Did HBO Just Kill Theaters?
It's been a tough year for travel and leisure. As of this writing, the Dow Jones U.S. Travel and Leisure index is clinging to a small year-to-date loss versus the greater S&P 500's gain of 13%. However, many companies in travel and leisure have been propped up by direct and indirect U.S. government assistance in the form of grants and low-interest loans through the Federal Reserve. Without generous taxpayer incentives, it's likely some constituents in this sector would have already folded.
Even within this industry, there's been notable underperformance among theater stocks. Not considered essential enough to qualify for the extraordinary support sectors like the airline industry received and lacking the cohesive lobbying power industry execs and organized labor have developed over decades, these operators have mostly been left to fend for themselves with balance sheets stretched thin.
If the pandemic wasn't enough, AT&T's (NYSE: T) Warner Bros. studio might have fired a final volley at shareholders of AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) and Cinemark Holdings (NYSE: CNK) with its newest plans.
Source Fool.com
