New Hasbro CEO Says Company to Focus on ‘Fewer Big Opportunities’

The continued post-pandemic popularity of Hasbro’s tabletop games alongside sustained growth of its digital gaming franchise and new TV and film partnerships, marked the ongoing turnaround at the country’s largest toy maker by sales and market value Tuesday (April 19).

This, as the $13 billion Rhode Island-based company announced its earnings for the three months ending March 27, a period that marked the first quarterly results under the direction of new CEO Chris Cocks, who took the helm in late February following the surprise passing of former Hasbro lead Brian Goldner in October.

“Since taking over as CEO, our team has commenced a comprehensive review of our strategy and operations,” Cocks told analysts and investors on the company’s earnings call.

“A major theme of this effort is focus and scale; focusing on fewer bigger opportunities and [then] scaling those with reinvestment to drive profitable growth and enhanced shareholder return,” the 48-year-old executive who previously headed the company’s Dungeons & Dragons franchise since 2016 added.

That last part — enhanced shareholder returns — is proving to be a tricky situation for Cocks, who is not only trying to reverse a slump that has seen shares of Hasbro fall over 15% so far this year (compared to a 7% decline for the S&P 500 and a 6% increase by smaller rival Mattel), the maker of Play Dough and My Little Pony is also embroiled in a proxy fight that is looking to shake up the company’s board and spin-off its digital operations.

Read more: Hasbro Activist Investor Alta Fox Wants New Board Members, Wizards of the Coast Spinoff

While the company has defended its existing executive leadership team and strategic review process, it is clearly facing pressure from long-term investors who are dismayed by the fact that the stock is back to where it was in January 2017.

Playing a Bored Game

With that in mind, Cocks and his team are trying extra hard to keep customers and investors from getting bored, as the company looks to leverage its existing franchises while also nurturing new ones.

Excluding the sale of its music business last summer, Hasbro said its comparable Q1 revenues in its remaining five businesses were up 19% to $1.1 billion, roughly half of which came from its long-standing “Franchise Brands,” such as Magic: The Gathering, Peppa Pig and Transformers.

At the same time, Hasbro said its Partner Brands, which include toy deals with Marvel, Star Wars, Fortnite, and Ghostbusters, rose 10%, while its Wizards of the Coast & Digital Gaming segment rose 9%.

“What we can say is, traditionally the Q1 is one of our smallest quarters,” Cocks said. “We have a fantastic lineup coming up in the following quarters, along with a great [TV and film] entertainment lineup,” Cocks said, characterizing the positive upswing and improving trends the company expects as the year goes on.

According to Cynthia Williams, who was recruited from Microsoft’s Xbox business in February to become president of Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming division, the toymaker’s upcoming calendar will be busy.

“One thing I’d say is we still have additional [game] sets we’re going to be releasing this year,” Williams told investors. “Two of those will be in the second quarter, which will be our biggest quarter of the year.”