Funko (FNKO) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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Date

May 7, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. ET

Call participants

• Chief Executive Officer — Josh Simon
• Chief Financial Officer — Yves Le Pendeven
• President, Loungefly — Jessica Kong

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Takeaways

• Total sales growth -- Sales increased by 5% for the quarter, with Core Collectibles sales rising 17%.
• Gross margin -- Achieved a record-high gross margin of 44%, attributed to reduced discounting, renewed licensing agreements, and improved channel mix.
• Adjusted EBITDA -- Adjusted EBITDA reached $11 million, significantly surpassing internal expectations.
• POS trends -- Point-of-sale (POS) globally grew 6%, including 12% in the wholesale channel, 6% in the U.S., and 28% in Europe.
• Product and IP expansion -- Introduced major launches tied to KPop Demon Hunters, Stranger Things, One Piece, and new Michael Jackson products, with new experiences at WrestleMania and Inter Miami Stadium.
• Loungefly SKU reduction -- Loungefly reduced SKUs by 50% as a planned business reset to improve productivity and profitability; sales for that segment are expected to decline in the current year.
• Loungefly premium & accessories -- Swarovski collaboration products sold out rapidly at a $400 price point, while bag charms and pins are driving double-digit growth for Loungefly.
• Q2 guidance -- Management guided for Q2 sales up low- to mid-single digits and adjusted EBITDA of $5 million to $10 million.
• Full-year guidance -- Company reiterated full-year guidance of sales flat to up 3% and adjusted EBITDA between $70 million and $80 million.
• Tariff update -- Funko paid approximately $20 million in IEEPA tariffs and is pursuing refund or monetization opportunities on those claims.
• International focus -- Added a Chief International Officer role and strengthened efforts in Latin America and Asia, naming Zootopia and One Piece as key regional opportunities.
• Retail expansion -- Exploring new experiential retail concepts in partnership with FAO Schwarz and testing expansions of Pop! Yourself kiosks with unnamed partners later this year.
• Gross margin outlook -- Gross margin is expected to hold at 42%-44% for the remainder of the year.

Summary

Funko (NASDAQ:FNKO) delivered its highest gross margin on record, citing operational improvements and licensing execution as primary contributors. Management implemented strategic initiatives, including aggressive SKU reduction in Loungefly and appointment of new leadership for international growth. The company launched key collaborations, leveraged major pop culture moments, and initiated retail expansion projects to enhance consumer engagement. Management explicitly cited favorable tariff dynamics and provided clarity on refund pursuit regarding IEEPA tariffs, signaling a direct potential cash flow impact unavailable in prior reports. The company's approach reflects a focus on profitability, targeted product innovation, and extending brand reach into new demographics and geographies.

• Funko introduced a diffusion line targeting Gen Z, aiming to increase brand relevance among emerging consumer groups.
• "We expect that momentum to continue in Q2" was stated on the call, indicating confidence in short-term sales trends.
• The launch of Pop! Mystery at San Diego Comic-Con represents a new product line with unique "chase" elements to stimulate collector demand.
• Management indicated that lower-than-anticipated tariff rates and stable oil prices could benefit second-half results, subject to further developments.
• "we cut our SKUs back by 50% and so sales will be down as planned this year," stated Kong, reinforcing profitability focus over short-term revenue growth in Loungefly.

Industry glossary

• SKU: Stock Keeping Unit, a unique identifier for each distinct product and service that can be purchased.
• POS: Point of Sale; refers to sales to consumers as opposed to sell-in (sales to retailers/distributors).
• IEEPA tariffs: Tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, often involving goods imported from specific countries under emergency powers.
• Chase elements: Limited or rare variants within a collectible product line, used to create scarcity and appeal for collectors.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Josh Simon: Great business question. You nailed it at the top. The Q1 was really strong. I think it was the example of our Make Culture Pop! strategy kind of starting to really manifest itself in the market. We ended Q4 with some momentum, and we saw that continue into the year. Overall, our sales were up 5% in the quarter. And if you look at just the Core Collectibles business, we're up 17%.

Yves Le Pendeven: And if I can jump into, it's obviously pleased about the sales growth, but we also reported our highest gross margin ever at 44%, and that drove an adjusted EBITDA of $11 million, which was way better than we expected.

Top Pops: Wow, that's great. Now let's talk about what's new on the product side. Josh, you've talked about Funko being at the center of culture. What did that look like this quarter?

Josh Simon: So I go back to the Make Culture Pop! strategy, culture, creativity and commerce. So on the culture side, we want to be part of all of these sort of fan entertainment moments, pop culture moments that are going on around the world while they're happening. Some awesome examples of that in Q1. The big movers were KPop Demon Hunters, the final season of Stranger Things, One Piece, which is always really strong for us. But we're also starting to see some really other great dimensions of the business with Mando, Grogu coming out, our Star Wars business is really showing some nice growth. And then I'll even just use a more recent example of Michael Jackson.

This is one of my favorites, the smooth criminal vibe that's sort of iconic leaning look that always mesmerized me, growing up, like how did you do it? But great to be part of that moment with the Michael Biopic out right now. Then from a creativity standpoint, it's really about how are we taking those moments and turning them into products and frankly, adding some more newness and dimension to our product line. I think Bitty Pop! is a great example of that. We saw strength in the quarter coming off of Q4 rolling out into Walmart. From a seasonal basis, I'll give a great example, which is this sort of Bitty Bouquet for your Valentine's Day lover.

You can -- if the sort of bouquet stand and you can sort of swap out whatever Bitty Pop! you're interested in there, which I think is a great evolution of a moment that we can play on with Bitty Pop!. I'll point out sort of something in the world of Demon Slayer, which is obviously a great IP for us, kind of like a Sumi-Ink paint deco to the Pop!, which just helps to bring some freshness and newness to the fans of Demon Slayer. And then from a commerce standpoint, it's really about how do we bring these products to life for fans.

I think we like to say, turning shelves into stages, some really fun experiences that I think are examples of that from the quarter. I went a few weeks ago to WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas. Awesome weekend. Those guys always do a great job. We came to life at the WWE Fan Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center with a Pop! Yourself experience, so you could customize yourself in exclusive WWE gear that you could only get there. We built the Pop! on site. We also launched a limited edition WWE covers on our D2C site as part of the WrestleMania weekend, which was awesome.

I think it's selling for 3 to 4x on eBay right now, which is cool to see. And then also in the world of sports, I had the chance also to go to Miami. We have a brand-new shop in shop that opened at the new Inter Miami Stadium. I was able to attend the second game in that stadium. Also an awesome Pop! Yourself experience there, an exclusive Messi Pop!, which you can only get at the stadium. And then actually, we really rounded out with some incredible Loungefly product as well. I think Yves there in his bag of tricks.

There's a great example of some of the Loungefly products that we're selling in the stadium there for Inter Miami.

Jessica Kong: Yes, that's right, Josh. So this is our Iconic Me backpack for Inter Miami, along with one of the many bag charms that are available. So a super fun collection.

Josh Simon: I love that colorway brings back memories. I grew up in Florida. So it reminds me of the Miami Vice in the '80s, and we get to live out our sort of like Crockett and Tubbs duo here. So it's a good one.

Top Pops: Now speaking of Loungefly, Jessica, is there anything else new that you have?

Jessica Kong: Well, you know what, I'm so glad you asked. So Loungefly has a really strong base, right? We have an exceptionally loyal fan base. We have high brand equity and best of the best product placement in all of the Disney parks, right? We also have really great relationships with key retailers like BoxLunch and Hot Topic. And we're also getting in premium. And so I can show you here our very first Swarovski collection that launched last year, this is a piece that was part of the collection, selling at $400, which is well above the average $80 to $90 price point that we normally hit. And this sold out within hours, right?

So super excited to do more of these going forward. That being said, this year is really an important business reset for us, right? So we cut our SKUs back by 50% and so sales will be down as planned this year. But that's really in order for us to improve SKU productivity and overall profitability in general. And we're already seeing the results of that. So super encouraged by that. So with that, we're doubling down on wearable storytelling. So that means, one, expanding the styles that we do beyond the iconic mini backpack.

And so with that, here is, Heihei from Moana, She's a figural, she was actually our #1 SKU last year, which is great, and we'll continue to do more of these going forward. We also are doubling down on accessories, bag charms and pins are categories that are driving double-digit growth for us. And so thank you, Yves. This is Mickey and Minnie new figural bag charms that are launching later this year. And look, they hold hands. And then third, we are also expanding our reach with Gen Z. And so we'll be launching a new diffusion line that is much more everyday functional at a much more affordable price point.

Top Pops: This is all really great. Also welcome to the team. Thank you. But now I've got to ask. Is there any other changes you made to the management team?

Josh Simon: Yes. We just had a brand-new Head of Marketing and Brand starts a couple of weeks ago, Nik Rupp comes to us previously from Nike. Awesome to have him on board. And I mentioned this last quarter, Andy Oddie, who's been with Funko for a long time, industry expert in many different ways, moved into a new role as our Chief International Officer, so really giving some dedicated focus to growing the business in Latin America and Asia. He and I, about a month ago, spent a couple of weeks touring the region. We met with our distributors. We spent time with our licensors and some retail partners in Korea and Japan and a few other locations.

And I came away really encouraged. I think from an IP standpoint, we already work with some of the biggest partners in the region, like I'll use the sort of Zootopia from Disney as an example. This year, that was the highest grossing import movie ever in the history of China. It did about $630 million in box office there. And obviously, we have a long-standing relationship with Disney. One piece is another example of something in the anime world, and obviously, we're into anime more broadly and really popular in the region. So I think there's a lot of potential.

It's going to take some time to build the foundation, the plans and kind of see us really supercharge that growth, but I definitely came away really encouraged about the opportunity in the region and also Andy helping to lead the charge for us there.

Top Pops: Yves, anything you want to add about the broader economic environment and what the rest of the outlook is for the year?

Yves Le Pendeven: Yes. So obviously, we're pleased with Q1. It was a strong start to the year. We expect that momentum to continue in Q2. So today, we issued guidance for Q2, we think sales will be up low single digits to mid-single digits. And adjusted EBITDA between $5 million and $10 million. And then as we look to the second half of the year, it's a little bit too soon to say, but there are some favorable things going on, the current tariff rates that are in effect are a little bit lower than we planned. So that's great news, and we hope that continues. On the flip side, we're watching the news about oil prices pretty closely.

We have not been negatively impacted yet, but it's a little bit too soon to say. So with that in mind, we're just reiterating our original guidance for the year, which was sales flat to up 3% and then adjusted EBITDA between $70 million and $80 million.

Top Pops: Thanks so much. And now, Josh, I've got to ask. Is there anything that you're excited about coming up later this year?

Josh Simon: I think is there anything I'm not excited about. There's a lot this year. I mean I mentioned in the last quarter too, it's an awesome film slate this year, just sort of from beginning to end of the year, Mando, Grogu, soon Toy Story, Avengers Doomsday at the end of the year, which is awesome. We actually just spent some time across the street from our offices here in Burbank with the Head of DC Studios last week and I think super excited for Supergirl. So a big year for movies, TV shows. Sports is obviously also huge this year because of the World Cup. And so we have the French, English and U.S. national teams.

We also have a great relationship with a lot of athletes. I mentioned Messi earlier, who's playing for Argentina, Yamal for Spain, Haaland, Man City is playing for Norway and a few others. And then we even have the mascots. Can you name any of the three mascots. The three mascots that represent U.S., Canada and Mexico who are hosting the game. So covering it from all dimensions. And then look, the other thing I had mentioned, we talk a lot about the importance of speed, getting products to market faster. We just had an awesome execution of that with WrestleMania, a surprise appearance from IShowSpeed, one of the biggest creators in the world.

I think he has like 50 million followers each on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, right as he was walking out to the ring, we dropped an IShowSpeed Pop! on our site and also on fanatics.com. And so you can expect a lot more of us, both in that creator space and coming to market much faster kind of in the moment for our fans throughout the year.

Top Pops: This is all really super exciting. And now, let's turn to a couple of questions that we have from a few analysts as well as some fans maybe even watching right now. First one we have here is coming in from Stephen Laszczyk, Goldman Sachs, he asks what gives you confidence that the improving POS trends you saw in Q4 will continue in 2026?

Yves Le Pendeven: Actually, we had a great continuation of the Q4 trend. So I'm happy to report POS globally was up 6% in Q1. In the wholesale channel, it was actually up 12%. And then by territory, that was up 6% in the U.S. and up 28% in Europe. And you can see that's very much aligned to the sell-in. So it's a very healthy trend, sell-in, sell-through, and we're pleased with that trend.

Top Pops: Great. Now actually another question from Stephen. What level of upside could we see from potential refunds and tariffs?

Yves Le Pendeven: So we've shared that we've paid approximately $20 million in our IEEPA tariffs we're taking all the steps that we need to obtain a refund and kind of following the instructions there. A little bit uncertain on the timing. There is also a market to monetize tariff claims, and we're kind of exploring all of our options at this point. So more to come on that.

Top Pops: Okay. Next question we have here is coming in from Keegan Cox at D.A. Davidson. He asked, can you talk about gross margin drivers for Q1 and Q2?

Yves Le Pendeven: Sure. Again, highest gross margin we've ever reported. And it's not because of some kind of accounting adjustment or anything like that. It's really the result of so many things that we've been working on for the past 6 months to a year. So reducing the amount of discounting and promotional activity that we've been doing. We've also got renewed licensing agreements with our major partners. And then just channel and sales mix all contributed to that 44% gross margin. And then our guidance, 42% to 44%. We expect that the trend should be able to hold for the rest of the year.

Top Pops: Okay. Perfect. Next up, we're going to get into some fan questions here. And the first one is coming in from [ TheBearsCollection142 ], they ask, what future Funko are you excited for?

Josh Simon: I guess, like, for me, there's a few. So coming up at San Diego Comic-Con this year, I'm just going to tease that we'll be launching and rolling out our Pop! Mystery lineup. And so that's kind of taking the -- a brand new lineup of people's favorite 4-inch pop vinyl figures, but putting them into more of a blind box mystery format. We're starting off with some really fun lines of WB Horror, our own lineup on the Pop! Flora line. We have some really big IP coming into the future that I'm just going to tease right now. And there's also some really, I think, unique and compelling chase elements to it.

So that's one I'm particularly excited for. The other one I'd say is we've continued to see some traction in the world of like BookTok and Romantasy. And so I would just say like, we -- if you can imagine like the biggest titles in that world for those of you who indulge as I do, we have those coming, and we'll be announcing some of that soon. But I think that's just like a brand-new category of fandom for us that I'm excited about.

Top Pops: I'll be honest, I'm pretty excited to make some videos on those, too. Next one, we actually coming in is from [ FuntoCollect ], and they ask with Pop! from the Fox and the Hound, Oliver and Company, and Atlantis already out, are you looking to keep expanding into older Disney films?

Josh Simon: Does Freaky Friday count? That would be a personal favorite. But I mean maybe on the -- we work with Disney a lot, obviously. So there's we are constantly coming up with fun ways to bring some of their characters to life. I think definitely something we think about a lot on the Loungefly front as well. .

Jessica Kong: Yes, for sure. Our fans love Disney Classic, right? That's something that is core to our portfolio, and we'll always continue to develop into that.

Top Pops: Cool. So good. This next year is actually kind of a joint question. There was two people that asked, it's [ Wasatch Pop and Chad Beaton ]. They are asking the possibility of retail footprint expansions.

Josh Simon: Well, obviously, you're here in the Hollywood store today. I think the next step that we really think about from a retail and a retail experiential standpoint is what we could do with our partners in that space. And so we're currently working on kind of, I think, I'll say, revitalizing and reconceiving our space with FAO Schwarz to New York. We're in the early stages there, but I think that's an incredible sort of global flagship shopping destination. I think they do experiential retail better than anyone. They've been incredible partners so there's some newness we're bringing there.

We are working on expanding how we think about that pop yourself kiosk experience and how that could come to life with some retail partners. So we'll be testing that later this year with some partners. We haven't quite announced yet, but we will be rolling that out. And then we'll continue to experiment here in this store. We have a lot of space, and I think we'll introduce and refine some concepts that in success, I can imagine us rolling out into more places around the world.

Top Pops: Sounds pretty good. Yes. Now this next one that we've got here is coming in from [ Noah MTV ], and he asked, what's your favorite comic book character you'd like to see become a Pop!?

Josh Simon: I mean, look, we do a lot in that space, and I think that kind of goes back to the core DNA of the company. I would say across the team, we're all really excited about DC's Absolute Universe sort of how I would -- I think it's super unique. It's a fresh take on that world. The books have been great, chart topping. I think that's an area that I think we're continue to really explore -- continue to explore.

Top Pops: I'll be honest, I'm excited about those. So now that you've mentioned it, it's pretty cool. Yes. But that pretty much wraps up the questions. I don't know if you have any final words?

Josh Simon: I have -- well, a couple of things. First of all, just back to thanking you for being here. And World Cup, we are kicking off a bespoke Pop! Yourself experience. So right now with Pop! Yourself, you can actually get yourself popped in a U.S. World Cup kits. And then next week, we're launching some additional accessories. So it's not out yet, but we did do a version of Top Pops for you here, you can accessorize yourself with the World Cup trophy. So that's a little thank you for being here today and a little token of gratitude for your first earnings call.

Top Pops: That is exactly what I want. Thank you.

Josh Simon: No, we appreciate it. And then I'll mention a lot of the information we talked about today, some additional investor materials and the presentation is available on our Investor Relations website, along with this for anyone who wants to watch it over and over again as I'm sure many, many people out in the world will, I encourage it.

Top Pops: Yes. Perfect. Well, thank you so much.

Josh Simon: Thank you.

Jessica Kong: Thank you.

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