I follow a significant number of news outlets. Over the last two weeks, I have seen a surge in negative news about the toy industry. I sat down and pulled a sampling of headlines together to see what it looked like in the aggregate. What it looks like is not pretty.

“Lego suffers the steepest fall in profits in almost two decades,” Financial Times, August 30, 2023

“Disney’s stock closes at a 9-year low, and it still may not be cheap,” MarketWatch, August 24, 2023

“Department Stores Are Maxed Out,” Wall Street Journal, August 23, 2023

“Port of Los Angeles Cargo Volumes Fall 27% in July,” gCaptain, August 23, 2023

“Hong Kong Exports Fall Again, Weighing on Economy’s Outlook,” Bloomberg, August 24, 2023

“Cash-Strapped Collectors Offload Prized Memorabilia. ‘Literally Like Selling Away My Life,’” Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2023

“Dollar Stores Flash Warning Signs on Consumer Spending,” Wall Street Journal, August 31, 2023

On top of that, Funko’s stock price is down 72 percent year-over-year, Hasbro is down 18 percent, and Spin Master is down 27 percent. And what about Mattel, with the most significant movie hit of the year? Even Mattel is down 10%.

Does this point to a challenging fourth quarter? Based on these headlines, hold on to your hats.