Six weeks after Hasbro Inc. showed its cards by announcing plans to relocate its headquarters from Pawtucket to Boston by the end of 2026, few additional details have been revealed.
Indeed, there was almost no mention of the pending move — including its effects on jobs and costs — in the company’s third-quarter earnings report, published Thursday morning, nor during the accompanying 60-minute call with investors.
The only acknowledgment of the news that rocked Rhode Island was a footnote tucked into the legal disclaimer of the 19-page financial filing:
“Our business could be adversely affected by challenges and disruptions arising from the loss of skills, knowledge or expertise, and from uncertainty regarding the continued employment of key personnel, particularly as a result of recent workforce reductions and the planned relocation of our Rhode Island operations to Boston, Massachusetts.”
Andrea Snyder, a spokesperson for Hasbro, did not immediately respond to questions on the costs and timing of the move Thursday morning.
Hasbro has already confirmed it will leave no trace of its century-old Rhode Island roots after relocating the majority of its local workforce to Boston by the end of 2026. The company announced in September it has inked a deal to lease seven floors of a 16-story laboratory building in the Boston Seaport, but the rent it will pay for a prime piece of city real estate remains unknown. Rhode Island leaders had attempted to entice the company to stay within state lines, even if not at its existing Newport Avenue headquarters, by offering up a piece of undeveloped land in the I-195 Redevelopment District for $1.
But tax incentives were never discussed during the Rhode Island General Assembly’s 2025 session, while Massachusetts leaders spent more than a year negotiating with Hasbro executives over potential tax breaks, according to publicly released emails first reported by the Boston Business Journal. Hasbro ultimately secured $14 million in state tax credits, approved by the Massachusetts Economic Development Council on Sept. 17, for the 700 jobs it has promised to bring to its new headquarters.
Hasbro employs more than 1,000 people in Rhode Island now, suggesting some might be laid off as part of the move. But the company has not given any notice of mass layoffs to the state Department of Labor and training as of Thursday. Private employers with more than 100 workers are required to give state and local officials 60 days notice before making cuts under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Earlier this year, the company warned that tariffs could force staffing cuts.
Digital gaming drives growth
While trade wars with China continue to sap potential profits — with an estimated $20 million in losses due to tariffs nationwide in the third quarter — Hasbro has bounced back quickly.
The company reported a $233.2 million profit for the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, up 17.4% from the same period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share rose 5 basis points year over year, from $1.59 per share to $1.64 per share.
The strong financial showing, which beat analysts’ expectations, was largely driven by its digital gaming business, including MAGIC: The Gathering, which continues to see record revenue, up 55% year over year — reaching $459.4 million as of Sept. 30 — amid interest from new players and collaborations with beloved brands like Marvel’s Spider-Man.
The company’s digital licensing business, which includes Monopoly GO!, also boosted the bottom line by 21% to $364.6 million, according to the earnings report.
The gains were partially offset by declines in toy sales with delayed orders from retailers amid inflationary cost hikes and the fallout from international trade wars.
Yet CEO Chris Cocks remained optimistic on a call with investors Wednesday, touting the start to a long-term growth period for the toy segment in the final three months of this year.
The company has already begun to shift its supply chain away from China —- where it had sourced 50% of its toys and games — with the goal of sourcing no more than 30% of its products from any single country outside the United States by the end of next year.
“Hasbro delivered another quarter of growth, highlighting the strength of our brands and Playing to Win strategy,” Cocks said in a statement. “We’re poised to enter 2026 with momentum.”
The company also revised its year-end projections upward, expecting total revenue growth in the “high single digits” with an adjusted operating margin of 22% to 23%. In late April, a month after President Donald Trump just as President Donald Trump unveiled 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, Hasbro predicted a $60 million to $180 million operating loss for the year.
Scaling back of tariffs — now at 30% for Chinese imports, has soothed Hasbro’s fears, along with strategies for “opportunistic debt reduction” and “cost discipline,” company executives said.
Still, $60 million in losses from tariffs are expected through the end of the year, with a larger figure in 2026 assuming a full-year impact from the trade wars, Gina Goetter, Hasbro’s chief financial and chief operating officer, said on the earnings call Thursday.
“We’re still working through the net impact,” Goetter said, noting that the financial losses from tariffs didn’t manifest on the company’s balance sheet until the third quarter of 2025.
Shares rose 2.1% in the first two hours following Hasbro’s earnings release Thursday morning.
The Boston Seaport office will house Hasbro’s corporate services, as well as its toy, board game and licensing arms. Its digital gaming business, which includes MAGIC: The Gathering, will remain at its present hub in Renton, Washington, which features 111,000 square feet and 500 employees.
This story was originally pub;ished by the Rhode Island Current.
