Thursday, September 17, 2009

Marcus Corporation Poor Disclosure

The Marcus Corporation (MCS) disappointed investors and the stock sold off. They have a confusing mix of movie theatres, restaurants and hotels. The theatres are driven by block buster movies over which they have no control. The hotel business is not doing well. Surprise surprise. A new restaurant format they say is encouraging. This is a real estate play in disguise but they report financials as an operating business. The earnings release did not include a sources and uses of funds. They carry a lot of long term debt. Current maturities are well in excess of cash positions.

Clearly management does not want to explain itself. Therefore what conclusion can we arrive at.