Hasbro Raises 2026 Outlook as Magic: The Gathering Tops $600 Million in a Quarter

Hasbro reported third-quarter results on Tuesday that beat Wall Street's forecasts by a wide margin, powered by record sales of its Magic: The Gathering trading-card game, and raised its full-year financial targets for the third time in 2026.

The Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based toy and game company said net revenue rose 15% to $1.6 billion in the quarter ended September 27, up from $1.39 billion a year earlier, according to results filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Adjusted earnings came to $2.90 a share, more than 50% above the $1.86 that analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research had expected, while reported diluted earnings were $2.77 a share on net income of $394.5 million. Revenue also cleared the roughly $1.47 billion analysts had expected. The company's own numbers were echoed in an Associated Press earnings snapshot published the same morning, and shares rose roughly 2% in early trading, according to Investing.com.

An Earnings Beat Built on Cardboard and Code

Reported operating profit was $517.3 million, a 32.4% margin, while adjusted operating profit, which strips out one-time items, rose 52% to $541.2 million, a 33.9% margin. Adjusted EBITDA climbed to $604.5 million from $412.9 million a year earlier. Results included roughly $55 million in refunds of tariffs the company had previously paid on imported goods, which flowed mostly into the toy business rather than the trading-card unit.

The headline number came from Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro's games division, where revenue jumped 31% to $747.2 million and operating profit rose 46% to $367.4 million, a 49.2% margin. Magic: The Gathering alone generated $616.1 million, up 34% from a year earlier and, according to the filing, the first time the three-decade-old card game has topped $600 million in revenue in a single quarter. Tabletop card sales rose 39%, while digital and licensed Magic products grew a more modest 3%. The mobile game Monopoly Go!, which Hasbro licenses out rather than develops itself, added another $41 million.

A Toy Maker That Increasingly Isn't One

The quarter extended a shift that has been building for several years: Wizards of the Coast, built around Magic and Dungeons & Dragons, now accounts for roughly half of Hasbro's revenue and the bulk of its profit, while the traditional Consumer Products toy segment lags behind. That segment's revenue rose a comparatively modest 4%, to $827.9 million, with growth concentrated in licensed lines tied to Marvel, the animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" and Transformers; adjusted operating profit there doubled to $177.7 million, aided by $48 million of the quarter's tariff refunds. The smaller Entertainment segment, which includes television and film licensing, grew revenue 9% to $20.2 million.

Hasbro has raised its full-year outlook with each of its first three 2026 earnings reports, a pattern visible across its own regulatory filings. Its first-quarter filing showed revenue up 13% to $1.0 billion, with Wizards of the Coast revenue up 26% and Magic: The Gathering up 36%, though the company held its full-year guidance at a relatively cautious 3% to 5% constant-currency revenue growth, a 24% to 25% adjusted operating margin and $1.40 billion to $1.45 billion of adjusted EBITDA. The company lifted that outlook with its second-quarter results in July, to 5% to 7% revenue growth, a 25% to 26% margin and $1.45 billion to $1.50 billion of EBITDA. Tuesday's filing raised the range again, to 7% to 9% revenue growth and a 27% to 28% margin, with adjusted EBITDA now seen at $1.575 billion to $1.625 billion.

• Net revenue: $1.6 billion, up 15% year over year
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share: $2.90, versus a $1.86 analyst consensus
• Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming revenue: $747.2 million, up 31%
• Magic: The Gathering revenue: $616.1 million, up 34%, a quarterly record above $600 million

Buybacks, Dividends and a Fourth Straight Quarter of Double-Digit Growth

Hasbro returned $206 million to shareholders in the quarter through dividends and share repurchases, on top of $79 million directed toward reducing debt, and said it would double its share-repurchase target for the year. The board also declared a quarterly dividend of 70 cents a share, payable December 2 to shareholders of record on November 18.

"Inspiring a lifetime of play is our superpower, and this quarter showed what it can do," Hasbro chief executive Chris Cocks said in the earnings release.

Chief Financial Officer Gina Goetter tied the move directly to the quarter's performance, saying in the same release: "Given this momentum, we are raising our 2026 outlook and doubling our share repurchase target for the year." Trade publication The Toy Book noted the quarter marked Hasbro's fourth consecutive period of double-digit revenue growth, a run that has reshaped how investors value a company once defined primarily by board games and action figures.

What Happens Next

The results arrive heading into the holiday shopping quarter, historically Hasbro's biggest for traditional toys, and at a moment when the company is leaning further into games and licensing to offset a slower-growing toy aisle. Hasbro has signaled continued investment in Magic: The Gathering's release calendar and in licensed properties including a multi-year Nintendo deal for Legend of Zelda products slated for 2027, while trimming longer-term digital-game development after writedowns earlier this year. With guidance now raised three times since January, the fourth quarter will show whether the trading-card boom and tariff relief can keep outrunning softer demand in Hasbro's legacy toy lines, and whether a company long associated with board games and action figures can keep persuading investors to value it like a games and licensing business instead.