As reported earlier, DA Davidson analyst Linda Bolton Weiser upgraded Mattel to Neutral from Underperform and raised her price target to $14 from $12. The analyst notes that while the company underperformed in Q2 as she expected due to the hard 2017 comparisons driven by last year's Cars 3 release and the impact from Toys R Us liquidation, investor belief that the company could be sold is supporting the stock. Weiser adds that as long as Ynon Kreiz is at the help, Mattel's elevated valuation could persist.

Reports Q1 revenue $810M, consensus $831.8M. Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, said: "We are off to a good start to the year with significant gross margin expansion, positive Adjusted EBITDA, and very strong improvement in free cash flow. Trends in consumer demand for our product improved through the quarter and we expect to outpace the industry and gain market share in 2024. We are executing our strategy to grow our IP-driven toy business and expand our entertainment offering." Anthony DiSilvestro, CFO of Mattel, added: "We achieved strong bottom-line results, primarily driven by margin expansion, repurchased $100 million of shares in the quarter, and are on track to meet our full year guidance. We expect to continue to benefit from the Optimizing for Profitable Growth program, which is targeting $60 million in cost savings in 2024 and a total of $200 million in cost savings by 2026."