Cuộc họp công bố kết quả kinh doanh Quý 3/2026 của JAKKS Pacific (JAKK): Doanh thu tăng 20%, EPS điều chỉnh đạt 2,68 USD

JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK) đã báo cáo doanh thu thuần quý 3 năm 2026 đạt 254 triệu USD, tăng 20% so với cùng kỳ năm ngoái. Sự tăng trưởng tại Bắc Mỹ, các sản phẩm Disney và các dòng sản phẩm liên quan đến Nintendo đã hỗ trợ EBITDA điều chỉnh và EPS điều chỉnh tăng cao hơn, trong khi doanh số quốc tế suy yếu trong quý.

Các điểm chính

• Doanh thu thuần quý 3 năm 2026 tăng 20% lên 254 triệu USD, trong khi doanh thu từ đầu năm đến nay tăng 13%.
• Doanh số tại Bắc Mỹ tăng 28% trong quý và tăng 14% từ đầu năm đến nay. Doanh số quốc tế giảm 4% trong quý 3 nhưng vẫn tăng 7% từ đầu năm đến nay.
• Biên lợi nhuận gộp tăng nhẹ lên 32,1% từ mức 32,0%, và EBITDA điều chỉnh tăng lên 44,4 triệu USD từ mức 36,5 triệu USD.
• EPS điều chỉnh tăng lên 2,68 USD từ mức 1,80 USD. EPS điều chỉnh từ đầu năm đến nay đạt 2,81 USD, so với mức 1,79 USD ở cùng kỳ năm ngoái.
• Doanh số mảng Đồ chơi/Sản phẩm tiêu dùng tăng 23% trong quý 3, dẫn đầu bởi Disney, Super Mario Galaxy và mảng kinh doanh Nintendo cốt lõi của JAKKS Pacific.
• Ban lãnh đạo cho biết công ty vẫn đi đúng kế hoạch cả năm và đang xây dựng danh mục sản phẩm cho năm 2027 xoay quanh các đợt phát hành sản phẩm giải trí lớn, mở rộng quốc tế và các sáng kiến mới về IP nhập vai cũng như dòng sản phẩm dành cho người sưu tầm.

Dữ liệu tài chính quan trọng

Mô hình FOB chiếm hơn 75% doanh số trong 9 tháng đầu năm 2026. Ban lãnh đạo lưu ý rằng một số doanh số quý 4 đã dịch chuyển sang quý 3 do thời điểm giao hàng theo mô hình này.

Kết quả kinh doanh và hoạt động

Bắc Mỹ là động lực tăng trưởng khu vực chính, với doanh số tăng 28% trong quý 3. Doanh thu quốc tế giảm 4% sau nửa đầu năm tăng trưởng mạnh mẽ, do mức tăng trưởng khiêm tốn ở châu Âu bị triệt tiêu bởi sự suy yếu tại các khu vực khác. Doanh số quốc tế vẫn tăng 7% từ đầu năm đến nay và ban lãnh đạo cho biết mảng kinh doanh này sẵn sàng cho một quý 4 vững chắc.

Doanh số mảng Búp bê, Nhập vai/Hóa trang tăng 29% trong quý và tăng 7% từ đầu năm đến nay. Disney Princess và Disney Frozen vượt kỳ vọng của ban lãnh đạo, trong khi doanh số bán lẻ tại điểm bán (POS) tại hai khách hàng lớn nhất của JAKKS Pacific tăng trưởng ở mức hai chữ số trong cả quý 3 và giai đoạn từ đầu năm đến nay.

Doanh số mảng Đồ chơi hành động & Dòng sản phẩm sưu tầm tăng 19%, nhờ sự hỗ trợ từ phim Super Mario Galaxy và danh mục Nintendo cốt lõi. Dữ liệu bán lẻ tại điểm bán so sánh gần như đi ngang so với các dự án kết hợp Sonic 3 và Sonic DC năm ngoái nhưng vẫn tăng ở mức một chữ số tầm trung từ đầu năm đến nay.

Tổng lượng hàng vận chuyển mảng Đồ chơi/Sản phẩm tiêu dùng tăng 23% trong quý 3 và tăng 13% từ đầu năm đến nay. Mảng kinh doanh Trang phục đạt doanh số 62 triệu USD trong quý và 111 triệu USD từ đầu năm đến nay, cao hơn một chút so với mức năm 2024. Nhu cầu được hỗ trợ bởi KPop Demon Hunters, Descendants 5 của Disney, Toy Story 5 của Pixar, Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog và Harry Potter.

JAKKS Pacific cũng đang mở rộng các sản phẩm dành cho người sưu tầm thông qua Doll Haus of Dread và phát triển các chương trình nhãn hàng riêng cho Walmart dưới thương hiệu My Sweet Love và My Life As. Ban lãnh đạo cho biết bộ sưu tập mới nhất đã gấp đôi số lượng niêm yết so với năm ngoái, với 3 sản phẩm mới xếp trong số 20 mặt hàng hàng đầu của JAKKS Pacific tại Walmart.

Triển vọng từ Ban lãnh đạo

Ban lãnh đạo cho biết JAKKS Pacific tiếp tục hoạt động theo đúng kế hoạch cho cả năm 2026 và kỳ vọng sẽ mang lại một năm tài chính có lợi nhuận, tạo ra dòng tiền và trả cổ tức. Chi phí bán hàng có khả năng vẫn ở mức cao hơn trong quý 4 khi công ty tăng cường hoạt động khuyến mãi.

Cho năm 2027, ban lãnh đạo đã nhấn mạnh Sonic the Hedgehog 4 vào tháng 3, bộ phim Simpsons mới vào tháng 9 và Frozen 3 vào tháng 11. Công ty cũng đang chuẩn bị một sáng kiến dài hạn trải dài từ anime, manga, VTuber đến các nghệ sĩ giải trí kỹ thuật số, với các đợt ra mắt đầu tiên dự kiến vào năm 2027.

Mở rộng quốc tế vẫn là một ưu tiên. JAKKS Pacific đang bổ sung nhân sự, năng lực phân phối và quyền cấp phép trên khắp EMEA, Mỹ Latinh và Đông Nam Á. Ban lãnh đạo kỳ vọng sự thâm nhập sâu hơn vào các kênh bán lẻ thứ cấp và hướng tới giá trị sẽ hỗ trợ tăng trưởng trong năm 2027 và 2028.

Rủi ro và các yếu tố cần theo dõi

• Giá nhựa cao hơn đang gây áp lực lên chi phí sản phẩm, trong khi giá dầu diesel tăng làm tăng chi phí vận tải đường biển và đường bộ.
• Hướng dẫn chính thức về thuế quan của Mỹ vẫn chưa được đưa ra, mặc dù ban lãnh đạo cho biết các cuộc thảo luận dường như đang đi theo hướng thuận lợi.
• Một số doanh số quý 4 đã chuyển sang quý 3 theo mô hình FOB, tạo ra sự biến động về thời điểm giữa các quý.
• Doanh số quốc tế giảm 4% trong quý 3 mặc dù vẫn duy trì mức tăng trưởng dương từ đầu năm đến nay.
• JAKKS Pacific không hỗ trợ đợt ra mắt đồ chơi giải trí lớn mới nào trong mùa lễ hội năm 2026, khiến các sản phẩm bán quanh năm và các thương hiệu hiện có trở nên quan trọng hơn đối với kết quả hoạt động trong ngắn hạn.

Điểm nổi bật trong phần Hỏi & Đáp với chuyên gia phân tích

Ban lãnh đạo đã xác định EMEA, Mỹ Latinh và Đông Nam Á là những cơ hội mở rộng quốc tế chính. Công ty đã bổ sung các kho hàng và trung tâm phân phối tại các thị trường bao gồm Ý, Tây Ban Nha, Đức, Anh và Rotterdam để cải thiện tốc độ giao hàng và hỗ trợ mở rộng phạm vi phủ sóng bán lẻ. Biên lợi nhuận quốc tế được mô tả là tương đương với ở Mỹ.

Về chiến lược cấp phép, ban lãnh đạo cho biết JAKKS Pacific đang trở nên chọn lọc hơn và tìm kiếm các tài sản bổ trợ cho các danh mục hiện có của mình. Mặc dù công ty đang mở rộng ở mảng đồ chơi sưu tầm và anime, công ty vẫn dự định duy trì sự tập trung vào các sản phẩm dành cho trẻ em từ 6 tháng đến 7 tuổi.

Ban lãnh đạo cho rằng việc thiếu đợt ra mắt sản phẩm giải trí lớn mới trong kỳ nghỉ lễ năm 2026 là do yếu tố thời điểm chứ không phải do giảm hoạt động cấp phép. Công ty kỳ vọng danh mục nội dung mạnh mẽ hơn vào năm 2027 sẽ bổ sung cho sự tăng trưởng từ các dòng sản phẩm cốt lõi, nhãn hàng riêng và các sản phẩm Disney bán chạy quanh năm.

Công ty xác nhận việc hoàn thuế quan đã hoàn thành. Ban lãnh đạo cũng cho biết JAKKS Pacific đang cung cấp hàng cho các địa điểm Toys “R” Us, mặc dù nhiều cửa hàng trong số khoảng 120 cửa hàng mở trong năm hiện là các cửa hàng pop-up.

Toàn văn Biên bản Cuộc họp Báo cáo Kết quả Kinh doanh

Toàn văn cuộc gọi công bố kết quả kinh doanh

Phần trình bày của ban lãnh đạo

Operator

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the JAKKS Pacific Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call with management, who will review financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2026. JAKKS issued its earnings press release earlier today. The earnings release and presentation slides related to today's call are available on the company's website in the Investors section.

On the call this afternoon are Stephen Berman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and John Kimble, Chief Financial Officer. Stephen will first provide an overview of the quarter and year-to-date. Along with the highlights of recent performance and current business trends. Then John will provide some additional comments about JAKKS Pacific's financial and operational results.

Mr. Berman will then return with comments about the balance of the year and beyond prior to opening the call for questions. [Operator Instructions]

Before we begin, the company would like to point out that any comments made about JAKK Pacific's future performance, events or circumstances include the -- sorry, the estimates of sales, margins and earnings and/or adjusted EBITDA in 2026, 2027 and beyond as well as any other forward-looking statements concerning 2026, 2027 and beyond are subject to safe harbor protection under federal securities laws.

These statements reflect the company's best judgment based on current market trends and conditions today and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements.

For details concerning these and other such risks and uncertainties, you should consult JAKKS most recent 10-K and 10-Q filings with the SEC as well as the company's other reports subsequently filed with the SEC from time to time.

In addition, today's comments by -- made by management will refer to non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted EBITDA and adjusted earnings per share. Unless stated otherwise, the most directly comparable GAAP financial metric has been reconciled to the associated non-GAAP financial measure within the company's earnings press release issued today or previously. As a reminder, this call is being recorded.

With that, I would like to turn the call over to Stephen Berman.

Stephen Berman

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us. We are roughly 2 months from the end of 2026 and feeling positive about our execution this year as well as feeling positive about the possibilities that lie ahead. Q3 shipping generated $254 million in net sales, a 20% increase over a prior year that featured delayed planogram sets and higher U.S. tariffs. Year-to-date, our sales are up 13% ahead of last year.

The FOB business model is alive and well, representing over 75% of sales for the first 9 months of the year. We're also seeing buying patterns return to pre-tariff quarterly seasonality. With much of the year now behind us, we are now working with customers to ensure solid sell-through and firming up plans for what we feel can be a great 2027. Although we're not supporting any new entertainment releases in the toy business this holiday season, growth was nonetheless driven by North America, which was up 28% in the quarter and is now plus 14% year-to-date.

International took a breath after a strong first half of the year. Europe was marginally up with the other regions in total down, netting out 4% down in the quarter, but international is still up 7% year-to-date and queued up for a solid fourth quarter.

Our Dolls, Role Play/Dress-Up business led the quarter with 29% growth and is now plus 7% year-to-date. We are seeing great growth here with our Disney business leading the way. Retail point-of-sale rates at our 2 largest accounts continue to track up in the double digits here, both in the quarter and year-to-date.

The Action Play & Collectibles division continued its strong year as well with a 19% growth in the quarter, driven by the success of the Super Mario Galaxy film and our core Nintendo evergreen business. Comparable POS data was roughly flat in the quarter as we compare against the Sonic 3 and Sonic DC crossover initiatives from last year. It's up mid-single digits year-to-date.

Overall, Toys/Consumer Products shipping was up 23% in the quarter and plus 13% year-to-date. So we feel we've done a solid job maximizing this year's opportunities for a robust holiday selling season. Our Costumes business had a solid quarter as it continues to recover from last year's disruptions. At $62 million in the quarter and $111 million year-to-date, we are tracking slightly ahead of 2024. Most of our U.S. accounts were up double digits this year, but we also are pleased with the traction we're seeing in Europe opening new accounts and generating more of a year-round business given the broad different selling opportunities there.

Having just returned from parts of Asia last week, I can speak firsthand about the challenges factories are facing from higher resin prices, putting pressure on product costs and higher diesel prices impacting the supply chain, both for ocean and land freight. We are prioritizing shipments and continuing to scrutinize our inventory management to mitigate these higher costs of doing business.

We have been working extremely closely with our manufacturing partners in Asia, allowing us to work through these various issues. Many of these factories have been partners of JAKKS for decades, and these long-standing relationships allow JAKKS to work expeditiously through these events when they occur.

I will now pass it over to John for some comments, after which I will come back and discuss some product initiatives and areas of focus moving forward. John?

John Kimble

Thank you, Stephen, and hi, everybody. It's an interesting quarter to report on here as the numbers have come together pretty much as we would have hoped they would. Some Q4 sales work their way into Q3 this year. But as an FOB-centric business, that will happen. It just means we'll get paid that much faster. In some respects, our fiscal year should almost be November through October, but we're not going to make that change and punish ourselves or anyone else with that exercise.

Overall, we continue to collectively color within the lines as it relates to the full year plan. It may not be the biggest or best this or that, but it's a considerably better year than 2025 and a really good year on the financial front as far as the printed results. As of late October, we are getting close to the finish line of delivering in 2026, a profitable cash-generating dividend-paying fiscal year. What is harder to measure and often communicate is that we're doing a better job seeing downfield and building towards a bigger and more efficient business.

Admittedly, there's always steady dialogue around potentially acquiring new licenses or launching new brands. But I think we are spending more time every quarter figuring out ways to run the business better, for lack of a better word. We are tuning the organization and our internal processes to increase efficiency and execute globally while maintaining a fast decision-making culture and hopefully some thoughtful precision around the financial implications.

People who think that the only value generated in a particular year is reflected in that year's financial statements don't really understand how businesses like this function. And although I felt 2025 as a very productive year despite its short-term financial challenges, I think you're starting to see some of the financial results this year and next. And ideally, we can keep accelerating this momentum. 20% higher sales delivered 20% more gross margin dollars, so we're pleased with that.

As a reminder, there isn't really a lot of gross margin scale to be had with our business. Tooling is a relatively tiny part of gross margins, and you don't get scale from royalty shortfalls unless you avoid them. As Stephen mentioned, there continues to be pressure on product and freight costs. Although the U.S. tariff discussion seems to be trending in a favorable direction, definitive guidance on that front is still pending. So we are navigating as best as we can and managing for dollars, as I've said before.

Gross margins held up well in the quarter at 32.1%, slightly higher than last year's 32%. Selling expenses were a bit higher in the quarter as they likely will be next as we dial up our promotional activity, particularly compared to last year when we were pulling back given sales volumes.

G&A costs were higher in aggregate but achieved some scale on higher volumes. We are continuously reevaluating overhead spending vendor by vendor to self-fund new initiatives and needs, but the overall higher cost of doing business is relatively unavoidable.

Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was $44.4 million, an improvement over $36.5 million in Q3 last year. That increases our 12-month trailing adjusted EBITDA to $45.7 million, up from $37.8 million last quarter.

Adjusted EPS for the quarter was $2.68. That compares favorably to $1.80 at this time last year. Year-to-date, we are at $2.81 versus $1.79 year-to-date last year.

On the balance sheet, we finished the quarter at $45 million in restricted and unrestricted cash compared to $28 million at the same time last year. Our inventory balance at the end of the quarter was $64 million compared to $71 million last year. That reflects a slightly higher balance outside the U.S. than it did at this time last year.

Lastly, the Board has approved the quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share. The dividend will be payable to shareholders of record as of November 27 and will be paid on December 28.

And now back to Stephen for some additional commentary.

Stephen Berman

Thank you, John. We're about a week away from Halloween, so we should lead off with the Costumes business. Retail buyers were energized after last year's disruption while also being optimistic about a robust film slate and Halloween falling on the weekend. To no one's surprise, KPop Demon Hunters has been in high demand and is a property that retailers are chasing. We have also seen a content lift from Disney's Descendants 5 and Pixar's Toy Story 5, while our core Super Mario line is also up considerably as it's been a very big year for Nintendo across all categories.

We're seeing growth in Sonic the Hedgehog as its robust content slate continues to increase the size of the Sonic franchise base. We're also seeing some solid demand for Harry Potter as Warner Bros. commemorates the 25th anniversary of the first theatrical release and begins the promotion of the HBO series that is launching this December.

We are steadily adding rights to our Costumes and Cosplay portfolio where it makes strategic sense, especially as licensors listen to the retailers' feedback that we are the vendor they prefer to work with.

Our Disney Princess and Disney Frozen business continues to have a strong year. They are exceeding our expectations more than anything else in our portfolio in 2026. Our Ages and Stages large doll lines, Style Collection role play toys and dress up are all performing well.

Key customers have been going deeper with our line this year, and it's paying off for both of us. We can also see where some lower retail price points compared to last year are coinciding with increased unit sales, which is great and bodes well going into the holiday season. We are also seeing very strong initial numbers for our Disney Princess Magical Light and Style Rapunzel. This toy from a large doll subcategory is on path to be a hot item this holiday season, so get yours early.

On the action figure front, we're continuing to support the Super Mario Galaxy film with retailers' exclusive products and out-of-aisle placement for key SKUs. Bowser Junior Paint Playset, Yum Yoshi! and Donkey Kong Playset are the key drivers that we are supporting with paid media.

The film has been available on Peacock TV since late July and will debut on Netflix in early December to further extend its reach. As mentioned last quarter, we are continuing to celebrate Sonic's 35th anniversary with a variety of products and special packaging. Among the toys we have developed, the Giant Metal Sonic versus Sonic Playset launched in Q3 and is featured at retailers globally and in holiday gift guides. You can find the commercials online to get a better sense of the fun factor in this toy.

And obviously, we'll have more to say about Sonic next quarter as we are closer to the March 2027 theatrical release of Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Fashion dolls have played an important role in JAKKS history, dating back to our success with Disney's Hannah Montana, Taylor Swift, Disney Fairies, which is Tinker Bell and Her Friends and Winx Club, just to name a few.

As we mentioned last quarter, we introduced a new collector doll segment in May partnership with Warner Bros. The next collection just dropped with slightly different inspirations titled Doll Haus of Dread. It introduces a bold new line that transforms horror's most feared figures into high-style display-worthy collectibles. Launching exclusively at Walmart and walmart.com, this horror fandom reimagined awaken some of the most powerful, vocal and obsessive fan bases.

The lineup featured dolls inspired by 4 chilling icons, Ghost Face as seen in the motion picture Scream, Billy the Puppet from Saw, Jason from Jason Universe franchise and Pinhead from Hellraiser. The line was introduced this month at New York Comic-Con, selling out inventory following a live video sale in Walmart collector booth in a collaboration with a celebrity named Jamie Kennedy.

The Warner Bros. Doll Collection and Doll Haus of Dread marked the first chapter in a broader vision for Doll Haus as a unified collector destination. Beyond these debut collections, Doll Haus will expand into a house of subcategories spanning fandom-driven properties, exclusive entertainment collections and powerful collaborations, all designed to build a lifestyle destination for collectors rather than a single product line.

As the platform grows, JAKKS plans to deepen the collector experience throughout direct-to-consumer exclusives, behind-the-scenes content and a growing presence at conventions and events. The website, spelled dollhaushq.com launched this month alongside social channels.

Separately, our private label business with Walmart through My Sweet Love and My Life as brands has been steadily expanding. A new assortment set this quarter with 4 basic and deluxe fashions in My Life as and 6 nurturing role play items and baby doll fashions in My Sweet Love, doubling the listings from prior year. All 3 new items are in our top 20 items at Walmart and the stroller is our #1 overall new item there for fall 2026.

As we look ahead to 2027 and beyond, we couldn't be prouder or more excited about the lineup across our categories and divisions. Our recent fall 2027 previews drew an enthusiastic response from customers around the globe. We have several exciting announcements coming soon, and 2027 brings a slate of strong theatrical tentpoles, including Sonic the Hedgehog 4 in March, the new Simpsons movie in September and Frozen 3 in November.

In addition, our Halloween, Role Play and Cosplay division. Disguise has a powerful lineup built on strong IP for 2027 and beyond. JAKKS Pacific is also launching a long-term strategic initiative focused on immersive IP across anime, manga, VTubers and digital entertainers. The IP partners and titles debuting next year are simply the best-in-class. We have held numerous retail meetings across the United States, Europe and Latin America in preparation for our initial launch. Feedback from both partners in retail and customers has been highly enthusiastic and extremely encouraging.

This year is yet another reminder that a lot can change in a short period of time in our industry. Although events outside our industry continue to be intriguing to make the business of making and selling toys more complicated than perhaps it needs to be, we are heading into the end of the year with solid momentum both in terms of our commercial performance today and the foundation building for 2027 and '28 and beyond.

I continue to feel extremely confident in our business today, where we are headed and the opportunities we see both ahead of us and within reach.

And now I'll take a couple of questions. Operator?

Operator

[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from the line of Eric Beder from Small Cap Consumer Research.

Phần hỏi đáp

Eric Beder

Congratulations -- congratulations on the quarter. Can you talk a little bit about what you're seeing in terms of the international opportunities to both add accounts. How should we be thinking about the regions in terms of the potential for expansion there?

Stephen Berman

Thank you for the call, Eric. So the expansion is happening quite aggressively. We already have a phenomenal footprint in EMEA, but we're growing deeper in certain territories, and we're staffing up for it as we have been this year. The main opportunities are obviously in EMEA and then it grows in Latin America and Southeast Asia. But for the time being, we have been growing strong in both LatAm with offices in Mexico, Chile and various other countries and territories with our staffing that is just specifically for JAKKS and focuses on JAKKS products.

And we're expanding in that area in Latin America through various initiatives, the mass market, which are main retailers and then the informal market, which is, call it, the outskirts market, that's a very big market with lower price items.

So it's taken us 1.5 years to develop the items that were necessary for the value chain and work with our licensors and our retailers. And that has started to bear some very strong fruits and looking into '27 will grow quite strong. The same for Europe and outside of Europe, we are expanding with further staffing required with regards to getting growth as we've really penetrated through the mass market in those countries, but the further growth is going through all the secondary value channels in those territories.

So we've opened up warehouses and further deepen our reach and further in Italy, Spain, Germany, U.K., Rotterdam, we have warehouses and distribution centers that allow us then to be able to make quick deliveries to the individual markets where the products are being sold. So those areas are seeing expansion and the rights that we are obtaining through our licensors are included in a lot of these new territories that we never had before.

So you have the new territory distribution or enhanced distribution, plus more IP and products that are deliverable to those territories. So that will enhance the growth in those areas, immensely going in '27 and '28.

Eric Beder

And structurally, how is this business as FOB driven as kind of our domestic business is? And how should we be thinking about both the margin opportunity and kind of the ability to, kind of, even out the quarters a little more?

Stephen Berman

So for instance, the way that the international work is slightly different than the states. So we have, in North America Disguise, which is really a Halloween-centric business, but in Europe and Latin America, it's everyday play. So it gives us full year of dress-up vastly different than we do in America through Disguise. In America, we utilize each of our segmentations to do the dress up. So that our Disney Group does their own, and each of our individual areas does their own.

But in Europe, we do it vastly different based off of the the criteria because Halloween isn't strong in certain areas, and you have Boxing Day, you have Kids Day. You have -- various part of all that really attracts the consumers in EMEA more so. And then primarily on the international business is about -- I'm going to -- John can correct me if I'm wrong, about 90% FOB or 85% FOB. But the difference is we are building domestic capabilities as the lead times to ship FOB to Europe in certain areas, take longer than it does to get to America.

So the backup inventory that we have on, we call it, the main core business is helping us get additional growth in those territories where an FOB business could only do so much then when you get through the holiday season, you do need some backup. On the margin, I think I'll leave that to John. I believe it's equal, but I'll leave it to John.

John Kimble

Eric Yes, I think on the margin front, the simplest way to think about it is that it's comparable to the U.S. It's not unlike the U.S., you have some retailers who operate on a tighter margin than others and part of our playbook for the states to begin with is to make sure that we're developing a great product for the consumer, that's also kind of working for the customer in the form of the retailer in terms of what their margin requirements are.

As we've gone deeper in that direction over the past couple of years, particularly the sort of capture more of the value channel opportunity, which is such an emerging force in U.S. retail, that kind of serves us well when it comes to international markets, both in terms of markets that have kind of lower GDP per capita as well as Stephen point before, there's a sort of cursory way of entering a market where you're hitting a few big, kind of, mass market accounts and calling it a day.

We are getting much deeper into a more credible and sort of persistent presence in a lot of these markets where we can have product appropriate for multiple channels and still doing that while making nice margins.

Eric Beder

Great. And maybe just a follow-up. In terms of -- so we've been talking a lot about how you have an incredibly strong balance sheet. Are we starting to see some of the benefits of that through some of these new licenses, expansion opportunities and other pieces now that, kind of, the -- I guess, noise from the tariffs is kind of abating?

And should we be thinking about the ability and desire for you to add even more properties going forward in addition to, kind of, anime is going to roll out mid-2027?

Stephen Berman

Well, we believe that what we're seeing in the market, again, this company is 32 years old. So we have a lot of history in what we've seen and the changes that we're seeing. We're getting, I'd say, more of the appropriate licenses that we're looking to acquire for the areas in which we're in that help benefit both the licensor as well as JAKKS, our shareholders and our retailers and consumers. But we are getting extremely strong growth in areas that are -- the properties are becoming more fulfilling and they're doing more with less.

So at the same time, while we're acquiring licenses, we're getting, I would say, hopefully, the best-in-class from what we're looking at as a company. And what I'm seeing going on now is a lot of people are heavily focusing on the adult and collectible business, and it's been stated in various conversations through various different companies in our forum.

As for JAKKS, we are still a kid-centric business, and there's still a very big appetite for items for children 6 months to 7 years. At the same time, we are in the kidult and collectible business, and it's been stated various conversations through various different companies in our form. As for JAKKS, we are still a kids-centric business, and there's still a very big appetite for items for children 6 months to 7 years.

At the same time, we are in the kidult and adult collectible business in various business that we've been in for decades. We've been that way with Nintendo has a collectible business. Sonic has a collectible business, Bendy, Simpson, a lot of these areas have kidult.

Then you go into the anime, which has a very big focus of kidult collectibles, both male and female. So we're in those categories of business. But a lot of our industry is moving away from kids where we're getting more heavily involved in kids, which has given us much more appeal to the licensors that we're still a very kids-focused business. So it's enhancing our business going forward.

Operator

Our next question will come from the line of Thomas Forte from Maxim Group.

Thomas Forte

Stephen, John, congratulations. I have 4 questions. And then depending on your answers, I may have follow-ups. So the first one is actually a follow-up to the question you just answered. The not supporting any new entertainment in the fourth quarter, is that a reflection of timing or are you just being more picky?

Stephen Berman

That's a great question. And thank you, Tom. It's just more of timing -- throughout -- we knew where we were at this year. It was just there was nothing in a sense, toy-riffic coming out this year that was really like what we're going to see next year with the Sonic and Frozen, you have the Harry Potter show coming out and all those things. But what we're proud about, we saw that going into the year well before it was here and all of the different segmentations that we're focusing on are seeing healthy business. Majority of them are all seeing growth in our company, a lot of it was from the segmentations and what the teams have developed.

The private label business has grown immensely. Our core Disney business, Disney Princess and Frozen. There hasn't been any real IP movies or content behind it and has seen tremendous growth. And that has to do with the partnership with the Walt Disney Company and with JAKKS working on just general IP that enhances the Disney portfolio such as our Style Collection that we launched years back, 7 years ago, and now it's a very impactful line to our company.

You have Disney Darlings, which is a brand-new initiative between the Walt Disney Company and JAKKS that focuses on a nurturing baby doll lineup that is doing exceptionally well, both in the U.S. and abroad. So what we've done is we made sure that during a less popular year of movies or content. Our business will have healthy growth. And then when you see a content year that's coming forward in '27, '28, that just enhances the whole pool to what we're looking at doing as JAKKS.

Thomas Forte

Excellent. All right. And when I look at the performance in the third quarter of '26-- sorry, third quarter '26 and compared against the third quarter of '24, high level, what would it take to get back to 3Q '24?

John Kimble

Well, I think the easiest way to think about that is kind of what you were just touching upon the last question. In the back half of 2024, we had kind of some meaningful entertainment tentpoles that we were rallying behind, right? Like for memory, there was the Moana 2 movie that came out during that time and also a Sonic 3 movie that came out during that time. And so if you reference the chart that we do in the supplemental earnings deck, which kind of breaks out the content piece from the evergreen piece, you see how Q3, this quarter was pretty solid and pretty nice evergreen growth. But to the earlier point, it's just not the case that we're supporting a huge movie in the fall other than we obviously are still supporting Mario Galaxy in a big way.

Thomas Forte

All right. And then I think I know the answer, but I'll ask anyway. So are we done with tariffs refunds?

Stephen Berman

Yes.

Thomas Forte

All right. And then the last one, I'm just going to say the name of the company. And then depending on Stephen's response, I might have a follow-up. So last question is Toys "R" Us?

Stephen Berman

Toys "R" Us is a lovely name and a lovely company and is doing -- it's being licensed out to a company that we're very familiar with the name and they're opening up the stores throughout the holiday, and it's wonderful to see it back and back in the right format, but it's still relatively a small area. I think it's 120 stores that are being opened this year.

We're rooting for it to come back in the way it should be in today's environment and the people that are running that are doing a well-done job. So we're very close with them, we're selling them. But hopefully, they'll be able to get further depth and they won't just be pop-ups, They'll be full time year-round, but a lot of them right now are pop-ups.

Operator

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn it back over to Stephen for closing remarks.

Stephen Berman

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the call today. We'll be doing a lot of follow-ups right after this conversation, and we're excited and looking forward to '27 and resuming speaking to our investors. Thank you very much.

Operator

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day.