What this is
How much more The Pokémon Company earns from a yen of Western card sales than from a yen of licensed merchandise sales, year to February 2026: 4 to 14 times.
How it’s built
- The company’s share of the list price of Western card sales is estimated at 35–59%.
- Its licensing income per yen of licensed merchandise sold at retail is estimated at 4.2–8.7%.
- Dividing: 0.35 ÷ 0.087 = 4.0 and 0.59 ÷ 0.0419 = 14.1.
What we assumed
- The company keeps 35–59% of Western card list prices.A blend of estimates for hobby shops, mass retail, Europe and direct sales, weighted by judgement; no company discloses it.
- Licensing yields 4.2–8.7% of retail value.The low end comes from an industry benchmark of about 5.5% (Sanrio’s filed royalties); the high end from Funko’s filed royalty rate, halved for wholesale. No Pokémon licensee discloses its rate.
- The ratio compares revenue, not profit.At the parent’s 43–51% gross margin the gap shrinks to about 1.7–7.2 times; the card business’s own margin is not observed.
Sanity check
The range pairs opposite extremes, so it is wide. The gross-profit view (about 1.7–7.2 times) is the fairer comparison, and even its low end favours cards.
Where it comes from
Our calculation from other figures in the trainer’s notes:
- EstimateAn estimate of how much of each Western list-price dollar reaches The Pokémon Company in the year to February 2026
- EstimateEstimated licensing income The Pokémon Company earns per dollar of Western licensed retail sales in 2025LG retail ¥ bn: 2,348
- EstimateThe Pokémon Company’s Tokyo company revenue growth in years with and without a new console game, 2021 to 2026. New-game years averaged 38% growth; other years 33%
Show the working
- Cards s: 0.35 to 0.59
- Licensed merch yield: 0.042 to 0.087
- Ratio times: 4 to 14.1
- 0.35 / 0.087 = 4.0
- 0.59 / 0.0419 = 14.1
Related figures
Built from this one