0 M
 Enterprise Multiple -345.449
Enterprise Multiple QoQ -951.589 %
Enterprise Multiple YoY 31.796 %
Enterprise Multiple IPRWA high: 108.592
median: 42.001
mean: 9.81
MCS: -345.449
low: -1159.536
 EV/R 5.654
CAPITAL STRUCTURE
 Asset To Equity 2.249
 Asset To Liability 1.801
 Debt To Capital 0.442
 Debt To Assets 0.353
Debt To Assets QoQ 6.659 %
Debt To Assets YoY -7.569 %
Debt To Assets IPRWA high: 0.84
MCS: 0.353
mean: 0.28
median: 0.231
low: 0.055
 Debt To Equity 0.793
Debt To Equity QoQ 8.131 %
Debt To Equity YoY -9.792 %
Debt To Equity IPRWA high: 7.846
MCS: 0.793
mean: 0.467
median: 0.436
low: -3.953
PRICE-BASED VALUATION
 Price To Book (P/B) 1.211
Price To Book QoQ 16.212 %
Price To Book YoY -1.736 %
Price To Book IPRWA high: 8.538
mean: 2.117
median: 1.643
MCS: 1.211
low: -9.866
 Price To Earnings (P/E) -34.109
Price To Earnings QoQ -141.66 %
Price To Earnings YoY 5.873 %
Price To Earnings IPRWA high: 2929.77
mean: 531.651
median: 65.442
MCS: -34.109
low: -464.304
 PE/G Ratio 0.093
 Price To Sales (P/S) 3.46
Price To Sales QoQ 40.475 %
Price To Sales YoY -5.458 %
Price To Sales IPRWA high: 44.101
mean: 12.449
median: 7.097
MCS: 3.46
low: 0.555
FORWARD MULTIPLES
Forward P/E 118.937
Forward PE/G -0.323
Forward P/S -51.251
EFFICIENCY OPERATIONAL
 Operating Leverage 70.95
ASSET & SALES
 Asset Turnover Ratio 0.154
Asset Turnover Ratio QoQ -19.714 %
Asset Turnover Ratio YoY 6.682 %
Asset Turnover Ratio IPRWA high: 0.283
MCS: 0.154
median: 0.124
mean: 0.112
low: 0.029
 Receivables Turnover 13.107
Receivables Turnover Ratio QoQ -2.863 %
Receivables Turnover Ratio YoY 10.808 %
Receivables Turnover Ratio IPRWA MCS: 13.107
high: 10.229
mean: 2.262
median: 1.71
low: 0.711
 Inventory Turnover —
Inventory Turnover Ratio QoQ —
Inventory Turnover Ratio YoY —
Inventory Turnover Ratio IPRWA —
 Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) 6.962
CASH CYCLE
 Cash Conversion Cycle Days (CCC) —
Cash Conversion Cycle Days QoQ —
Cash Conversion Cycle Days YoY —
Cash Conversion Cycle Days IPRWA high: 134.4
median: 23.301
mean: 22.731
MCS: 0
low: -63.419
CAPITAL DEPLOYMENT
 Cash Conversion Ratio -1.629
 CapEx To Revenue -0.043
 CapEx To Depreciation -0.373
 
CAPITAL, LIQUIDITY & COVERAGE CAPITAL STRUCTURE
 Total Capital $ 615.2 M
 Net Invested Capital $ 615.2 M
 Invested Capital $ 615.2 M
 Net Tangible Assets $ 366.2 M
 Net Working Capital $ -94.77 M
LIQUIDITY
 Cash Ratio 0.077
 Current Ratio 0.347
Current Ratio QoQ -22.964 %
Current Ratio YoY -17.015 %
Current Ratio IPRWA high: 2.493
mean: 0.798
median: 0.679
MCS: 0.347
low: 0.295
 Quick Ratio —
Quick Ratio QoQ —
Quick Ratio YoY —
Quick Ratio IPRWA —
COVERAGE & LEVERAGE
 Debt To EBITDA -138.465
 Cost Of Debt 0.676 %
 Interest Coverage Ratio -7.742
Interest Coverage Ratio QoQ -1571.875 %
Interest Coverage Ratio YoY 2.325 %
Interest Coverage Ratio IPRWA high: 8.118
median: 8.118
mean: 6.19
low: -3.881
MCS: -7.742
 Operating Cash Flow Ratio -0.138
TIMING / LIQUIDITY
 Days Payables Outstanding (DPO) 29.31
DIVIDENDS
 Dividend Coverage Ratio -6.371
 Dividend Payout Ratio -0.157
 Dividend Rate $ 0.08
 Dividend Yield 0.005
PERFORMANCE GROWTH
 Asset Growth Rate -2.215 %
 Revenue Growth -20.204 %
Revenue Growth QoQ 154.972 %
Revenue Growth YoY -3.795 %
Revenue Growth IPRWA high: 17.461 %
median: -3.129 %
mean: -12.478 %
MCS: -20.204 %
low: -65.293 %
 Earnings Growth -368.421 %
Earnings Growth QoQ 480.538 %
Earnings Growth YoY -80.609 %
Earnings Growth IPRWA high: 356.897 %
median: -3.681 %
mean: -28.221 %
low: -344.118 %
MCS: -368.421 %
MARGINS
 Gross Margin 32.857 %
Gross Margin QoQ -15.078 %
Gross Margin YoY 3.444 %
Gross Margin IPRWA high: 93.872 %
mean: 37.539 %
median: 36.821 %
MCS: 32.857 %
low: 9.627 %
 EBIT Margin -13.187 %
EBIT Margin QoQ -1771.356 %
EBIT Margin YoY -8.124 %
EBIT Margin IPRWA high: 17.722 %
median: 15.257 %
mean: 11.947 %
MCS: -13.187 %
low: -142.729 %
 Return On Sales (ROS) -12.422 %
Return On Sales QoQ -415.76 %
Return On Sales YoY -13.454 %
Return On Sales IPRWA high: 15.055 %
median: 15.055 %
mean: 10.566 %
MCS: -12.422 %
low: -107.787 %
CASH FLOW
 Free Cash Flow (FCF) $ -21.87 M
 Free Cash Flow Yield -4.093 %
Free Cash Flow Yield QoQ -173.908 %
Free Cash Flow Yield YoY -61.798 %
Free Cash Flow Yield IPRWA high: 2.766 %
median: 2.766 %
mean: 2.297 %
MCS: -4.093 %
low: -11.093 %
 Free Cash Growth -182.843 %
Free Cash Growth QoQ -505.561 %
Free Cash Growth YoY -41.963 %
Free Cash Growth IPRWA high: 182.816 %
MCS: -182.843 %
mean: -280.072 %
median: -316.901 %
low: -934.971 %
 Free Cash To Net Income 1.424
 Cash Flow Margin -12.941 %
 Cash Flow To Earnings 1.302
VALUE & RETURNS
 Economic Value Added $ 0.03
 Return On Assets (ROA) -1.53 %
Return On Assets QoQ -359.322 %
Return On Assets YoY -6.193 %
Return On Assets IPRWA high: 1.103 %
median: 1.103 %
mean: 0.744 %
MCS: -1.53 %
low: -9.466 %
 Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) -2.404 %
 Return On Equity (ROE) -0.035
Return On Equity QoQ -367.281 %
Return On Equity YoY -8.565 %
Return On Equity IPRWA high: 0.319
median: 0.021
mean: 0.01
MCS: -0.035
low: -0.962
 DuPont ROE -3.417 %
 Return On Invested Capital (ROIC) -2.21 %
Return On Invested Capital QoQ -1227.551 %
Return On Invested Capital YoY -4.659 %
Return On Invested Capital IPRWA high: 1.801 %
median: 1.801 %
mean: 1.452 %
MCS: -2.21 %
low: -4.028 %

Six-Week Outlook

Near-term momentum favors further upside into the next six weeks given bullish DI+/DI- action, a positive MACD crossover, rising short-term EMAs, and price above major averages. However, the positive technical setup conflicts with fundamentals: negative EBIT margins, negative operating and free cash flow, and constrained liquidity increase the probability of a corrective pullback if seasonal box-office results, hotel demand, or union-related headlines shift sentiment. Expect price action to oscillate between the SuperTrend floor near $19.23 and the path toward the price-target mean near $21.70; watch for diminishing momentum signals (MACD turning down or RSI crossing lower) to signal heightened mean-reversion risk. Non-actionable observation: given WMDST’s current over-valued determination and MRO-priced overshoot, the most likely short-term scenario combines limited upside extension with higher-than-average pullback potential absent a clear fundamental catalyst.

About The Marcus Corporation

The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS) develops and manages a diverse portfolio of entertainment and hospitality properties across the United States. It operates a network of multiscreen movie theatres under well-known brands such as Big Screen Bistro, Big Screen Bistro Express, BistroPlex, and Movie Tavern by Marcus. In addition to its entertainment ventures, the company owns and operates a selection of full-service hotels and resorts. Beyond ownership, The Marcus Corporation provides comprehensive hospitality management services, which encompass check-in, housekeeping, and maintenance for vacation ownership developments. The company’s expertise extends to managing condominium hotels under long-term contracts. Established in 1935, The Marcus Corporation maintains its headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and continues to serve as a prominent player in both the entertainment and hospitality sectors.



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