Business News
The shares of the toy giant Mattel have lost more than a quarter of their value in one fell swoop after a worse-than-expected US Christmas season.
02/11/2026, 04:1302/11/2026, 04:13
The price fell by around 28 percent in after-hours US trading. Mattel owns brands like Barbie and Hot Wheels.
Many Barbies remained on the shelves at Christmas in the USA.Image: keystone
December business in the USA increased, but clearly weaker than Mattel itself expected, said CFO Paul Ruh after presenting quarterly figures. Among other things, he pointed out that “price-conscious” consumers were looking for bargains and retailers were hesitant to build up stocks. In this situation, Mattel had to resort to discounts, which in turn reduced profitability. Outside the USA, business went as expected, said Ruh.
Mattel’s quarterly profit fell a quarter year-over-year to $106.2 million. Sales increased by seven percent to almost $1.7 billion.
No problems for rival Hasbro
In the United States, there has been discussion for months about whether consumers are becoming more economical when spending money given the high cost of living – and whether the tariffs imposed on imports by President Donald Trump play a role in this.
However, rival Hasbro had no problems in its Christmas business, although the company resorted to price increases in the USA. Hasbro initially raised prices in the entertainment and collectibles sector, where demand has traditionally been more robust, company boss Chris Cocks told the Wall Street Journal. This year the surcharges were expanded to other categories.
US price increases due to tariffs
Toy suppliers traditionally have a lot of their production done in Asia. At Hasbro, the tariff rate is currently around 24 percent, said Cocks. Hasbro and its retail partners absorbed some of it, but some costs would still have to be passed on to consumers. “That’s simply the reality when you live in a world with tariffs,” emphasized the Hasbro boss.
Hasbro makes toys with Marvel and Transformers characters as well as Peppa Pig items, among other things. In the Christmas quarter, sales rose by 31 percent year-on-year to just over $1.44 billion. The bottom line is that the group posted a profit of $201.6 million after a loss of $34.3 million a year earlier. (sda/dpa)