Record sales at Lego after World Cup bounce 

A shopper carries a Lego bag. Picture: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

Lego is ruling out handing over the design of its iconic building sets to artificial intelligence, betting instead on human creativity to extend a run of record revenue and market-share gains, after announcing record first-half sales and profits, buoyed by themed World Cup sets.

Lego said total revenue jumped 21% to 41.9bn kroner (€3.85bn). The company's new Lego products in 2026 included World Cup-themed sets, including a replica World Cup for €180 and Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Cristiano Ronaldo sets. 

Lego revenues were more than triple that of rivals Hasbro and Mattel. The company continued to take market share even as consumers contend with wars, trade tensions and a more uncertain economic outlook, chief executive Neils B Christiansen said.

“We’ve had a very strong first half,” in the US, Asia and Europe, Neils B Christiansen said. “It’s not one single country. It’s very, very broad across a lot of markets.”

The company has opted not to bring AI into its creative design process. The stance puts a limit on how far the Danish toymaker is willing to take AI as the technology spreads rapidly into creative work, with companies using it for everything from advertising and images to video and product concepts. Mr Christiansen says Lego is still embracing AI in other parts of the business, particularly on administrative and standardised tasks.

“You’re never going to have a product that’s only made by AI,” Christiansen said in an interview. “It will always be the designer who does the creative work.” AI can still play a role in the work surrounding the creative process. Christiansen pointed to the production of Lego’s building manuals, where some standardized tasks could be handled with AI tools, much as designers have adopted other technologies over the years. The aim, he said, is to make designers more productive and free up more of their time for creative work.

The Chinese market remains a difficult one for Lego. Christiansen said consumers there remain more cautious and Lego isn’t seeing the same pace of growth as in other markets after several weaker years. Still, the company is sticking with its expansion plans, continuing to open stores and invest behind the brand as it waits for demand to recover.

“There are really, really a lot of children in China, and it’s a super interesting market,” Christiansen said. “There’s simply some uncertainty and a reluctance to spend in the Chinese market more broadly.” 

Overall, the company introduced 332 new sets in the first half of 2026, according to its earnings statement. Mr Christiansen cited the push into the sport as an example of Lego’s strategy of reaching new groups of consumers.

“The machine is running pretty well, and we have a pretty good handle on things,” Mr Christiansen said. “But there are no guarantees.”

Bloomberg