It’s official: the Disney princesses spent the holidays beating up on Barbie.
Hasbro’s shares soared to an all-time high Monday after it reported surprisingly strong sales of Disney princess dolls from franchises like “Frozen” and “Little Mermaid.”
The news startled Wall Street, which just over a week ago had sent shares of Mattel — Hasbro’s bigger archrival — tumbling 9 percent on disappointing demand for Barbie dolls.
Hasbro won the lucrative contract for Disney princess dolls from Mattel in 2014. It started selling them last year.
Hasbro shares surged 17 percent, to a intraday record, before closing up 14 percent, at $94.31, on Monday. Meanwhile, Mattel inched up 10 cents, to $25.92.
Hasbro said revenue from toys in the girls category jumped 52 percent in the fourth quarter. Global sales of its board games also rose 11 percent, driven by demand for its franchises “Magic: The Gathering” and “Pie Face.”
Hasbro likewise said it benefited from strong demand for dolls based on DreamWorks’ “Trolls” movie, which was released in November.
Hasbro is the first toymaker to report strong quarterly results despite a weak holiday season.
Mattel, the No. 1 US toymaker, posted disappointing quarterly sales and profit in January, citing a “significant US toy category slowdown in the holiday period.”
Hasbro’s revenue rose 11 percent to $1.63 billion.
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