Hasbro leans on adult fans and card games as sales rebound
The toymaker beat revenue expectations as Magic: The Gathering surged and CEO Chris Cocks pushed Hasbro toward adult collectors and gamers.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Hasbro’s latest results show how far the company has moved beyond a business built mainly around children’s toys. The company said Tuesday that quarterly revenue rose 16% to $1.14 billion, ahead of analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion, as demand for card games and adult-focused products strengthened.
Fortune reported that shares rose after the earnings release and are up 9% for the year. The results mark progress for CEO Chris Cocks, who took over in 2022 and has been reshaping Hasbro after sales declines tied to a weaker toy market and a slower product pipeline.
Cocks has put more weight on adult buyers, whom he calls “kidults,” while keeping Hasbro tied to well-known brands such as Mr. Potato Head, G.I. Joe and My Little Pony. Fortune reported that his strategy frames the company less as a conventional toymaker and more as a broader play company built around games, collectibles and entertainment-linked products.
The biggest driver in the quarter was Magic: The Gathering, Hasbro’s 33-year-old card game franchise. Hasbro said the business grew 32% from a year earlier and topped $500 million in quarterly revenue for the first time, helped by a Marvel Super Hero collectibles collaboration.
Cocks told Wall Street analysts that Magic should be viewed as a major entertainment property rather than a small hobby brand. “Magic is not a niche hobby business,” he said. “It is a mega franchise. ‘Magic: The Gathering’ belongs in the same company as Pokémon, EA Sports, World of Warcraft, and Minecraft.”
Fortune reported that Hasbro has expanded Magic in recent years by adding more digital features and making the game easier for larger groups to play. Cocks told analysts he sees more room for growth in the franchise.
The broader toy market has also improved after several weaker years that followed a pandemic-era sales surge. Research firm Circana said toy sales rose by double digits this spring, including a 13% increase in April, the latest month it had published.
Circana said women are responsible for more than half of the industry’s growth, as toy companies sell updated versions of older brands and products built around nostalgia. Hasbro’s recent launch, Blooms by Play-Doh, is aimed at that audience by letting buyers make floral arrangements that can be kept and displayed.
Fortune reported that Blooms by Play-Doh is the first product in Play-Doh’s 70-year history designed specifically for adults. Cocks told analysts that retailers are seeking more “gamified, entertainment-driven, multi-purchase, multi-generational products,” describing them as products for “kidults.”
Cocks came to Hasbro after working at Microsoft’s Xbox division, where Fortune reported he handled game portfolios and marketing for major Xbox launches. Early in his tenure at Hasbro, he sold the eOne television and film business to Lionsgate, reversing an earlier push into media after Hasbro had paid $4 billion for eOne in 2018.
Hasbro is also changing its video game plans. Cocks said Tuesday that the company will cut annual spending on that business by at least 25%, while still making new titles with a co-publisher and linking them to trading card and role-playing games, including Exodus and Warlock, which are scheduled for next year.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.