Premiums, price swings, scalpers and fakes.
Summaries are AI-generated
Tash, founded by UC Berkeley students, has raised a pre-seed round and joined Y Combinator Summer 2026. The platform builds investment-grade card portfolios and indexes, targeting accredited investors initially with plans to serve retail investors later.
A federal judge dismissed a 13-count antitrust class action on Sept. 29, ruling plaintiffs failed to prove personal harm. Fanatics' acquisitions and exclusive deals were not substantively reviewed in this ruling.
POP MART's Americas revenue grew 748.4% in 2025 but fell 16.5% in the first half of 2026, signaling the end of online traffic dividends. The company plans a California headquarters to shift from distribution to localization.
China Post Securities report highlights trading cards' dual value. China's collection card market hit 32.1 billion yuan in 2024, up 152.8%, expected to reach 45.5 billion yuan by 2029. Kayou holds a 71.1% market share in the country's trading card sector based on 2024 GMV.
潮玩行业经历集体收缩，潮玩星球、暴蒙、漫库等品牌关店，GOODSLOVE一个月内关闭12家门店。LABUBU出现破发现象，行业面临单店盈利模型跑不通的挑战。
While veteran collectors worry that the convenience of digital cards might impact the scarcity perception and pricing mechanism of physical cards, the market reality shows that physical cards remain resilient. On February 16, 2026, a 1998 Illustrator Pikachu card sold for $16.492 million at a professional auction, setting a new high for similar items.
POP MART reported strong 2025 revenue and profit growth, with the LABUBU series contributing nearly 40% of total revenue. Despite the solid performance, the stock price has fluctuated violently due to cooling secondary market prices, stretched valuations, and concerns about the sustainability of the trend. The company is expanding overseas stores and cultivating other IPs to reduce reliance on a single hit character.
The SAMR released six cases of illegal blind box operations, including false advertising and gambling violations. Reporters noted many cases involved livestreams with undisclosed secret probabilities and illegal gameplay like number stepping.
The '2026 Xianyu Card Ecosystem Observation' shows card trading volume on the platform grew nearly 20% from January to July 2026, surpassing anime merch and designer toys in scale.
POP MART reported 2026 H1 revenue of 17.17 billion yuan and net profit of 5.04 billion yuan, falling short of analyst expectations for 19.98 billion yuan and 6.64 billion yuan. The stock fell over 8% the next day, hitting a five-month low.
LABUBU's global popularity boosted POP MART's 2026 first-half revenue by 23.8%, with its THE MONSTERS series contributing 26% of total revenue. The article dissects the supply chain from IP development to manufacturing, logistics, and e-commerce, confirming business relationships with three listed companies: POP MART, Ecmoho, and Aoki Technology, while warning investors to distinguish between online rumors and actual performance impact.
Japan’s online marketplace Mercari saw its shares swing sharply after announcing a temporary listing ban on Pokémon’s 30th‑anniversary cards. The stock fell 6.4% on Wednesday, recovered 1.4% on Thursday, and jumped more than 4% on Friday, outpacing the Nikkei 225.
POP MART released its 2026 interim results on August 20, with revenue rising 23.8% to 17.173 billion yuan, while net profit growth slowed to 9.5% and gross margin stood at 69%.
China's designer toy market reached 168.9 billion yuan in 2024, yet over 155 stores closed in the first half of 2025, signaling a shift from overseas IP dependence to domestic content and market polarization.
POP MART reported 17.173 billion yuan in revenue for the first half of 2026, up 23.8%. Duan Yongping increased his stake and said the company's future matters more than public expectations, but公募 holdings fell and Goldman Sachs lowered the target price to 139.50 HKD.
POP MART reported 17.2 billion yuan in 26H1 revenue, up 24%, but overseas revenue fell 11%. THE MONSTERS (LABUBU) revenue dropped, while Twinkle Twinkle became the second-largest IP. Figure sales stagnated, with plush toys driving growth.
POP MART released its 2026 H1 report with 17.17 billion yuan revenue, up 23.8%. THE MONSTERS revenue fell 7.5% to 4.454 billion yuan. Vinyl product revenue reached 9.825 billion yuan, rising to 57.2% of total revenue. The company announced a 2-5 billion HKD share buyback plan, but the stock dropped over 8% and market cap fell below 200 billion HKD.
POP MART shares fell as much as 8.85% at the open, hitting a 5-month low. Morgan Stanley cut the target price from HK$214 to HK$203, citing lower-than-expected Q2 sales. The stock is currently down 3.5% at HK$148.2.
POP MART's Hong Kong stock fell as much as 8.85% intraday, hitting a 5-month low. Morgan Stanley cut the target price to HK$203 from HK$214, citing lower-than-expected Q2 sales but highlighting margin resilience.
POP MART released its 2026 interim report on August 20, with revenue of 17.173 billion yuan, up 23.8%, and net profit of 5.038 billion yuan, up 10.1%, both below market expectations. The company plans to repurchase 2-5 billion yuan in shares within six months, while overseas core market revenue declined and China region revenue grew 47.3%.
LABUBU's cooling popularity has slowed down POP MART's growth. Founder Wang Ning stated on the August 20 interim earnings call that the company is unlikely to meet its 20% revenue growth target for the year.
Mattel beat sales estimates in Q2 but missed profit targets, with margins squeezed by tariffs, marketing spend, and currency. Hasbro reported $1.12 billion in revenue, beating analyst expectations, driven by growth in WotC and Marvel licensing.
POP MART and Mixue Group debuted on the 2026 Fortune China 500, with POP MART ranking 393rd with $5.164 billion revenue. The Hang Seng Stock Connect Consumer ETF heavily invests in emotional consumption sectors like designer toys, with the sector currently at historically low valuations.
Blokees Group's stock has fallen from a historical high in June 2025, with a maximum drop of 74.51%. Despite solid fundamentals, the valuation is undergoing continuous repair due to slower new product launches, unlocking of restricted shares, and banks cutting target prices. The company is boosting confidence through share buybacks funded by its own cash reserves.
The LABUBU 'Retro Barbershop' series launched on June 25 at 10 PM. While the chase figure initially saw a resale premium of over 6x, several regular items dropped below the 159 yuan retail price within 30 minutes, a drop of more than 30%.
The LABUBU 'Retro Barbershop' series launched on June 25, with common items dropping below the retail price within 30 minutes, some by over 30%, while the secret item 'Mist White Noise' still commands a 4x premium.
The 'Retro Barbershop' series launched on June 25 with randoms at 159 yuan and a 1:72 secret ratio. Regulars like 'Rainy Afterglow' dropped to 100 yuan within 30 minutes, a 30% drop, while the secret 'Misty White Noise' rose to 855 yuan.
POP MART (09992.HK) shares fell 2.49% today. Citi and CLSA cut profit forecasts and target prices due to slowing overseas growth and margin pressure. Citi lowered the target price to HK$263, while CLSA cut it to HK$206.
On April 14, POP MART's stock rose over 8%, returning above HK$160 per share. Investor Deng Yaping voiced support and confirmed buying after the earnings report. Goldman Sachs' report highlights that the THE MONSTERS family, home to LABUBU, exceeded 10 billion yuan in revenue, and collab plush toys with Sanrio and FIFA sold out online.
High-end AI toy brand MOMOTOY launched three original IPs and a collaboration with author Rao Xueman at the 38th Shenzhen Toy Show, unveiled the world's first embodied AI automatic blind box vending machine, and announced strategic partnerships with JD Toys, KKday, TOP TOY, MINISO, and Apple.
