Barbie sales boom for Mattel after the blockbuster movie showcased the doll to millions of theater goers

Third-quarter earnings rose to $1.08 a share, Mattel mentioned Wednesday, simply beating the 86-cent common of analysts’ estimates. Gross sales grew 9.3% to $1.92 billion, exceeding projections of $1.84 billion as consumers snapped up Barbie dolls and different mainstays like Sizzling Wheels automobiles.

Regardless of the quarterly acquire, Mattel continues to count on full-year gross sales to match the $5.44 billion recorded in 2022. That’s a mirrored image of more durable business circumstances after pandemic-fueled spending petered out and a weaker international financial system, Chief Govt Officer Ynon Kreiz mentioned in an interview. 

“The toy business is nicely positioned for future progress, and we consider retailers are nicely ready for the vacation season,” Kreiz mentioned. 

Shares of Mattel fell as a lot as 10% to $18.11 in prolonged buying and selling after the outcomes had been introduced. They had been up 13% this yr via the shut Wednesday in New York.

Mattel lifted its 2023 revenue forecast by 5 cents a share, and now expects $1.15 to $1.25 a share, thanks partly to cost-cutting initiatives. Analysts venture full-year earnings of $1.20 a share and income of $5.49 billion, the typical of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, is the very best grossing movie of 2023 and has grow to be an enormous public showcase for Mattel’s flagship toy.

The Margot Robbie Barbie doll is promoting particularly nicely, and administration expects it to be a “scorching toy” on Christmas purchasing lists, Kreiz mentioned. Sizzling Wheels is poised for its sixth yr of document gross sales and really grew sooner than Barbie final quarter.

Since its July launch, the Barbie film has generated greater than $1.4 billion in international ticket gross sales and is the highest-grossing image ever made by Warner Bros.

As a manufacturing associate on the film, Mattel receives a share of ticket gross sales and streaming income. Chief Monetary Officer Anthony DiSilvestro mentioned at a Goldman Sachs investor convention final month that he expects the movie to generate about $125 million in gross sales for Mattel this yr. 

Kreiz mentioned earlier this yr that Mattel would see a bigger profit from the film’s success within the second half, with its recognition driving demand for dolls and different Barbie-branded merchandise. 

Total, Mattel’s doll gross sales soared 24% on a relentless foreign money foundation in the course of the third quarter, when retailers begin putting orders for the vacation season. Barbie gross sales had been up 16%, and ends in the doll enterprise had been additionally pushed by the Disney and Monster Excessive traces, Mattel mentioned. 

Barbie is Mattel’s first theatrical launch below a technique Kreiz devised upon taking the CEO position in 2018. He’s looking for to carry extra of the corporate’s manufacturers to the display as motion pictures or TV exhibits and is growing movies primarily based Sizzling Wheels, Polly Pocket and a dozen others.