Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks Talks 2026 Outlook, Earnings

**Dani Burger** (0:01)
Welcome to our Global TV and Radio Audiences. I'm Dani Burger, alongside Isabelle Lee and Danielle Pauley. Hasbro shares are surging after the company raised its full year outlook, topping second quarter expectations, with Magic The Gathering once again driving growth. The franchise topped $500 million in quarterly revenue for the first time in its 30 plus year history. Joining us now is Hasbro CEO, Chris Cocks. Chris, wonderful to have you on. Congratulations for this milestone. And I know that this has been a huge part of your growth strategy, and it's paying off with Magic The Gathering. But I do have to start out asking, last time you and I had spoken, one of the other big parts of your growth strategy was your video game division. But you've now announced that you're canceling multiple video game projects. Can you just walk us through the thinking?

**Chris Cocks** (0:48)
Well, I think most video game companies in a given year will have a variety of products in different stages of development, and we're no different. I think what we did is over the last six to nine months, we took a relook at our portfolio and said, okay, what can Hasbro be best in the world at? What can we uniquely do differently than anyone else? And we decided to refocus. And the decision we made was trading card games and role-playing games. We're really vital to franchises like Magic The Gathering and D&D. We're doubling down on those.
But other categories, like strategy games, action, stealth.
We work with over a thousand partners around the world with a very large licensing business. We're the number one digital licenser in the world, working with nearly a hundred partners. We can work with those kinds of partners who are experts in those genres and create a real one-two punch. Hasbro being a leader in TCGs and RPGs, and then our partners really helping to extend our brands elsewhere. And that's really kind of what today's messaging was all about.

**Isabelle Lee** (1:52)
And sticking with games, how are you using AI when you develop these?

**Chris Cocks** (1:58)
AI is still pretty early days. We use it across the company, mostly for productivity. Our toy division does it for some concepting, but at the end of the day, a human is driving all the taste decisions and the ultimate execution. Inside of games and video games, I would say AI is basically not used at all.
Will that change over time? I think we'll look at what the state of the tools are, where the industry is going, and certainly we will use what makes sense. I think the video game industry has a real history of being an early technology adopter, and we'll take our marks from what the best in the business are doing.

**Danielle Pauley** (2:41)
What are you seeing with respect to consumer behavior or demand that's maybe not yet showing up in the data, but that you're planning for?

**Chris Cocks** (2:50)
Well, gosh, I think the biggest thing that we're seeing is this boom in these categories that we call gem squared. Those categories that are gamified, entertainment driven, multi-purchase and multi-generational. I think other companies maybe call it kid alts.
That's been a power trend over the last couple of years. And we certainly see it taking off, moving forward.
I think you're seeing that in strength with Magic The Gathering. You're seeing that with growth that we have in Marvel and Star Wars, which is really fan generated. The kid business continues to be good, but fans are really what's being explosive in that.
And with new initiatives like we're seeing with traditionally kid products like Play-Doh, with what we're doing with the new product called Blooms, which is an ability for older consumers to create beautiful bouquets of flowers to build and display. I think that build and display dynamic, that play being more than just something for kids, collection being more than something for just nerds like myself, but much broader. I think that's powering the entire play industry right now. And as a power trend that I don't think is going to go away anytime soon.

**Dani Burger** (4:06)
Can I just say, I think nerds is better than kid olds. Like I would rather be referred to as a nerd than a kindle. I'm just going to put that out there, Chris.
Look, when it comes to maybe some of the more traditional toys, the things that rely on imports, I know this industry has had a lot of volatility. And at the moment, the White House has been relying on Section 122 tariffs that expires this Friday. How are you and the team thinking about that expiration? Are you looking at any hedging options, bracing for anything in particular, especially as you start to lock in holiday shipments?