Labubu's Mega Markups Make Pop Mart a $43 Billion Export Giant
Labubu, Beijing toymaker Pop Mart International Group Ltd.'s star character, is fueling a global collectibles craze. The company posted a gross profit margin of nearly 67% last year, among the highest of Chinese firms with major international reach. By comparison, homegoods and toy retailer Miniso Group Holding Ltd. 's margin was about 45%, while consumer electronics maker Xiaomi Corp. and EV powerhouse BYD Co. came in around 20%.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why Toyota Motor Rallied This Week
Key Points The U.S. and Japan struck a trade deal, resulting in a 15% tariff. The terms were much better than expected, so much so that U.S. carmakers complained. U.S. carmakers will have to pay even higher rates on imported input costs and components. 10 stocks we like better than Toyota Motor › Shares of Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) rallied 11.8% this week, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Toyota didn't have any major company-specific news this week, as it doesn't report Q2 earnings until Aug. 7. However, there was big news on the trade front, with the Trump administration and Japan inking a trade deal that would put milder-than-expected tariffs on Japanese imports, including Toyota cars. Will recent tariffs actually give Toyota a leg up on U.S. automakers? On Tuesday, the Trump administration struck a trade deal with Japan, which would lower the threatened "Liberation Day" tariff rate from 24% to 15%. While that might not seem like that much of a decrease, cars are high-ticket items, so the new tariff duties could make thousands of dollars' difference to the end price consumers may have to pay. Even though it appears Toyota cars made abroad will face tariffs going forward, the stock went up anyway. Not only that, but U.S. carmakers complained to the administration that the lower rates now put them at a disadvantage. This is because even American automakers import some of their steel and aluminum, which will now be tariffed at 50%, while other components, even for U.S.-manufactured cars, are imported from overseas, and will also be tariffed. And while part of the Japan deal involves removing restrictions on U.S. exports to Japan, U.S. automakers don't appear to believe the deal will result in any new market share gains there. Will U.S. automakers benefit from the trade negotiations? Toyota is the second-largest carmaker in the world, both in terms of global and U.S. market share, so the all-important final tariff figure could have significant consequences for U.S. auto markets. There are a lot of moving parts with regard to tariffs, however, as Toyota makes cars all over the world, with inputs and other sub-components also coming from various places. To further grasp the total consequences of the deal, investors in either Toyota stock or the "Big Three" U.S. carmakers should keep their ears out for more clarity when Toyota reports earnings in August. Should you invest $1,000 in Toyota Motor right now? Before you buy stock in Toyota Motor, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Toyota Motor wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,774!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,064,942!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,040% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Billy Duberstein and/or his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Toyota Motor Rallied This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
an hour ago
Is Elon Musk to blame for Tesla's struggles? Experts weigh in
Tesla, the electric carmaker led by Elon Musk, suffered a sharp drop in profits over a recent three-month period as car sales slowed and tariffs hiked costs, the company said this week. Shareholders envisioned a different outcome when Tesla stock surged more than 50% in the aftermath of the November 2024 election of President Donald Trump, then a close ally of Musk. Since a recent peak in December, the majority of those gains have been erased. Musk, the company's chief executive and the world's richest person, draws attention due in part to his outspoken presence on social media and divisive stint in the White House. The recent struggles at Tesla have coincided with increased competition in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, posing a question for analysts: Is Musk partially to blame? Experts who spoke to ABC News acknowledged the surge of EV competition and credited Musk with pushing the company into potential growth areas like humanoid robots and self-driving taxis, the latter of which are being tested in Austin, Texas. The company's downturn in part reflects a transition from EVs to those new products, which have yet to generate meaningful revenue, they added. Still, the experts said, Musk bears some of the blame for the company's difficulty fending off other EV makers as well as a delayed rollout of alternate products. They also pointed to losses suffered as result of some of Trump's policies, which Musk struggled to mitigate while serving in the administration. "Musk is CEO -- the buck stops with him. As a CEO in a competitive environment, he's the one who has to have the vision and lead the troops," David Meier, a senior investment analyst at The Motley Fool, told ABC News. "But there's a lot going on in the world that impacts Tesla's business." Tesla did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. Speaking on an earnings call on Wednesday, Musk said the company faces "a few rough quarters ahead." He added that, ultimately, humanoid robots and driverless taxis would make Tesla "the most valuable company in the world by far." The company's profits fell 16% over a three-month period ending in June that overlapped with the end of Musk's tenure in the White House and his ensuing public clash with Trump, an earnings release on Wednesday showed. Total revenue decreased by 12% from one year earlier, to $22.4 billion, while revenue derived from car sales dropped 16% over the second quarter of 2025 compared to a year ago, the earnings showed. In a statement, Tesla touted a "strong balance sheet," but acknowledged a "sustained uncertain macroeconomic environment resulting from shifting tariffs." The company also faces "unclear impacts from changes to fiscal policy and political sentiment," Tesla said. The company has faced heightened competition from domestic and foreign carmakers rolling out electric vehicles. Chinese EV-maker BYD outperformed Tesla in total car sales for the first time ever last year. BYD vehicles are essentially unavailable in the U.S. due to sky-high tariffs on Chinese EVs. "Part of it is outside of Tesla's control," Seth Goldstein, an analyst who studies the EV sector at research firm Morningstar, told ABC News. Goldstein cited an apparent dropoff in sales earlier this year among consumers awaiting a refresh of the company's popular Model Y. However, Goldstein added, the company has been slow to release an affordable EV model in response to a flurry of low-cost options among its rivals, which include China's BYD and traditional carmakers like Nissan and Hyundai. "Looking at Elon Musk, he's the leader of Tesla. It's fair to wonder if he was a little distracted with his political action in the first half of the year and that caused some production to slip, including production of an affordable model," Goldstein said. Musk's position at the White House, which ended in May, appeared to yield few benefits for Tesla. The company faces a pinch from several Trump policies, including the end of tax credits for EV buyers, the nixing of regulatory credits purchased from Tesla by other firms, as well as tariffs on cars and car parts. The CEO's political role also set off demonstrations at Tesla dealerships worldwide in protest of his effort to slash government spending as leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). "It was a dark chapter and investors are glad to put it in the rear-view mirror," Dan Ives, a managing director of equity research at the investment firm Wedbush and a longtime Tesla bull, told ABC News. As car sales have slowed, Musk has touted a future autonomous car service, dubbed robotaxis, as a growth area for the business. Last month, Tesla launched a limited version of what it claimed is a self-driving taxi service in Austin, Texas. The rollout marked a milestone for the company's self-driving taxi aspirations, but limitations placed on the vehicles and a series of apparent miscues suggest the technology remains far from wide adoption, some analysts previously told ABC News. Musk has also touted humanoid robots as a future growth area for Tesla. While the product remains in an early phase, Musk expects the company to eventually produce more than a million robots each year, he said on this week's earnings call. Goldstein, of Morningstar, applauded Musk's effort to move Tesla away from the highly competitive auto market toward nascent tech sectors. "Musk's long-term goal is to transition from an automaker to an AI robotics company -- that's still on track and making progress," Goldstein said. "That's where it has greater opportunities to grow a competitive advantage." The ultimate outcome for Tesla's forthcoming products remains unclear but Musk has earned the benefit of the doubt, according to some analysts.
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Wall Street Journal
China's No-Exit Plan for Foreigners
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been eager to lure American companies to invest in China, but you wouldn't know it from Beijing's latest actions. China is preventing American citizens, including a Commerce Department employee and a Wells Fargo banker, from leaving the country. The detentions, known as 'exit bans,' highlight the continuing risk to American companies of doing business in China. The State Department says it is working to get them released and that it has 'no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens.' But the Chinese bans have ensnared dozens of foreigners over the years, often with little recourse.
