Hasbro’s trading cards, toys popular among teens, adults

Ellen Chang Market News Analyst

Consumers are still spending money on discretionary items and their shopping spree includes buying games, trading cards and toys sold by Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS).

Hasbro’s toys and digital games have been high in demand, especially among teens and adults known as  “kidults.”  

Revenue during the second quarter rose by 16% to $1.14 billion due to 27% growth in the Wizards of the Coast and digital gaming segment led by the card game Magic: The Gathering, which was up 32%  due to the release slate of Strixhaven and Marvel Super Heroes. Digital and licensed gaming rose 17%.

Magic: The Gathering, is a large contributor to Hasbro’s growth, generating $545 million in revenue. It first debuted in 1993 and is the world’s first trading card game and remains extremely popular since it has been played by over 50 million players globally. 

Monopoly Go! contributed $44 million of revenue in the second quarter. 

“Expansion into new locations and Universes Beyond launches are attracting new players to the brand, further penetrating the ‘kidult’ consumer with higher discretionary income,” wrote 

Jaime Katz, a senior equity analyst for Morningstar.

Revenue for consumer products revenue grew by 5% to $463 million, its third consecutive quarter of growth, boosted partially by the release of “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu”  

while North America business rose 17%. The entertainment segment revenue which includes film and television production and distribution, was $12.8 million, down 20%.

Hasbro faced a major cyber attack, but the impact to the company’s revenue was “less than we forecasted with our operations being fully restored ahead of schedule. In total, approximately $25 million of revenue was lost in the quarter compared to our previous assumption of $40 – $60 million,” said CFO Gina Goetter during an earnings call.

Management plans to lower its digital spending with a 25% reduction by 2028 and raised its outlook to revenue growth of 5% to 7% instead of the prior estimate of 3% to 5%.

Shares of Hasbro rose by 15% during the past year.

Adults buying more games

Unlike its competitors such as Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT), a large chunk of Hasbro’s target audience are teenagers and adults who enjoy spending time playing digital games. 

Hasbro’s toys and digital games are popular among people who are at least 13 years or older. About 60% of the company’s revenue comes from purchases made by those fans.

Toys, collectibles such as Spider Man action figures or Star Wars fighter vehicles, digital games such as “Monopoly Go!” and role playing and trading card games, such as “Dungeons & Dragons” and “Magic: The Gathering,” are main attractions for its adult customers. 

Hasbro’s plan is to slash $1 billion in costs by 2027 and eliminate more individual products that have not resonated with customers and were not profitable. Over the past few years the company has eliminated 80% of its stock-keeping units or SKUs which produced only 2% to 3% of Hasbro’s revenue, said Goetter in 2025, according to a Wall Street Journal article.

“We believe that demographic has more spending power and sticking power,” she said in 2025. “As we thought about where we are investing for growth, it is in all of the businesses that are more exposed to that trend.” 

After facing 10 consecutive quarters of revenue declines starting in 2022 through 2025 as spending on toys and games fell after the pandemic, Hasbro’s turnaround in revenue began during the third quarter last year with 8% growth.

There are some encouraging signs in the toy industry which faced declines in 2023 and flat sales in 2024. Revenue began to rebound in 2025 by 6% due to consumers who were willing to pay for higher priced and licensed toys, according to Circana, a research firm.  

The toy industry in the U.S. continues to turnaround with revenue up by 13% through April compared to the same period last year,  according to  Circana, a research firm.  Unit sales rose by 5% while the average selling price increased by 7%.

“The toy industry’s promising start to 2026 reflects a unique intersection of resilient demand and evolving consumer behavior,” said Kristen McLean, vice president of client insights for Circana’s Entertainment Knowledge Group. “Growth is being driven by enthusiasm for trading cards, collectibles, and licensed properties across age groups, reinforcing toys as a bright spot despite broader pressure on discretionary spending.” 

Hasbro’s turnaround efforts and slate of digital and card games, toys and collectibles are still appealing to its customers who continue to make purchases.

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