Toys & games
Toys and games is a roughly $115B global category covering traditional toys, dolls, action figures, building sets and board/card games. Mattel, Hasbro, Lego (private), Bandai Namco and Spin Master dominate global; the category is increasingly content-led with major franchise extensions (Mattel Films, Lego/Disney/Sony collaborations) defining unit growth. Direct-to-consumer collector economies - Funko Pop, kidult collectibles, blind-box (Pop Mart) - drive premium product cycles separate from kid-led growth.
It spans action figures and play figures, dolls and dollhouses, building sets and construction toys, board games and card games, infant and preschool toys, collectibles and adult toys, plush and stuffed toys, and entertainment-property licensed toys.
Revenue comes from retail and toy specialty distribution, owned brand DTC and brand-direct sales, licensing of toy IP for entertainment, content, apparel and theme parks, collector and DTC subscription models, and contract manufacturing for retailer-branded private label.
Toys & games is part of Consumer products.
$112B
Global market size
31
Public companies
Key VC investors
Key strategic buyers
How toys & games companies monetize?
Toys & games companies monetize through retail distribution, licensing of toy IP and content and entertainment extensions.
Retail distribution
Mass retailers (Walmart, Target, Amazon and Toys R Us in some markets), specialty (Smyths in UK and Toys Center in EU) and grocery/drug. The dominant channel.
Owned brand DTC
Brand-owned websites and stores (Lego Stores, Build-A-Bear, Disney Stores and Funko Stores). Higher margin and brand-control.
Licensing
Licensed character IP across categories. Hasbro Marvel licensing, Mattel Pokemon Trading Cards (licensed from TPCi/Nintendo) and Lego Star Wars/Harry Potter/Marvel licenses. High-margin royalty business.
Content and entertainment
Films, TV, theme parks based on toy IP. Mattel Films (Barbie 2023, $1.4B global box office), Hasbro Entertainment One (sold 2023) plus Lego House and Legoland (Merlin).
Collector and DTC subscription
Premium collector cycles (Funko Pop limited editions, Lego Adult/AFOL sets and Pop Mart blind boxes) and DTC subscription boxes.
Contract manufacturing
Private label and OEM production for retailer house brands. Lower-margin volume play; concentrated in Chinese manufacturing.
Toys & games valuations in May 2026
Public toys & games comps trade at 1.4x EV/Revenue. Median revenue multiple across toys & games M&A deals was 2.9x in the last 12 months.
1.4x
Median EV/Revenue as of May 2026 for public toys & games companies
4.2x
POP MART is the highest valued public toys & games company based on EV/Revenue (excluding outliers)
2.9x
Median EV/Revenue across toys & games M&A deals in the last 12 months
-
Median EV/Revenue across toys & games VC rounds in the last 12 months
Toys & games market segments
Toys & games spans action figures, building sets, board and card games and collectibles and kidult.
Action figures and play figures
Mattel (Hot Wheels, Masters of the Universe), Hasbro (Transformers, Marvel Legends, GI Joe), Bandai Namco (Dragon Ball, Gundam), Spin Master and Funko (NASDAQ: FNKO) lead.
Dolls and dollhouses
Barbie (Mattel) and American Girl (Mattel), MGA Entertainment (Bratz, L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes), Spin Master (Hatchimals) and Jakks Pacific compete.
Building sets
Lego dominates globally; Mega Construx (Mattel), Bandai (Gundam plamodel), Lepin (Chinese unauthorised) and Build-A-Bear (plush plus construction) serve adjacent.
Board games and card games
Hasbro (Monopoly, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons and Risk), Asmodee (Embracer Group, then PE-owned 2024), Mattel (UNO, Skip-Bo) and Ravensburger (Disney Lorcana licensing) lead.
Infant and preschool toys
Fisher-Price (Mattel), VTech, LeapFrog, Melissa & Doug, Lovevery and Lalo compete in infant and preschool. Educational and developmental positioning dominates premium.
Collectibles and kidult
Funko Pop, Pop Mart (HK: 9992 - Chinese blind-box leader), Lego AFOL/Adult sets, Hot Wheels Premium, Disney Lorcana and Topps (Fanatics) lead collectibles.
Licensed entertainment IP toys
Toys based on Marvel/Disney, Star Wars, Pokemon, Harry Potter, Pixar and DC franchises. Hasbro and Mattel split the major licenses; Bandai Namco dominates anime/manga.
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Key toys & games KPIs to track
Net sales growth, POS sell-through, gross margin, inventory turnover and licensing revenue are the metrics investors track in toys & games.
| KPI | Definition |
|---|---|
| Net sales growth | Top-line revenue growth. Category has been flat-to-down ex-Barbie/Lego in 2023-24. |
| Point-of-sale (POS) sell-through | Consumer purchases at retail vs shipments to retailers. Critical for inventory health post-2022 over-ship. |
| Franchise revenue | Revenue from major franchises (Barbie, Hot Wheels, Transformers, MTG, Pokemon and Lego City). Mattel Films and Hasbro Entertainment One were attempts to drive franchise revenue. |
| Gross margin | Lego ~70% (price-fixed product, high vertical integration); Mattel/Hasbro 45-50%; mass-tier toys 30-40%. |
| Inventory turnover | Critical post-2022 - toy inventory overhang drove margin compression at Hasbro, Mattel and Spin Master through 2023-24. |
| Licensing revenue | Hasbro licensing pivot since 2019. Mattel Films Barbie ($1.4B box office) drove licensing tailwind in 2024. |
| International revenue mix | % revenue outside US. Lego ~50%; Mattel 45%; Hasbro 40%. |
Main toys & games players globally
The most active toys & games companies and category leaders globally.
| Company | HQ | Overview |
|---|---|---|
Mattel mattel.com |  El Segundo | Major toy company (NASDAQ: MAT). Owns Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Mega and Monster High. Barbie 2023 film ($1.4B box office) drove turnaround. |
Hasbro hasbro.com | Pawtucket | Major toy and games company (NASDAQ: HAS). Owns Transformers, My Little Pony, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, Monopoly, Play-Doh, Nerf and GI Joe. Wizards of the Coast division now reports separately. |
Lego Group lego.com |  Billund | Privately held family-controlled (Kirk Kristiansen family). Building toys leader globally; Lego Stores, Legoland (Merlin), licensed Star Wars/Marvel/Harry Potter sets. |
Bandai Namco Holdings bandainamco.co.jp |  Tokyo | Japanese toy and games conglomerate (TSE: 7832). Gundam, Dragon Ball, anime/manga toy licensing, plus video games (Tekken, Pac-Man) and arcades. |
MGA Entertainment mgae.com | Chatsworth | Private toy company (Larian family). Owns Bratz, L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes, Rainbow High, Miniverse and Pomsies. |
Spin Master spinmaster.com |  Toronto | Toy and games company (TSX: TOY). Owns Hatchimals, Bakugan, Paw Patrol (TV franchise + toys), Cool Maker, Etch A Sketch and Toca Boca (digital). |
Funko funko.com | Everett | Pop culture collectible vinyl figures (NASDAQ: FNKO). Funko Pop franchise covers thousands of licensed character SKUs. |
Pop Mart popmart.com |  Beijing | Chinese blind-box collectible toys (HK: 9992). Molly, Labubu and Dimoo branded figures; one of the fastest-growing toy companies globally. |
Jakks Pacific jakks.com | Santa Monica | US toy company (NASDAQ: JAKK). Licensed character toys (Disney, Nintendo and Sega), Funky Plushy and Black Series. |
Fisher-Price (Mattel) fisher-price.com | East Aurora | Mattel's infant and preschool division. Power Wheels, Imaginext, Little People and Laugh & Learn. Largest infant/preschool brand globally. |
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Key toys & games market trends
Barbie and toy-to-film convergence, Pop Mart blind-box collectibles and the trading card boom are reshaping toys & games right now.
Barbie and toy-to-film convergence
Mattel's Barbie ($1.4B global box office 2023) anchored a category-defining film-and-toy moment. Lego Movie 2 (Universal), Lego Star Wars and Polly Pocket projects continue Mattel Films and Hasbro Entertainment strategy.
Inventory and demand reset
Post-2022 retail over-shipment unwound through 2023-24. Hasbro, Mattel and Spin Master all rebased shipments; channel inventory now in line with sell-through.
Pop Mart and blind-box collectibles
Pop Mart valued $4B+ in 2024; Labubu blind-box franchise hit mainstream globally. Funko Pop maturity contrasts with Pop Mart's growth phase.
Adult/AFOL and kidult
Lego Adult sets (AFOL - Adult Fan Of Lego), high-end action figures and premium board games target adult collectors. Hasbro's Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons franchises (under Wizards of the Coast) drive adult engagement.
Trading card and collectible boom
Pokemon TCG (Nintendo/TPCi), Magic: The Gathering (Hasbro), Disney Lorcana (Ravensburger) and One Piece TCG (Bandai) continue to grow strongly. Topps (Fanatics) leads sports cards.
China and Asia growth
Pop Mart, Bandai Namco and Anker growing strongly in Asia. Mattel and Hasbro increasing investment in Asian markets to offset Western kids-toy slowdown.
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