A PopMart Labubu The Monsters doll hangs from an influencer’s handbag during a press preview outside an AliExpress pop-up store in London, Britain, Nov. 11, 2025.
Isabel Infantes | Reuters
Pop Mart shares lost more than a fifth of their value on Wednesday, as concerns over the sustainability of the company’s Labubu plushies-driven growth overshadowed its blockbuster annual results.
That sharp sell-off came after the Beijing-based toy maker posted annual revenue of 37.1 billion yuan ($5.4 billion) for 2025, up 185% from a year earlier, just shy of LSEG estimates of 38 billion yuan. Net income more than quadrupled to 12.8 billion yuan, slightly above the 12.6 billion yuan forecast.
Despite resilient headline numbers, “a material slowdown in the fourth quarter [has amplified] investors’ concern on the durability of top IP’s popularity,” said Jeff Zhang, equity analyst at Morningstar, adding that a pullback in dividend payout ratio to 25% in 2025 from 35% in the prior year was also a negative factor.
Pop Mart International
Labubu, the snaggle-toothed monster doll that became a global collectible phenomenon, has remained the company’s primary growth engine. But Pop Mart’s chances of replicating that success with newer characters such as Skullpanda and Twinkle Twinkle have come under investor scrutiny with the momentum that drove a massive rally in the stock over the past two years beginning to fade.
Sales from Skullpanda more than doubled to 3.54 billion yuan, and those for Crybaby and Dimoo each roughly tripled. But The Monsters — the IP family that houses Labubu — still contributed a larger share of 38% to the total annual revenue, compared with 23% in 2024.
Twinkle Twinkle and Hirono, newer additions to the roster, generated 2.06 billion yuan and 1.74 billion yuan, respectively, substantially lower compared with The Monster family sales of $14.2 billion yuan.
Billy Leung, analyst at Global X ETF, highlighted the persistent debate, with “bulls focused on ongoing IP monetization and overseas growth … [and] bears question durability and cycle risk. Earnings did little to close that gap,” he said.
CEO Wang Ning sought to calm the market during the earnings call, saying that “Pop Mart has more than just Labubu” — and likening the expectations for the company to a “rookie racing driver suddenly thrown onto an F1 circuit.”
Pop Mart’s sell-off also reflects an extended period of cautious sentiment since last year, said Shaun Rein, managing director at China Market Research Group.
Investors who had accumulated short positions over the past six months — betting that Pop Mart’s appeal was a short-term fad — unwound those positions on Tuesday, Rein said, contributing to the sell-off.
Pop Mart shares have lost some momentum after their extended run-up, retreating about 50% from their August peak. Shares had gained more than 340% in 2024 and nearly 110% last year.
— CNBC’s Elaine Yu contributed to this report.
