How does LEGO’s 2024 performance compare to its biggest competitors?

The LEGO Group saw sales skyrocket in 2024, but how does its performance compare with other leading brands in the toy industry?

Double-digit growth is the banner slogan behind the LEGO Group’s 2024 financial results, with revenue climbing by 13% year-on-year and sales shooting up by 12% compared to 2023. Operating profit jumped 10% to DKK 18.7bn (£2.1bn), while net profit increased by 5% total thanks to the company’s continued long-term investments.

These are healthy numbers for a brand that says it’s ‘outpacing’ the toy market – but how do they compare specifically to the LEGO Group’s biggest competitors in the toy industry, Hasbro and Mattel? Let’s dig into their respective financial results from 2024 to find out…

LEGO vs. Hasbro 2024 financial results

Hasbro announced its financial results for 2024 on February 20, and they didn’t make for pleasant reading for anyone invested in this publicly-traded company. Revenue for 2024 was down 17% on 2023, and even when taking into account its sale of entertainment company eOne (and resulting losses), revenue was still down 7% year-on-year. Consumer product sales for 2024 declined 12% in total.

The company apparently attributes much of this performance to the holiday shopping season in the fourth quarter of the year, which saw revenue drop by 15% compared to 2023. But it wasn’t all bad news: Hasbro’s digital and licensed gaming revenue jumped by 22% in 2024, reaching £364m in total – with £87m alone coming from Monopoly Go.

Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks has since announced a ‘Playing to Win’ initiative to steer the company back towards profitability by 2027. In an interesting parallel to the LEGO Group’s push into the 18+ market, Hasbro is aiming to broaden the appeal of its brands to teens and adults – something we’ll also see this year from Mattel’s Brick Shop, as both of the LEGO Group’s biggest competitors seek to emulate the Danish brand’s success.

LEGO vs. Mattel 2024 financial results

Mattel had a slightly better 2024 than Hasbro, particularly in the final quarter of the year, but still saw net sales decline by 1% overall – reaching £4.16bn total. The company’s financial results statement reveals that Barbie, Baby Gear & Power Wheels sales were all down worldwide, offset slightly by Hot Wheels racing off in the other direction. Action figure and building set sales increased in the US but decreased in international markets.

Its performance is pretty much in line with wider global toy industry trends. According to Circana’s Retail Tracking Service, toy sales declined by 0.6% on average in 2024 across 12 global markets (the UK, US, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, France and Germany). That flatlining was seen as a ‘stabilisation’ of the market after a 7% decline in 2023.

What’s interesting in Circana’s report is that building set sales were up 14% in 2024, coming out ahead of other categories in both growth and sales – with the LEGO Group’s Botanical Collection leading the charge as the ‘top gaining property’. That may help to explain why Mattel is hoping to revitalise its own construction toy division, which currently includes Mega Construx (formerly Mega Bloks), with its Brick Shop.

Mattel’s Roberto Stanichi said at Nuremberg Toy Fair in February that Mattel Brick Shop will offer ‘building sets that surpass builders’ expectations, with elevated designs and authentic details at accessible price points’, speaking not-so-subtly to the rising price of LEGO sets. The first products are currently scheduled to drop in May, but they’re still shrouded in mystery at the time of writing.

Toy industry brand performance 2023 vs. 2024: sales/revenue*

*The LEGO Group and Hasbro report revenue while Mattel reports sales

Whether Hasbro or Mattel’s plans to claw back market share from the LEGO Group will succeed remains to be seen, but watch this space. It’s an intriguing time to be paying attention to the wider toy industry…

Read next…

• LEGO posts record profits in ‘exceptional’ 2024
• LEGO closed more retail stores than it opened in 2024
• Brick Fanatics talks LEGO’s 2024 financial results on the BBC

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