Pop Mart shares sink 22% on doubts firm can grow past Labubu

Published Wed, Mar 25, 2026 · 01:48 PM — Updated Wed, Mar 25, 2026 · 04:07 PM

[HONG KONG] Pop Mart International Group shares tumbled nearly 22 per cent after the company posted full-year revenue growth still largely reliant on sales of Labubu, disappointing investors counting on other franchises to sustain its success.

Revenue surged 185 per cent to 37.1 billion yuan (S$6.9 billion) in 2025, narrowly missing the 38 billion yuan consensus, the Chinese pop toy maker reported on Wednesday (Mar 25). Net income climbed 309 per cent to 12.8 billion yuan, slightly exceeding the forecast of 12.6 billion yuan.

Pop Mart’s second-half revenue growth likely missed expectations of institutional investors, with a sharp fourth-quarter slowdown fuelling “concern on the durability” of its top franchises, said Jeff Zhang, an analyst at Morningstar. He cited a reduction in the dividend payout ratio to 25 per cent in 2025 from 35 per cent in 2024 as “another negative.”

Pop Mart has leaned on the global appeal of Labubu, the snaggle-toothed monster doll that has become a worldwide collectible phenomenon and remains its primary growth driver.

The company is now seeking to diversify its intellectual property portfolio and sustain momentum through new releases, positioning emerging characters such as Twinkle Twinkle as standalone draws with their own fan bases rather than alternatives to Labubu.

“Pop Mart has more than just Labubu,” chief executive officer Wang Ning said in a post-earnings call, seeking to reassure the market. He acknowledged the strain of meeting soaring expectations, likening scaling the business at this pace to “much like a rookie racing driver suddenly thrown onto an F1 circuit – both the driver and the car are under immense pressure.”

The company expects at least 20 per cent sales growth in 2026, he said.

Even so, Labubu remains central to performance. The Labubu-led Monsters series generated 14.2 billion yuan in revenue in 2025, beating estimates of 12.5 billion yuan. The character accounted for about 40 per cent of total revenue last year, up from 23 per cent in 2024.

While heavily marketed Skullpanda topped estimates with revenue of 3.5 billion yuan, other high-profile figures including Crybaby and Molly posted weaker-than-expected sales.

The performance of Molly – the company’s original flagship character – underscores the challenge of sustaining legacy franchises, with revenue of 2.9 billion yuan well below the 4.6 billion yuan consensus.

“After a stellar 2025, we believe 2026 could shape up to be more of a transition year with more normalised growth,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Peter Tang and Monica Si wrote in a post-earnings note.

Labubu went viral in 2025, helping propel Beijing-based Pop Mart into overseas markets including the US. But as supply increased and counterfeit products spread, resale premiums narrowed and the frenzy cooled.

The company is now betting that other characters can extend the collectible boom sparked by Labubu, testing its ability to evolve into a durable IP powerhouse capable of competing with players such as Sanrio, the owner of Hello Kitty.

Concerns persist, however, that the Labubu craze could fade, weighing on the company’s Hong Kong-listed shares since their August peak. In response, Pop Mart has stepped up its promotion of other characters while seeking to reignite interest in Labubu through a planned movie with Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.

Pop Mart said it was in the “expansion period” in the key Americas market, with a strategic focus on the US. Americas saw 42 stores added and surged 748 per cent for 6.8 billion yuan in revenue last year, 18.3 per cent of Pop Mart’s total. BLOOMBERG