Mattel says sales of 'Toy Story 4' characters like Forky the spork helped it crush earnings

Disney/Pixar

"Toy Story 4"

• Toymaker Mattel released its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, and stocks soared on healthy earnings.
• In an earnings call, the toymaker highlighted that actions figures from "Toy Story 4" gave the toymaker a boost in sales.
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Toymaker Mattel has a friend in "Toy Story," as the franchise's fourth movie helped boost toy sales in the retailer's last quarter.

Mattel soared in trading on Wednesday morning, with shares rising 18%, as the company posted healthy earnings in the third quarter.

In an earnings call, the company highlighted that the film helped boost action figure sales in particular.

"Action Figures, Building Sets and Games together grew 13%, marking the third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth for this challenger categories," said Ynon Kreiz, CEO of the company. In particular, Kreiz said that "Action Figures was driven by 'Toy Story 4,' which continues to do very well following the movie's release."

On Amazon, the character Forky featured as the top-selling "Toy Story" action figure, closely followed by Woody the cowboy.

Mattel also saw strong performances from Barbie, as sales rose 12% last quarter. The doll didn't appear in the fourth film but was a character in "Toy Story 2" and "Toy Story 3."

The toymaker also highlighted the trade war in the call, saying that the conflict had "a de minimis impact" on results.

"We have worked very closely with our retail partners to prepare for the potential implications of tariffs in the short to mid-term," the CEO said. "We continue to monitor trade negotiations and assess the potential effects on the industry, retailers and consumers."

Watch Mattel trade live here.