Chinese toymaker Pop Mart International Group Ltd. anticipates a substantial increase in revenue and profit for the first half of 2025, boosted by the popularity of its Labubu plush toys.

The company announced on July 15, 2025, that it expects profits to rise by at least 350% and revenue to increase by at least 200% for the period ending June 30.

Labubu, a plush toy designed as a monster with pointy ears and serrated teeth, has gained international attention.

In June, a life-sized Labubu toy was sold for US$150,000 at an auction in Beijing.

Pop Mart credits its profit increase to growing global demand for its products, along with cost optimization and stricter expense controls.

The company’s valuation has risen to over US$40 billion. Its shares listed in Hong Kong have increased by 588% over the past year.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Collectible toy crazes follow historical boom-bust patterns

Pop Mart’s Labubu phenomenon follows a well-established pattern in collectible toy history stretching back decades.

Similar frenzies occurred with Cabbage Patch Kids (1983), which created holiday shopping chaos when 40 million were sold in just three years, and Furby (1998), which sold over 40 million units in a similar timeframe 1.

The auction price of $150,000 for a human-sized Labubu mirrors other collectible market peaks, like the $95,000 paid for a rare Hubley Monkey Cage Wagon from the 1920s and $47,500 for a pre-war Tipp & Co. Mickey Mouse motorcycle toy 2.

Historically, toy crazes that generate mainstream attention often experience rapid value increases followed by market corrections, as collectors’ attention shifts to newer trends, a pattern repeated from the tin toys of the 1880s through action figures of the 1980s 3.

Pop Mart’s heavy reliance on a single character (Labubu) creates potential vulnerability similar to past single-IP toy companies, with analysts specifically cautioning about sustainability in this trend-driven market 4.

2️⃣ Pop Mart’s profit margins outpace both toy industry and tech giants

Pop Mart’s extraordinary 67% gross profit margin represents one of the highest profitability rates for any global Chinese company, significantly outperforming both traditional toy manufacturers and technology giants.