Hasbro's stock price dropped slightly today as the company reported that earnings were not meeting analyists' expectations for the company in the first quarter of 2018. Hasbro reported a net loss of $112.5 million or 90 cents per share, and are anticipating another weak quarter to follow in the aftermath of ToyRUs' liquidation. Keep reading for an excerpt from CNBC's story and a link to the full text.
Hasbro's portfolio took a big hit in the quarter. Sales of franchise brands, like Nerf, Monopoly and My Little Pony, fell 19 percent and partner brands which include "Star Wars," "Frozen" and "Marvel" merchandise, slumped 6 percent in the fourth quarter.
CEO Brian Goldner also reports that Hasbro already had plans in place to deal with the end of TRU, which are now being accelerated.
As an aside: if you wanted an explanation as to why Hasbro's future Transformers plans were looking more creatively conservative and 1984 centric? Here you have it. The urge to hunker down and focus on the core concepts of their franchises has to be strong in an uncertain market. That said, Hasbro's strength in the past has always been reinvention when Transformers as a property has been in a slump. Hopefully we'll see that again on the far side of Cyberverse.