Despite Hasbro Overall Film Retreat, ‘Transformers One’ Will “Sell A Lot Of Toys,” CEO Says

Despite toymaker Hasbro‘s recent shift away from film and TV production, CEO Chris Cocks touted the upcoming release of Transformers One during the company’s second-quarter earnings call Thursday.

After a lull following last year’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, retail sales tied to the franchise are expected to rise in the weeks leading up to the new installment’s September 20 release by Paramount. Transformers One, an animated origin story, generated positive buzz after premiering as a work-in-progress at the Annency animation fest in June.

“Every indication we have from early screenings and tracking is that that movie is going to be a real fan favorite, with some nice legs in families,” Cocks said. “We think it will sell a lot of toys, as Transformers movies tend to have done.”

Despite the hype around Transformers One, this is a new corporate era for Hasbro. The company signaled as much by selling eOne to Lionsgate last year for $375 million, saying it would limit its investments in film and TV production and instead focus on gaming and consumer products, some with Hollywood ties. The quarterly results reflected that retreat, with entertainment revenue plunging 90% year-over-year to $18.8 million, but growth in other areas and cost reductions across the company drove better-than-expected financial results. Hasbro stock gained 6% in early trading after the quarterly report.

Total revenue dropped 18% compared with the year-ago period to $995.3 million, but the downturn was better than the 22% falloff expected by Wall Street analysts. Earnings per share, meanwhile, soared well past estimates, coming in at $1.22.

Overall, the company has been making strides after a grueling stretch in 2023, when about 20% of the company’s workforce was laid off due to economic headwinds and operational changes.

“We still have a bit of turnaround work to do on our core toy business,” which has been buffeted by Covid, supply-chain issues, inflation and other factors, Cocks said. “But I feel good about how we’re getting our arms wrapped around that segment on the cost side. I think you’re going to see that core toy business start to get to growth in the latter stages of Q3 and more decisively in Q4 and 2025.”