Wizards Of The Coast Revenue Lower In Q4, Affecting 2024
Wizards of the Coast's revenue for Q4 2024 declined compared to the previous year's Q4. This decline in revenue is, allegedly, because there was one fewer Magic: The Gathering set that quarter. However, the decline in Q4 has also affected the full year's revenue growth rate. On the brighter side, Hasbro predicts growth for Wizards in 2025.
According to Hasbro's final revenue report for 2024, which covers the Q4 earnings as well as provides a report for the entire 2024 fiscal year, Magic sales were down all of 1% for 2024 compared to 2023, with overall tabletop sales lagging by 3%. This affected Hasbro's overall earnings for 2024 relative to 2023. ICv2, a website that covered this, made this assessment about the numbers and how they affected the year for Wizards of the Coast, as well as Hasbro's Digital Gaming sector:
Sales in the Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment were down 7%, due to the lap of the Lord of the Rings holiday set, to $339.0 million in Q4 2024 from $363.2 million in Q4 2023. Magic: The Gathering sales (which also include digital revenues) were down 19% for the quarter to $208.4 million from $258.3 million in Q4 2023.
However, this does not necessarily bode poorly for Wizards of the Coast. As it stands, the Hasbro branch is due to see growth in 2025. Hasbro execs predict a growth rate of 5-7% in the corporate realms of Wizards and Hasbro Digital Gaming. If this occurs, it may be on the backs of successful Universes Beyond properties in Final Fantasy, Spider-Man, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks even claimed in this conference that Final Fantasy may end up being the best-selling Magic set of all time. A bold claim, to be sure. However, we have seen similar outcomes from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth, so there is precedent behind it.
What do you think about this news? Will the new Universes Beyond properties give Wizards of the Coast the boost in revenue that Hasbro wishes to see? Or will the sets falter where they stand? Financial gurus or not, let us know your 2025 fiscal predictions in the comments below!
