The company had a market cap of USD $124 million on a stock price that was hanging out in the USD $8.00 range. Passman was an industry outsider who began his professional life as an accountant and cut his teeth as a partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP. While he held several senior management positions throughout his career, Passman's background in finance would prove invaluable when it came to turning the over-leveraged Carmike around. In 2011, the company had positive earnings for the first time since 2005 and by his fourth year as CEO, Passman had reduced its debt by USD $120 million while significantly lowering operating costs. Passman was also able to begin growing Carmike again through building new cinemas and acquiring successful chains such as Muvico and Sundance Cinemas. Today, Carmike owns 275 theatres consisting of 2,931 screens and 51 premium large format (PLF) auditoriums across 41 states.