HASBRO, INC. (HAS)

Hasbro, Inc. is a global Branded Entertainment company that delivers brand experiences through gaming, consumer products, and entertainment, with a portfolio including MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, Hasbro Gaming, NERF, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH, and PEPPA PIG. Fiscal year 2022 brought significant leadership changes, including the appointment of Christian Cocks as CEO in February 2022, along with new executives in gaming, supply chain, commercial operations, and human resources; the company also announced the planned retirement of CFO Deborah Thomas and the departure of President/COO Eric Nyman effective March 2023. In October 2022, following a strategic review, Hasbro launched "Blueprint 2.0," a consumer-centric transformation strategy built on five pillars—Brand, Insights and Entertainment; Direct and Digital; Licensing; Operational Excellence; and People—aimed at focusing on fewer, more profitable brands, expanding direct-to-consumer and digital offerings (including the $146.3 million acquisition of D&D Beyond), and scaling licensing partnerships.

To support this strategy, the company established the Hasbro Transformation Office to drive an Operational Excellence program targeting $250-300 million in run-rate cost savings by the end of 2025, having achieved $50 million in savings during 2022. Hasbro also announced in November 2022 its intent to market parts of its eOne TV and film business not aligned with its core Branded Entertainment strategy, while retaining PEPPA PIG and PJ MASKS family brands, and in January 2023 disclosed plans to eliminate approximately 1,000 positions (about 15% of its global workforce) in 2023. The company continued to navigate challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2022, including supply chain disruptions, elevated freight costs, and inventory imbalances driven by reduced consumer discretionary spending amid inflation and rising interest rates, prompting price increases and increased promotional activity to manage inventory levels while maintaining sufficient liquidity and capital access.