Hasbro beats profit estimates on tabletop game demand
STORY: Shares of Hasbro jumped on Tuesday, after the toymaker beat market estimates for quarterly profit, riding strong demand for its "Magic: The Gathering" trading-card game as well as an increase in prices.
Despite a wider slowdown in the gaming market this year, sales at Hasbro have held up with a steady stream of new releases.
Hasbro unveiled an expansion set of "Magic: The Gathering" in the second quarter, which analysts said lifted orders for both tabletop and online versions of the game.
The "Wizards of the Coast" business, which is also home to "Dungeons & Dragons" - the role-playing game featured in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things - posted a near 17% increase in operating profit in the quarter.
The low production costs of those tabletop games, as well as higher prices for Hasbro's toys like Nerf blasters and My Little Pony figures, helped margins expand even as freight expenses surged.
Overall, the Monopoly maker reported a 10% rise in quarterly adjusted earnings, though net revenue came in below estimates, reflecting the hit from a stronger dollar.
