Hasbr-uh-oh

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
The only thing I can really hold against Goldner is him betting so much on the Bayverse, which made bank at first but ended up hurting the franchise in the long run. And I don't think he was even the CEO when Hasbro signed the initial deal with the devil that led to Bay getting to direct the first movie.
That was Steven Spielberg’s fault.
Michael Bay was recommended by film producer Steven Spielberg PERSONALLY. Spielberg even went out of his way to convince Bay to take on Transformers.
 

Sabrblade

Continuity Nutcase
Citizen
And we can't even blame Bay for giving us mute Bumblebee. That was all Spielberg, after he originally wanted none of the Transformers to speak.
 

Andrusi

Lun!
Citizen
They really should be searching for a new CEO. The challenges aren't all Cocks' fault, but it's clear he doesn't have enough of a plan to deal with any of it.
So what you're saying is, you think Cocks should be cut.
 

Dekafox

Fabulously Foxy Dragon
Citizen
Apparently Hasbro also recently announced that it would be paying out some dividends on its stocks now, after all this. It did get them a few dollar bump on stocks.
 

Darth_Prime

Well-known member
Citizen
Its frustrating when, for example today, I saw Bombshell on the peg for $25 USD. It feels like just a few years ago this same figure was $10-12. They are out pricing the collectors. Just my opinion.
 

Platypus Prime

Well-known member
Citizen
My own experience is exactly that. I'm priced out. I've had to reduce my 'want' list massively, between the higher prices and diminished returns for them, my only 'big want' next year so far is Origins Wheeljack. And that's mostly because my old RTS one is rickety and Origins has new features I like, interacting with stuff I already have. Like Deathsaurus, it adds to my existing setup, it doesn't start a new one.

And that's a big problem. A company needs people to buy into 'new'. If you can't generate excitement with a new product, it's a bad sign for your business and more and more I see on many boards "That's nice, but...". That's just not healthy for a company.
 

LBD "Nytetrayn"

Broke the Matrix
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen

Dekafox

Fabulously Foxy Dragon
Citizen
Apparently the cuts didn't help enough in the short term....


tl;dr Stock prices are already back down, analysts moved them from Buy to Neutral, and they may not have enough free cash flow to cover the dividend payments(per those same analysts, which is probably related to the downgrade), so they'll have to cut dividends(which may be the smart move but may hurt the stock a bit) or go further into debt to cover it. All short-term stuff, so they could still potentially claw their way back into a good position.
 

Dekafox

Fabulously Foxy Dragon
Citizen
Q4 report is out. 20% drop, and they expect a bad 2024 already.


WotC revenue is supposed to dip, though it probably doesn't help that they pushed the 6th ed D&D books to the end of the year, with the Monster Manual happening next year. Toys and Games volume apparently dropped 19% overall though... don't know the breakdown of how much of that is Transformers.
 
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Dekafox

Fabulously Foxy Dragon
Citizen
Probably more Marvel and Star Wars not hitting targets then, I'd hazard a guess.
 

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
Probably more Marvel and Star Wars not hitting targets then, I'd hazard a guess.
If my Ollies is, in any way, indicative of broader issues...I'd heartily agree. Last time I was there, they STILL had a full end cap of Marvel Legends figures, mostly from Age of Apocalypse and the live action stuff. Even Marvels, which hadn't even been released when I first saw the wave at Ollies. Star Wars Mission Fleet was getting a heavy dump with the end of the line, featuring items I don't think even got full retail roll out.
 

Spin-Out

i cant take it anymore im at my limit
Citizen
there hasn't been a star wars movie in five years, nobody really gives a jive about the MCU anymore, and kids haven't given a jive about cape comics in decades. Makes sense to me.
 

Sciflyer

Two arms and one smile
Citizen
I hate to say it, but this is the most useful my degree has ever been.

You said it. My sociology major taught me how to interpret data and that's pretty much all that I use it for. I mean, I like sociology, I just don't use most of what I learned in my 9-to-5 gig.
 

The Phazer

Well-known member
Citizen

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
The movie line shipped - that's a one off (or at least occassional factor yoy. If that accounts for 40% of sales then the line being up 25% isn't actually all that good and there would be a signifcant drop next year. We'll just have to see.
We got a movie line this year as well, with a greater Q4 focus at that. That's on top of Hasbro's 40th initiatives that'll probably goose sales a bit. We'll probably not see a significant softening of Transformers brand revenues until the end of 2025.
 


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