IMAX
IMAX Corporation
IMAX has the edge over VZ overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
IMAX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
IMAX's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
VZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
VZ's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
IMAX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 21x | $47.89 | — |
| Forward | 24x | $47.89 | — |
| Cheap | 35x | $81.28 | +70% |
| Fair | 53x | $122 | +154% |
| Expensive | 62x | $144 | +202% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
IMAX has the edge over VZ in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
VZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.3x | $32.43 | -30% |
| Forward | 9x | $46.55 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $43.63 | -6.3% |
| Current | 12x | $46.55 | — |
| Expensive | 14x | $56.75 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VZ's PE is in its fair range at 12x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 9.0x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
IMAX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect IMAX's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
VZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
VZ has the edge over IMAX on the outlook, with more favorable valuation expectations.
IMAX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.01 | -13% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.32 | +231% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.73 | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.66 | +43% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.63 | +31% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.70 | +59% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.59 | +47% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.46 | -4.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.48 | +4.3% |
IMAX has the edge over VZ on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
VZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.19 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.93 | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.85 | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.11 | -2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.06 | -1.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.68 | +103% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.29 | +61% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.20 | +57% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.14 | +51% |
VZ's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $3.93 over the past year, against $5.34 in late 2021.
IMAX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $174.6M | +64% |
| Q2 2026 | $102.8M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $81.4M | -6.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $125.2M | +35% |
| Q3 2025 | $106.7M | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $91.7M | +3.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $86.7M | +9.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $92.7M | +7.7% |
IMAX has the edge over VZ on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 43% | +16 points |
| Q2 2026 | 20% | +4.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 12% | -7.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 19% | +9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 27% | +6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 16% | +12 points |
| Q1 2025 | 19% | +4.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 10% | +7.1 points |
IMAX has the edge over VZ on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
VZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $34.3B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $34.3B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $34.4B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $36.4B | +2% |
| Q3 2025 | $33.8B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $34.5B | +5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $33.5B | +1.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.7B | +1.6% |
VZ's revenue has held roughly level: $34.3B last quarter, up 1.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 21% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -7.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | +6.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +19 points |
VZ's operating margin was 25% last quarter, up 1.3 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
IMAX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $84.2M | +30% |
| Q2 2026 | $32M | +53% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.9M | -64% |
| Q4 2025 | $28M | +307% |
| Q3 2025 | $64.8M | +90% |
| Q2 2025 | $20.9M | -38% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.3M | +$17.4M |
| Q4 2024 | $6.9M | +11958% |
IMAX generated $146M in free cash flow over the past year, up 49% from the year before.
VZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.5B | +2.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $8B | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.1B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B | +9.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | +20% |
VZ's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $39B over the past year, up 1.5% from the year before.
IMAX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +2.5% | +1.4M shares |
| 1 year | +4.4% | +2.4M shares |
| 3 years | +4.5% | +2.5M shares |
| 5 years | -2.3% | -1.4M shares |
| Available history | -5.7% | -3.5M shares |
IMAX has 58M diluted shares, up 4.4% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | $246,000 |
| Q1 2024 | $17.9M |
| Q3 2023 | $252,000 |
| Q2 2023 | $355,000 |
| Q1 2023 | $3.7M |
| Q4 2021 | $9.3M |
VZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -10M shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -72M shares |
| 3 years | -1.3% | -55M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +17M shares |
| Available history | +0.5% | +21M shares |
VZ has the edge over IMAX on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
IMAX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
IMAX has the edge over VZ on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
VZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.0x | Elevated |
VZ's net debt is about 3.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.8 years a year ago.
IMAX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 24.2 | Neutral |
IMAX's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 24 (neutral).
VZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 44.6 | Neutral |
VZ's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 45 (neutral).
IMAX PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | IMAX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 16x | 25% above |
| PE % | 5 | 26 | 21 pts below |
IMAX is trading at 21x earnings, a 25% premium to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
VZ PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | VZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 16x | 28% below |
| PE % | 58 | 26 | 32 pts above |
VZ has the edge over IMAX on valuation relative to its sector.
IMAX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $51.2 | 6.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $49.0 | 2.2% below |
| 50 week MA | $42.2 | 13% above |
| 100 week MA | $35.0 | 37% above |
| 200 week MA | $26.6 | 80% above |
IMAX has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 80% above its 200-week average.
VZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $45.1 | 3.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $46.3 | 0.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $46.1 | 1.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.2 | 5.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $41.4 | 12% above |
VZ has the edge over IMAX on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
IMAX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $20.8 | $17.0 | -18% |
| 2021 | $17.0 | $18.4 | +8.1% |
| 2022 | $18.4 | $14.0 | -24% |
| 2023 | $14.0 | $15.0 | +7.6% |
| 2024 | $15.0 | $25.1 | +67% |
| 2025 | $25.1 | $37.7 | +50% |
| 2026 YTD | $37.7 | $47.9 | +27% |
IMAX has the edge over VZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
VZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.5 | $58.8 | -4.4% |
| 2021 | $58.8 | $52.7 | -10% |
| 2022 | $52.7 | $38.4 | -27% |
| 2023 | $38.4 | $37.7 | -1.8% |
| 2024 | $37.7 | $39.9 | +5.9% |
| 2025 | $39.9 | $40.5 | +1.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $46.6 | +15% |
VZ has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 15% so far in 2026.