How Can I Buy LEGO Stock Today
Chances are you know LEGO. You've probably even hurt one of your feet stepping on one of the bricks. The LEGO Group, owners of LEGO, are based in Denmark, where the company was founded in 1949. It started in the workshop of a Danish carpenter and has grown into one of the most popular toy companies in the world. Oh, the next time you step on a brick, know that the original name of the brick is Automatic Binding Bricks. Maybe that will help take away the pain in your foot.
LEGO And The Toy Industry
LEGO is considered to be the most valuable toy brand in the world. Not the most revenue, not the most profit, but the most highly thought of company in the toy business. LEGO has built its brand on the quality of its product. The company developed the interlocking brick we know today in 1958. The LEGO bricks are manufactured with a tolerance of 20 micrometers, which is the width of one strand of human hair. That's to ensure each brick will remain connected. LEGO's inspectors say they reject an average of 18 bricks for every one million manufactured. LEGO's standards are so exacting that bricks made in 1958 will function with bricks made today.
You Can Invest In LEGO Products But Not In LEGO
LEGO is a privately held company. KIRKBI A/S, a private holding company held by the founder's family, owns 75%. The LEGO Foundation, which is dedicated to learning through play owns the remaining 25%. Investors and analysts alike always place LEGO on their top ten wish list of companies they'd like to see go public. However, there's no reason to think that will happen in the foreseeable future.
You can still invest in LEGO through their huge variety of set themes. Many have become collector's items. Space is a major theme for LEGO, both the real stuff NASA does, and the pretend stuff done in the Star Wars movies. One of the most coveted LEGO sets is the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. The price tag continues to grow and is over the $800.00 threshold.
LEGO has licensed theme sets from a variety of movies, including Batman, which also has a LEGO movie, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, and others.
What Toy Companies Are Public?
Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) and Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT) are two of the top five revenue producers in the toy business (LEGO is in there, too). Each of these companies has iconic toy brands. Hasbro's products include G.I. Joe, Milton Bradley board games, and the Power Rangers. Mattel has Fisher-Price, Barbie, Hot Wheels, Matchbox cars, and American Girl.
Each company suffered in 2020 because of the pandemic. Supply chain problems, store closures (such as Toys R Us), and various quarantines had a major impact on revenue. But each is bouncing back in 2021. Revenues for each are in the $4.5 - $5 billion range. Hasbro is considered to have an edge on Mattel moving forward because Hasbro is offering more digital toys.