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How Funko Has Changed Toys' Story With Collectibles
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Collectibles have emerged as a major driver of the toy market, with Funko, Inc. (FNKO - Free Report) leading from the front. The toymaker, which went public in November 2017, has been reshaping the concept of merchandising for a while now. The company came into limelight with its bobble-head figurines, better known as Funko Pop figurines.
Ever since Funko went public, it has been innovating with a wide range of products. Today, Funko, has licenses for an array of products that appeal to not only casual fans but hardcore collectors as well. Understandably, the popularity of Funko’s bobble-head and other merchandises today is making franchises come to Funko for licensing their products.
What Makes Funko Popular?
Although Funko has been there for 19 years now, the company came to limelight only a few years ago. Today, the company is known for its pop figurines that were introduced by the company’s CEO Brian Mariotti in 2010. Known as Funko Force 2.0, the line’s debut had a blue Batman, metallic blue Batman, a metallic Black Batgirl and a glow-in-the-dark green Lantern.
Since then the company has continuously innovated, adding a long list of licensed pop figurines and bobble-heads along with a wide range of merchandises. Today, Funko has licenses with more than 450 properties that include figurines of famous pop icons from DC, Marvel, Game of Thrones, Dragon Ball Z to Harry Potter, Star Wars and Fallout. So much so, that it also came up with figures of President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during the last presidential election.
And innovation continues with the toymaker coming up with a line of multigrain cereals named FunkO’s in July. Each box contains a unique pop culture character like Batman and Freddy Kruegar. This comes at a time when cereal sales are on the decline but Funko has been selling like hot cake. This popularity can be attributed to Funko’s continuous innovation and pricing.
Can Rivals Catch Up With Funko?
It goes without saying that Funko has changed the entire merchandising ballgame in the last few years. Streaming giants like Netflix, Inc. (NFLX - Free Report) and Amazon.com, Inc.’s (AMZN - Free Report) Amazon Prime has given people unprecedented ease of access to media, resulting in an increasing number of people connecting with pop culture icons.
Funko is taking advantage of this by licensing the use of hundreds of properties from a huge list of content providers. Merchandising, traditionally, was restricted within the content providers or a limited number of players. Netflix has been trying to explore the merchandising space of late and is fast expanding its presence.
Toymakers, Hasbro, Inc. (HAS - Free Report) and Mattel, Inc. (MAT - Free Report) have been into merchandising long before Funko. The Walt Disney Company (DIS) has been merchandising its franchises for years now. However, Funko seems to have taken the lead, with 70% of its sales coming from Pop brand in 2017.
Will Funko Put Up an Impressive Earnings Report?
Having licenses with more than 450 properties and a zeal for continuous innovation, the company undoubtedly is way ahead in the race. This is likely to have a positive impact on its third-quarter earnings too. Funko has already delivered an average three-quarter positive earnings surprise of 232.22%.
This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company is scheduled to report on Nov 8. Funko has surpassed earnings estimates in each of the trailing three quarters. Companies with a positive earnings surprise are more likely to positively surprise in the future. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Also, the company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 86.5%, way ahead of the industry’s gain of 6.6%. At the same time, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year increased 7.8% in the last 90 days.
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%. And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
Image: Bigstock
How Funko Has Changed Toys' Story With Collectibles
Collectibles have emerged as a major driver of the toy market, with Funko, Inc. (FNKO - Free Report) leading from the front. The toymaker, which went public in November 2017, has been reshaping the concept of merchandising for a while now. The company came into limelight with its bobble-head figurines, better known as Funko Pop figurines.
Ever since Funko went public, it has been innovating with a wide range of products. Today, Funko, has licenses for an array of products that appeal to not only casual fans but hardcore collectors as well. Understandably, the popularity of Funko’s bobble-head and other merchandises today is making franchises come to Funko for licensing their products.
What Makes Funko Popular?
Although Funko has been there for 19 years now, the company came to limelight only a few years ago. Today, the company is known for its pop figurines that were introduced by the company’s CEO Brian Mariotti in 2010. Known as Funko Force 2.0, the line’s debut had a blue Batman, metallic blue Batman, a metallic Black Batgirl and a glow-in-the-dark green Lantern.
Since then the company has continuously innovated, adding a long list of licensed pop figurines and bobble-heads along with a wide range of merchandises. Today, Funko has licenses with more than 450 properties that include figurines of famous pop icons from DC, Marvel, Game of Thrones, Dragon Ball Z to Harry Potter, Star Wars and Fallout. So much so, that it also came up with figures of President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during the last presidential election.
And innovation continues with the toymaker coming up with a line of multigrain cereals named FunkO’s in July. Each box contains a unique pop culture character like Batman and Freddy Kruegar. This comes at a time when cereal sales are on the decline but Funko has been selling like hot cake. This popularity can be attributed to Funko’s continuous innovation and pricing.
Can Rivals Catch Up With Funko?
It goes without saying that Funko has changed the entire merchandising ballgame in the last few years. Streaming giants like Netflix, Inc. (NFLX - Free Report) and Amazon.com, Inc.’s (AMZN - Free Report) Amazon Prime has given people unprecedented ease of access to media, resulting in an increasing number of people connecting with pop culture icons.
Funko is taking advantage of this by licensing the use of hundreds of properties from a huge list of content providers. Merchandising, traditionally, was restricted within the content providers or a limited number of players. Netflix has been trying to explore the merchandising space of late and is fast expanding its presence.
Toymakers, Hasbro, Inc. (HAS - Free Report) and Mattel, Inc. (MAT - Free Report) have been into merchandising long before Funko. The Walt Disney Company (DIS) has been merchandising its franchises for years now. However, Funko seems to have taken the lead, with 70% of its sales coming from Pop brand in 2017.
Will Funko Put Up an Impressive Earnings Report?
Having licenses with more than 450 properties and a zeal for continuous innovation, the company undoubtedly is way ahead in the race. This is likely to have a positive impact on its third-quarter earnings too. Funko has already delivered an average three-quarter positive earnings surprise of 232.22%.
Funko, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Funko, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Funko, Inc. Quote
This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company is scheduled to report on Nov 8. Funko has surpassed earnings estimates in each of the trailing three quarters. Companies with a positive earnings surprise are more likely to positively surprise in the future. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Also, the company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 86.5%, way ahead of the industry’s gain of 6.6%. At the same time, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year increased 7.8% in the last 90 days.
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%. And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
See Them Free>>