Franchise Performance

How Hasbro Is Stacking the Deck in Its Own Favor

By Rhea Lobo
How Hasbro Is Stacking the Deck in Its Own Favor

Hasbro just found another winning hand. The toymaker reported Q2 revenue of $1.14B, up 16% year over year, after Magic: The Gathering generated a record $545M in quarterly revenue, becoming the first Hasbro franchise to top $500M in a single quarter.

The card game is now Hasbro's engine

Magic: The Gathering grew 32% in Q2, fueled by the Marvel Super Heroes and Secrets of Strixhaven sets.

The Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment, which houses Magic and Dungeons & Dragons, grew 27% to $664M in revenue with a 41% operating margin.

Year-to-date, Magic has generated $1.01B in revenue, up 34% from the same period last year.

"Magic: The Gathering is not a niche hobby business. It is a mega franchise."

Chris Cocks, Hasbro CEO

The consumer products division, which includes Nerf, Play-Doh, and licensed Disney toys, rose 5% despite a cyberattack that hit revenue by roughly $25M and added $11M in direct expenses.

A recently resolved breach disrupted order processing and shipping through much of the quarter. Entertainment revenue fell 20%, which the company attributed to the timing of deals rather than any structural shift.

Digital strategy gets a reset

Hasbro took a $56M non-cash impairment charge this quarter tied to digital games it's canceling for 2028 and beyond. The company is narrowing its digital focus to trading card and role-playing games and now expects total digital spend to fall at least 25% annually by 2028.

Hasbro also launched an AI studio called Sixth Wall, which introduces a licensing model focused on how characters think, speak, and behave in digital environments.

On the toy side, a new adult-focused Play-Doh line called Blooms sold out at major retailers in under 24 hours after launch.

For the full year, Hasbro raised its revenue growth outlook to 5% to 7% in constant currency, up from a prior forecast of 3% to 5%.

Adjusted EBITDA guidance moved to $1.45B to $1.50B, and adjusted operating margin guidance ticked up to 25% to 26%.

The company returned $133M to shareholders in Q2 and paid down $55M in debt, and said it intends to lean further into its $1B share repurchase authorization.

Magic: The Gathering's record quarter is now the clearest proof that Hasbro's franchise-first strategy is working, and that a 30-year-old card game has become the company's most valuable asset.