Hasbro and Mattel Predict Toy Sales Slowdown; Stocks Plunge

Fall in consumer spending due to inflation concerns, along with weakening demand for toys, leads to Hasbro and Mattel missing Wall Street's Q3 expectations and slashing their full-year revenue outlook, triggering a major sell-off in both toy companies.

Hasbro and Mattel, two of the leading toy manufacturing companies, missed Wall Street's Q3 expectations and cut their full-year revenue outlook, citing a potential slowdown in the toy industry and fears of inflation hitting consumer spending.
In Q3, Hasbro's revenue fell to $1.5 billion from $1.68 billion, leading to a revision of its full-year revenue forecast to a decline of 13% to 15%, much higher than the previous estimate of a 3% to 6% decline.
Hasbro's stocks fell more than 12% before market opening on October 26, 2023, due to softening demand for its consumer products including toys, games, clothing, and music, among other categories.
Despite a successful Q3 driven by the success of the 'Barbie' movie, Mattel's CEO Ynon Kreiz anticipated a mid-single digit decline in toy sales for the year, leading to a more than 12% drop in Mattel's stocks in premarket trading.
Both companies, Hasbro and Mattel, express concerns about the upcoming holiday season, usually a critical period for toy sales, as consumers are feared to cut back on spending due to persistent inflation pressures.