Pokémon cards aren’t just childhood collectibles anymore. Some owners are increasingly treating the popular 1990s and 2000s trading cards like alternative assets, with some of the rarest cards outperforming traditional benchmarks like the S&P 500 in recent years. During key periods like the pandemic boom and another surge in 2025, trading card indexes tracking Pokémon…
A giant inflatable Labubu toy floats on the water at Victoria Harbour on October 25, 2025 in Hong Kong, China. Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images 28-year-old Rebecca Zhou, born in China’s Sichuan province, owns an assortment of Moomin merchandise — bags, mugs, and figurines featuring the white hippo-looking cartoon character from Finland…
The original six American Girl historical characters — Kirsten Larson, Samantha Parkington, Molly McIntire, Felicity Merriman, Addy Walker and Josefina Montoya — are displayed at the brand’s flagship store, Luke Fountain The flagship American Girl Place at Rockefeller Center in New York City feels frozen in time. The air smells faintly of vanilla. Young girls…
The gap is widening between rival toy makers Hasbro and Mattel — thanks in part to a 30-year-old trading card game. The toy giants have flip-flopped dominance in the space for decades, jockeying for the most coveted master licenses to put new fan favorites — Disney princesses and “Star Wars” characters among them — on…
Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard and Gaten Matarazzo star in Season 5 of Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” Courtesy: Netflix The original concept for what would become “Stranger Things” was rejected by more than 15 studios before landing a spot on Netflix’s roster of original programming. A decade later, the show created, written and directed by…
The Mattel, Inc. logo is displayed outside the headquarters of the toy company known for products including Barbie and Hot Wheels in El Segundo, California on June 8, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images Barbie-maker Mattel posted third-quarter results after the market close on Tuesday that missed analysts’ expectations as ongoing global…
A Magic: The Gathering card is displayed on a mobile phone during a weekly tournament at the Uncommons hobby shop in New York, U.S., on Thursday, June 27, 2019. Mark Abramson | Bloomberg | Getty Images Toy and gaming giant Hasbro topped Wall Street expectations for the fiscal second quarter as strength in its digital…
The odds of a recession may be falling, but states appear to be betting that corporate leaders are still nervous. An analysis of all 50 states’ economic development marketing efforts — part of CNBC’s annual America’s Top States for Business study — finds that a strong economy is the most frequently mentioned selling point to…
