Labubu Craze Sends Pop Mart Profits Soaring

Chinese toy company Pop Mart, known for its wildly popular brand Labubu dolls, is reporting a more than 750% profit increase in the first half of 2025. The Beijing-based company expects its profits to grow at least 350% and its revenues to more than triple. Pop Mart cites two attributes for its current market cap of over $40 billion: effective cost management and growing international consumer recognition of the brand.

Long queues and sold-out shelves are a testament to the Labubu dolls gaining international notoriety as oddball, elf-like creatures with sharp, shark-like teeth. The company is recognized for selling these toys in "blind boxes," which hide what is inside, and only upon opening do customers find out which toy they received. The blind box sales strategy has enhanced demand for their product, but also attracted criticism for encouraging compulsive buying and gambling-type behavior.

Along with the Labubu toy line, Pop Mart has grown meaningfully since 2019, the launch of the Labubu toy line. Currently its footprint consists of over 2,000 retail stores and vending machines. Pop Mart's stock price has increased approximately 600% this year, after becoming publicly traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2020. Approximately 40% of total revenue in 2024 emerged from international sales.