By Michaela Gordoni
Angel Studios’ stock, ANGX, debuted on the stock market on Thursday, and it jumped by 8.4% in its first day.
It went up an additional 13% in after-hours trading.
Angel’s Guild program allows its paying members to vote on upcoming projects. It has 1.5 million Guild members and almost 70,000 investors who represent “families like mine who want to support this programming,” Angel CEO Neal Harmon said.
“We see this as for people who think Hollywood gatekeepers are out of touch,” said Harmon said. “We don’t have any problem with what’s being made. We are doing what is not being made.” He added, “There’s so much opportunity for growth, we don’t see this as a zero-sum game.”
Some of the studios’ biggest successes are THE SOUND OF FREEDOM, with Jim Caviezel, and the animated flick THE KING OF KINGS.
Related: Angel Studios Closes Deal to Become Publicly Traded Company
Other upcoming movies are THE SENIOR, with Michael Chiklis, ZERO. A.D., with Jim Caviezel, and SOLO MIO, with Kevin James and Kim Coates.
Harmon said being a publicly traded company allows Angel to get bigger talent.
The driving reason why Angel went public is because “The No. 1 concern from our community was that we would lose our way as a public company and forget the mission,” Harmon said. “We don’t want [the content slate] to be determined by some big check-writer.”
The company’s original 8,000 investors have supervoting shares with 10 votes per share versus one vote per share for its Class C shares. Angel also has an incentive program for senior executives that offers them an additional 10% equity in the company if it exceeds a $10 billion valuation.
“The entire team is aiming for that goal and they are incentivized to do so,” Harmon said.
“Angel is about the long term — about timeless principles and what lasts,” said Harmon. What’s less important, he said, is “where the stock trades 6 months from now or 10 years from now.”
“Long term, we need to be extremely profitable as a company,” he added. “To remain independent, we need to be profitable.”
At the moment, the company is not profitable due to overspending on Guild marketing in the first half of the year.
“We have a mission that we’re trying to reach, and we need to fill up the gas tank. That’s what this process has done for us,” Harmon explained.
Last week, a large crowd of Angel supporters gathered in front of the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate it going public.
Angel shared on Instagram, “A proud moment for Angel! 📸 Grateful for the people, the purpose, and the platform. ⭐️”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DOejxxiES2n/?hl=en
Read Next: What Makes Angel Studios Stand Apart
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