Funko Pop maker admits it might not survive another year as sales crash

Article on dexerto / archive

Funko has warned investors that it may not survive another year after reporting a sharp decline in sales and issuing a formal notice about its financial stability.

The collectibles giant behind the Pop Vinyl brand posted net sales of $250.9 million for the third quarter of 2025, down 14% from the same period last year, and recorded a net loss of roughly $1 million, according to its latest financial filing. The company cited falling demand, higher tariffs, and tighter retailer inventories as major challenges in what it described as a “difficult retail environment.“

Funko’s troubles follow years of explosive growth fueled by its vinyl collectibles, which once dominated shelves at Walmart, Target, and comic book stores. But as overproduction flooded the market and consumer interest waned, the company’s once-steady profits began to collapse. Reports from industry tracker ICv2 show that Funko’s U.S. sales plunged 20% year-over-year, accounting for most of its overall revenue drop.

“Substantial doubt” over Funko’s future​

In its latest SEC filing, Funko said there is “substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for the next 12 months,” acknowledging that without new funding or an acquisition, it could breach loan covenants and default on debt obligations. The company has roughly $250 million in total debt and has already amended its credit agreement twice in 2025 to secure covenant relief.

Funko says it will focus on smaller product lines such as Bitty Pops, blind-box collectibles, and its Pop Yourself kiosks while “exploring strategic alternatives,” including a potential sale. Once a billion-dollar powerhouse of pop-culture merchandise, the company now faces its most uncertain year yet.

 

[Aunt Carol]

When you put it that way, maybe it would be better to call them nogs instead and make them all have pictures and facts about inner city crime.

Settle for a Homies crossover?

 

[Nimbat Out Of Hell]

Good riddance to them. These things ruined the entry level collectible market

 

[Miriam Margoyles]

Funko probably deserve to go out of business for going all in on the Pride Month shit alone.




Actually, thinking about it, in the past few months, I have seen their custom Funko Pop! Yourself service being shilled more and more aggressively in advertising online, with Funko allowing you to create miniature chinkslop plastic replicas of yourself, your wife and your wife's boyfriend for a slight premium.



That was 100% a desperate and cynical attempt from a dying brand to squeeze a bit of money out of people while reusing old molds, wasn't it?

 

[ZazietheBeast]

Funkopops are ugly and deserve to be forgotten. Literal plastic crap.

 

[Ibanez RG 350EX]

I mean, thinking about it, Funko probably deserve to go out of business for going all in on the Pride Month shit alone.

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I didn't think you could make Funko Pops any more aesthetically offensive, but I have been comprehensively proven wrong.

 

[Smar Mijou]

what happens to all the stores at the mall that are just 90% funko pops?

They'll go on clearance, and what isn't scooped up by speculators will end up in some closeout store like Ollie's or Big Lots, in a perpetual state of retail limbo.

Eventually, the same thing will happen to them that happened to beanie babies. Most will be discarded and the few people who think they'll be worth something "some day" will keep them stashed away on a shelf somewhere collecting dust, until they inevitably get thrown away by the kids cleaning out their hoarder parents' house after they die.

 

[Dysnomia]

I don't know if Pogs lasted long enough for them to have much of an impact on Chris. I seem to remember the things becoming a thing and then just vanishing within a year.

Milk cap games were around for a century before Pogs became a thing. So at least they had some prior history. They just didn't last long as a fad. The wax coated paper caps were meant to replace metal caps that tended to rust. Kids would collect the paper caps and play games with them. So companies started to print them to be collectable.

https://www.kandorarchives.com/p/milk-caps-pogs.html

Funkos are just plastic crap. Pure autism that just collects dust. It's fine to buy a few that you really like. But people go overboard and end up with the equivalent of a Beanie Baby high. And much like Beanie Babies they will be mostly worthless anyway.

 

[Blacklight]

I guess the Hulk funko pop being bigger than the others won't save them.

 

[Miriam Margoyles]

But people go overboard and end up with the equivalent of a Beanie Baby high. And much like Beanie Babies they will be mostly worthless anyway.

As someone who was there at the time, the Beanie Baby craze was a really weird time, looking back on it. It was all mostly pre-Internet, and I still remember rushing to the newsagents to get the Friday Ad and literally having my Dad drive me around to the houses of complete strangers who were selling Beanie Babies, in the hope that one of them might have Zero the Penguin.

Spoiler

No one ever did.

There were several unofficial Beanie Baby collector magazines (I think I literally had a copy of pic related!), price guides, you'd literally see adverts for entire businesses who, if you called their toll-free number, would see if they could hook you up with whatever beanbag animal with a cutesy name you'd want, for a negotiable price.

This whole weird kind of economy.

And while kids like me loved Beanie Babies, most of the real heat was generated by grown adults who were somehow convinced that these little bags of pellets were going to make them rich one day.

 

[Agares]

Just think of all the shelf space game stores will have once Funko goes under. I swear every tabletop game store and card shop has entire sections of their shop dedicated to this ugly crap.

 

[Levi]

I wonder why other merchandising companies are still doing alright during the economic struggle? Has Funko ever considered not making the most diabolically ugly shit possible?

 

[Breadbassket]

There were several unofficial Beanie Baby collector magazines (I think I literally had a copy of pic related!), price guides, you'd literally see adverts for entire businesses who, if you called their toll-free number, would see if they could hook you up with whatever beanbag animal with a cutesy name you'd want, for a negotiable price.

This whole weird kind of economy.

And while kids like me loved Beanie Babies, most of the real heat was generated by grown adults who were somehow convinced that these little bags of pellets were going to make them rich one day.

Trying to make a profit off of speculation makes people do silly things.

 

[Adrenochrome Dreams]

As someone who was there at the time, the Beanie Baby craze was a really weird time, looking back on it. It was all mostly pre-Internet, and I still remember rushing to the newsagents to get the Friday Ad and literally having my Dad drive me around to the houses of complete strangers who were selling Beanie Babies, in the hope that one of them might have Zero the Penguin.

Spoiler

No one ever did.

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There were several unofficial Beanie Baby collector magazines (I think I literally had a copy of pic related!), price guides, you'd literally see adverts for entire businesses who, if you called their toll-free number, would see if they could hook you up with whatever beanbag animal with a cutesy name you'd want, for a negotiable price.

This whole weird kind of economy.

And while kids like me loved Beanie Babies, most of the real heat was generated by grown adults who were somehow convinced that these little bags of pellets were going to make them rich one day.

I remember the excitement of Beanie Babies. I used to love them as a kid. At least, regardless of supposed monetary value, they were actually nice toys that could be played with, and very aesthetically pleasing. Unlike Funko pops, which are just cheap plastic, hideous square-headed pointless dust collectors.

 

[Sundae]

My favorite thing to come from Funko Pops is this video:

As someone who was there at the time, the Beanie Baby craze was a really weird time, looking back on it. It was all mostly pre-Internet, and I still remember rushing to the newsagents to get the Friday Ad and literally having my Dad drive me around to the houses of complete strangers who were selling Beanie Babies, in the hope that one of them might have Zero the Penguin.

Spoiler

No one ever did.

Ver archivo adjunto 8145396

There were several unofficial Beanie Baby collector magazines (I think I literally had a copy of pic related!), price guides, you'd literally see adverts for entire businesses who, if you called their toll-free number, would see if they could hook you up with whatever beanbag animal with a cutesy name you'd want, for a negotiable price.

This whole weird kind of economy.

And while kids like me loved Beanie Babies, most of the real heat was generated by grown adults who were somehow convinced that these little bags of pellets were going to make them rich one day.

The Beanie Baby crzae was an interesting time, just about everyone in my family fell for it. I don't even know what happened to most of the ones my relatives collected, probably thrown away years ago.

 

[SITHRAK!]

Can’t wait for the same fate to befall Games Workshop.

 

[WonderWino]

Trying to make a profit off of speculation makes people do silly things.

Theres a better call saul joke in there somewhere i'm sure

That said how long before they get really desperate not to go bankrupt and go full retarded with franco pops, and a whole line of nationalist and republican spain themed funko pops, with special collectors edition condor legion and blue division lines

The redditors would be all over those

 

[ChompChomp]

how do you lose 250 million dollars making little plastic figurines.

They didn't. You should re-read the article.

Also, publicly admitting this decline is terrible PR, it’s basically announcing to everyone who hasn’t yet got the message that your product has gone out of fashion.

It's kind of legally required since they're a public company. If you read any SEC filing for quarterly earnings or whatever, you'll see sections covering challenges and concerns for the company, including prevailing market conditions and competition.

I didn't think you could make Funko Pops any more aesthetically offensive, but I have been comprehensively proven wrong.

You must've missed this part, champ:

with Funko allowing you to create miniature chinkslop plastic replicas of yourself

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

I don't know if Pogs lasted long enough for them to have much of an impact on Chris. I seem to remember the things becoming a thing and then just vanishing within a year.

Sounds like Pogs were the Crazy Bones of the 90's. Probably died the same way Crazy Bones did. Schools banned them and no one cared enough to learn how to play with them.

 

[I Shidded I Farded I Came]

At least Labubus are based on a genuine original idea.

As far as I can tell labubus are a chink ripoff, and unholy combination, of Where the Wild Things Are art with beanie baby marketing.

and i'm surprised chris chan never made any sonichu pogs of his own. He's the right age for it, you'd think it would be one of the things he'd have done at some point. Plus he could put a hole through one and wear it as an emergency sonichu medallion

Chris actually did make pogs featuring the main character of Sonichu (himself).

 

[Barry Williams]

Trying to make a profit off of speculation makes people do silly things.

Yeah, on that note I'm gonna put in a sell order for all my $FNKO stock come Monday morning.