Lego Sales Jump 22% in Record First Half, Outpacing Toy Market

A record half, in a year Lego said would be slower

Lego's first-half 2026 results are notable for their size, and also because they contradict the company's own forecast. The Danish brickmaker reported revenue up 21% to a record DKK 41.9 billion, roughly $6.54 billion, for the six months to June 30. In constant currency, revenue grew 26%.141 Consumer sales, Lego's estimate of what end customers spent across all channels, rose 22%. Operating profit climbed 22% to DKK 10.9 billion, and net profit jumped 32% to DKK 8.6 billion.1413

In March, the outlook was much more modest. After full-year 2025 revenue rose 12% to DKK 83.5 billion, CEO Niels Christiansen told CNBC he expected high-single-digit growth for 2026.15 Lego's March guidance pointed to single-digit revenue growth and roughly flat net profit, because the company planned to keep spending heavily on sustainability and digital technology.4 Whether Lego set a deliberately low bar or the second half will slow sharply won't be clear until the annual report. Either way, the first half has already beaten what Billund said it would do.4

Outpacing a market that is also booming

The headline claim, that Lego beat the global toy market, holds up. But the comparison is less lopsided than in past years. Circana estimates the toy market grew about 14% in the first half of 2026. That is unusually strong for the industry, following 7% growth in 2025.4 Lego's 22% consumer-sales gain still means it took market share, as the company says.14 This time, though, it was growing alongside a strong market rather than against a weak one. Rivals did well too: Mattel reported strong quarterly growth, and Hasbro posted a solid second-quarter revenue increase.12

The gap was wider a year ago. In 2025, Lego's consumer sales grew 16% while the market grew about 7%, more than twice the industry's pace.1915 eMarketer's figure for 2025 global toy dollar growth was 6%, a small difference from Lego's number.20 Our view: Lego is still widening its lead, but some of the 2026 surge comes from a rising market. Circana names licensed products, collectibles and adult buyers as the main drivers this year, and Lego is strong in all three.4

The ecommerce question Lego doesn't answer

Anyone looking for Lego's online sales growth will find that the company doesn't report it. Lego's half-year release covers revenue, consumer sales, profit, cash flow and store counts, but not a separate ecommerce figure.14 Consumer sales covers purchases through every channel and is stated in constant currency. Revenue reflects what Lego books, including sales to retailers, so the two numbers can't be compared directly.4

That wasn't always the case. During the pandemic in 2021, Lego said ecommerce sales on its own sites and partner platforms grew 50% year over year, though it gave no underlying figures.29 Since then, the online story has been mostly absent from the headline results. Store openings, product launches and factory projects get the attention instead.

Third-party estimates fill some of the gap, but they disagree. Grips Intelligence puts lego.com's 2025 online sales at about $642.5 million, up 20% to 50% from the year before.21 ECDB estimates lego.com's 2025 gross merchandise value at about $818 million to $830 million, with only 5% to 10% growth forecast for 2026.24 Neither estimate is close to Lego's reported revenue. If either is roughly correct, Lego's own website is a small slice of a business that brought in about $12.9 billion in 2025.15 Most Lego sets still reach customers through retail partners and their websites, including Amazon, Walmart and Target, as well as through Lego's stores.27

The monthly estimates also don't match the strong official results. Grips puts June 2026 lego.com sales at about $51.9 million from roughly 1.02 million transactions, with an average order of $50 to $75. It also says revenue for the latest three months fell 22% from the three months before.21 ECDB estimates September 2026 lego.com sales at about $71 million.24 Toy sales are seasonal and these models are rough, so the numbers prove little. But a company-wide sales jump of 22% doesn't seem to be driven by lego.com in particular, at least by these outside measures.

Delivery, distribution and the physical network

If the online side is hard to see, the logistics side is clearer, and it may matter more for getting orders to customers. Lego makes products near where they are sold. Its Mexico plant serves the Americas, Hungary covers parts of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and a Vietnam factory supplies Asia-Pacific.20 eMarketer says building closer to customers shortens delivery times, cuts shipping costs and lets Lego adjust output to each region.20 CNBC called this supply chain Lego's quiet competitive advantage, alongside its knack for spotting trends.15

The next big piece is in the US. Lego is building a factory and a regional distribution center in Virginia, and both are on track to open in 2027.123 In the first half of 2026, Lego spent DKK 4.6 billion on new and expanded facilities, up from DKK 4.2 billion a year earlier.14 For online and store orders in the Americas, the Virginia center should shorten the distance from factory to customer in Lego's largest growth region.

The store story is more mixed than the press release suggests. Lego says it opened new branded stores and has 1,106 worldwide.14 Stonewars notes there were 1,112 at the end of 2025, a net drop of six, with 216 run by Lego and 890 by partners.4 This doesn't mean Lego is pulling back from physical retail. In February it paid DKK 1.9 billion for 29 Lego and Legoland Discovery Centres from Merlin Entertainments, which draw about five million visitors a year.414 It does suggest the period of rapid store expansion has slowed. Lego's retail focus has shifted toward partner retailers and in-store product demos.144

What's actually driving demand

Across the coverage, the explanation is consistent. The growth comes from making more products for more kinds of buyers. Lego launched 332 new sets in the first half, a record, up from 314 a year earlier.14 Its best-selling themes were Speed Champions, Botanicals, Technic, Icons and Star Wars, helped by tie-ins with Formula 1, the 2026 FIFA World Cup and KPop Demon Hunters.12 The first Pokémon sets and the sensor-equipped Smart Play system also launched.3 Stonewars doubts Smart Play has added much revenue so far, given how new it is.4

Christiansen told CNBC that sales are strong at both the premium and budget ends of the price range.1 Lego's range runs from a $30 Star Wars starfighter to a 2,000-piece set priced at $250.9 Adults are a key market. Circana data shows adults buying for themselves account for 25% to 30% of global toy sales.15

That strategy has a cost that fan sites keep raising. Comment threads on Brickset and Jay's Brick Blog include frequent complaints about price increases and print quality, and Brickset's own write-up mentions rising prices.1713 So far the numbers suggest those complaints haven't hurt sales. Stonewars also notes that Lego City, a classic play theme, dropped out of the top-seller list. That could point to a shift toward display models for adults.4

The bottom line

In our view, Lego's record half is real and broad-based, but the ecommerce angle is a blind spot more than a driver. The company is gaining share mainly through more products, licenses and buyer groups, and through a regional supply chain that keeps costs and delivery times down.420 How much of that growth happens online, on lego.com or through retail partners' sites, Lego doesn't say. Outside estimates vary too much to answer the question.2124 Jay's Brick Blog notes that second halves usually bring in 30% to 40% more revenue than first halves, which would put Lego near DKK 100 billion for 2026.13 If it reaches that mark, holiday ordering and delivery will be a big part of it. Until Lego discloses its channel mix, there's no way to measure ecommerce's share of the result.