Pop Mart Shares Soar as CEO Unveils Mini Labubu Doll Plans
Pop Mart International Group Ltd. saw its shares surge to record highs on Wednesday after its founder and CEO, Wang Ning, dropped a double dose of news: stronger-than-expected sales and the upcoming launch of a mini Labubu doll.
The Hong Kong-listed toy giant rallied as much as 8.6%, hitting HK$305 (£30.73), its highest since debuting in December 2020.
The spike came after a rocky start to the day, when shares had slipped nearly 5% amid analyst caution over whether Pop Mart’s best-known characters could maintain long-term hype.
Despite doubts, the numbers tell a different story. First-half revenue in 2025 jumped 204% year-on-year to 13.88 billion yuan (£1.55bn), beating market forecasts. Net profit also exploded, soaring 397% to 4.57 billion yuan.
Wang sounded upbeat during the company’s earnings call. He admitted that even he had struggled to forecast the scale of growth. Earlier this year, Pop Mart had its eyes on 20 billion yuan (£2.2bn) in sales. Now? “30 billion yuan will not be that difficult. It would be quite easy,” Wang declared.
And the real kicker for fans, a mini Labubu doll is on the way. Possibly as early as this week.
The Labubu doll, part of Pop Mart’s hit series The Monsters, has become a cult favourite far beyond China. The blind-box format, where buyers never know exactly which figure they’ll get, has fuelled a collecting frenzy in Western markets, including the UK.
Overseas sales rocketed 440% in the first half of the year, reaching 5.6 billion yuan. The company now plans to push past 200 overseas stores before 2026, with rapid expansion in the US leading the charge.
Closer to home, UK collectors have been flocking online and to pop-up shops, fuelling anticipation that Pop Mart may soon plant a bigger physical footprint in Britain.
Analysts at Citigroup remain bullish, noting: “We believe Pop Mart’s strong capability in IP incubation and operation and overseas expansion will continue to underpin its solid growth momentum.”
While global growth races ahead, expansion on the mainland will slow. The company confirmed that net new store openings in China won’t exceed 10 this year, shifting the focus instead to improving the performance of its current outlets.
Still, the Labubu doll remains a Pop Mart golden ticket. Revenue for The Monsters alone surged to 4.81 billion yuan, up from just 626.8 million yuan a year earlier.
Pop Mart’s ambitions extend far beyond toy shelves. It is investing heavily in its own apps, e-commerce platforms, and partnerships with international brands and artists.
With global appetite for the Labubu doll showing no signs of cooling, the company is betting on both nostalgia and novelty to keep the tills ringing.
For UK fans, the prospect of the new mini Labubu could be the biggest collector’s buzz of the year.
