Lego has driven sales up by more than a fifth to hit another record in the first half of 2026, helped by its World Cup and KPop Demon Hunters ranges.
The Danish firm reported a 21% rise in revenues to 41.9 billion Danish kroner (£4.8 billion) for the six months to June 30, helping pre-tax profits surge a third higher to 11.3 billion Danish kroner (£1.3 billion).
New products and customer excitement
It launched more than 330 new products over the first half, with World Cup football fever and “consumer excitement” around Formula 1 and Netflix smash-hit movie KPop Demon Hunters drawing in new customers.
New products included a replica of the official Fifa World Cup trophy, as well as new sets using interactive bricks, which have so far featured in Star Wars and Pokemon ranges.
CEO on World Cup breakthrough
Niels Christiansen, chief executive of Lego, said the World Cup sets were a “breakthrough” in terms of tapping into popular demand.
“We definitely saw the World Cup as an example of us bringing the Lego brand close to a passion point or an interest of many people, and I think this was a breakthrough for us.
“We have seen a lot of excitement around the trophies, and a lot of excitement for the most popular football players worldwide.
“People have been able to use the brand to show off and display and live into their passions and fandoms, and I think that is driving a lot of success.”
Growth with adults and children
Mr Christiansen added: “We have been on a trajectory over the last seven years, we’ve constantly been growing with adults, but we’ve also been growing with kids – and there is a very nice synergy between the two.
“It’s very important for us and our mission that we continue to really expand our universe of experiences for kids and that we attract more children into the Lego brand, and that is happening at a very high speed.”
It said operating profits jumped 22% to 10.9 billion Danish kroner (£1.2 billion) despite spending on “strategic initiatives” such as sustainability, with the group looking to make its bricks out of more renewable and recyclable materials.
Lego is also aiming to switch to paper based bags for its sets across all factories by 2027.
Cost pressures from Middle East crisis
Meanwhile, the company said its costs had gone up following the US-Israel’s war with Iran since the end of February.
Chief financial officer Jesper Andersen said: “We have, as have many others, seen cost impact from the Middle East crisis, particularly oil price volatility.
“It’s not a material impact in the first half but, in particular, we have seen logistic and input costs go up.
“I do expect to see a little more cost increases in the second half of the year.”
But Mr Andersen said the company was managing the cost pressures “very prudently and carefully”.
