Magic: The Gathering is driving growth at Hasbro

There’s a rhythm to each earnings season. It starts with the banks, many of which we heard from last week. Now, this week, we’ve got some fun stuff in the mix — including toys.

Hasbro, the maker of Play-Doh and Transformers, reported Tuesday that its revenue increased by 15% in the third quarter from the same time last year. The big driver of that growth? The card game Magic: The Gathering, which is bringing in fans, collectors, and budget-minded folks.

At Canton Games, a store in Baltimore, Magic: The Gathering cards are lined up behind the cash register. They include some of the wizard classics, along with new cards that have pop-culture tie ins — like Marvel superheroes.

The store’s owner Dan Hoffman, who goes by ‘Legend Dan,’ said those familiar characters are bringing lots of new players to the game.

“Magic is kind of a niche product,” he said. “If you don’t play the game, you’re not necessarily going to jump in and take the risk. But now you go into the store and you're like, ‘Ooh, a Spider-Man card game? Let me try that.’”

The cards can be used together. It’s like if you were playing Monopoly, and in addition to the shoe and the wheelbarrow, Black Panther and Gandalf wander on to the board.

“And sometimes they work together in really cool ways,” Hoffman said.

A starter pack of cards goes for about $25, though some collectors are willing to spend a lot more. Assistant manager Stephanie Tompkins once sold a single Magic card for $5,000.

“Somebody just casually walked in and was like, "Oh, I want that. Throw in the $600 card while you're at it,’” she laughed.

A lot of Magic customers are grown-ups. According to data from Circana, households without any children accounted for over half of toy sales in the first half of the year.

“These adult-led collectors are really driving growth in the toy industry this year,” said Lindsay Dutch, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.

Toymakers in addition to Hasbro are also benefiting. Dutch said puzzles and building sets, like Legos, are big.

One major draw?

“Games are a lot cheaper than a night out on a town,” said Gerrick Johnson, an analyst at Seaport Research Partners.

He said adults are likely to keep spending on things like Magic cards.

“The older the cohort, the longer the trend lasts,” he said.

Kids grow out of things. Adults? Not so much.