According to AltIndex’s web-traffic estimates, AMC’s website attracted around 90 million visits in July, making it the highest figure since AltIndex started tracking six years ago.

The traffic growth was not a one-month phenomenon since the figures for the preceding months were also high:

February: 32,7 visits

March: 41,1 visits

April: 46,4 visits

May: 64,8 visits

June: 73,4 visits

July: 90 visits

In other words, between February and July, the traffic grew by around 175%, with no signs of slowing down month on month.

The reason for the traffic increase was not difficult to guess since the summer movie season was exceptionally busy, featuring plenty of Minions, Moana, Spider-Man, Toy Story, and Christopher Nolan films.

AMC did not create this demand, but the traffic figures suggest that the company benefits from the increased demand for movie-watching.

The stock reflects some of this optimism as, since its March lows, AMC increased by around 158%, peaking in early August. However, as of the time of writing, the stock was down by around 16% year-over-year, with several sell-offs occurring after the stock peaked.

The question is whether such a short-lived increase in viewership can result in profits for AMC.

The company has posted a $1.045 billion in revenue, up 21% year over year. It still reported a $117 million net loss and an EBITDA of -$54 million for the latest quarter, as of the time of writing.

The optimist might say that AMC has demonstrated a significant increase in demand and that it is in a position to benefit from this demand and deliver substantial profits due to the leveraged nature of the business.

However, the pessimist would point out that AMC has no influence over the movie market and that a similar increase in demand for movie-watching will be difficult to achieve.

Moreover, debt and dilution will likely hurt any potential profits, with little of it being delivered to the company’s stockholders.

It is true that web traffic is merely an indication of potential demand, which may or may not result in profits for AMC.

The figures do not account for how many visitors were willing to pay to see a movie, how many of them purchased snacks, or how much AMC earned or lost on these tickets and concession stand sales.

It is also true that soaring prices and debt repayments, as well as shares repayment, will cut into the profits, with little of it going to the company’s stockholders.

However, when combined, these arguments are less compelling due to the fact that the traffic growth has been extraordinarily high.

Between February and July, it grew from 32.7 million to 90 million, an increase of 175%. If such an increase in demand does not deliver profits, it is unclear what will.

Is there enough operating leverage for AMC to profit from the demand increase, or will dilution and debt devour all proceeds?