¥27–39
group revenue of ¥1.02–1.05tn over modelled fan spending, one year.
- ≈¥2.7–3.7tn fans spend in a year, modelled
- 2.88% of a decade’s profit the Tokyo parent paid its owners
The Pokémon Company books about a third of what fans spend on Pokémon, earns a quarter of a trillion yen on it, and pays almost none of that to the three companies that own the name. Its group revenue, ¥1.02–1.05tn, is ¥27–39 of every hundred yen spent at list price. The structure explains the behaviour: TPC sells for itself where it can, licenses where it must, and keeps the cash. Four steps, each linked to the page that goes deeper.
Three trillion yen on the shelf, nothing paid out
One year of Pokémon money, from what fans spend to what the owners receive in cash, ¥ billion, year to February 2026
- Total
- Estimated range
Fan spending is a model; group revenue and Nintendo’s share come from Nintendo’s annual report; the payout from TPC’s gazette notice.
Built from , and .Show the numbers
| Stage | Money at each stage, ¥bn | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fans spend, at list price | (2,724–3,745) | |
| The Pokémon Company group’s revenue | (1,020–1,048) | |
| Its net profit | (249–260) | |
| Nintendo’s 32% share, booked on paper | (81–84) | |
| Paid out in cash to the three owners |
Money at each stage. One year, TPC’s year to February 2026 (Nintendo’s to March 2026). Each bar runs from zero; the shaded band is the estimated range. Fan spending is our model at list price, and about two-thirds of it is a merchandise figure TPC’s Western arm submitted to a trade ranking. Group revenue is backed out of Nintendo’s annual report with the baseball club taken out. Net profit is TPC alone and includes a one-off gain of about ¥24bn. Nintendo’s share is its equity-method income less the club’s part. The Tokyo parent paid no dividend for the year; over the decade it paid out 2.88% of its profit.
Fans spend, and most of it stays on the shelf
In a year fans spend ≈¥2.7–3.7tn on Pokémon at list price: toys and clothes, cards, games, apps, shops and events. Treat the range as a model, not a measurement. About two-thirds of it is one figure, licensed merchandise sold in the West, which TPC’s Western arm submitted to License Global’s ranking and the trade press itself calls “estimated” (Licensing).
Most of that money stops before TPC. Licensees, retailers, card shops, app stores, DeNA and Nintendo keep ≈¥2.1–2.9tn of the lines we can model. What reaches TPC is ¥27–39 per hundred yen only because the numerator is the filed-and-backed-out ¥1.02–1.05tn and the denominator is that wide model.
TPC sells what it can and licenses the rest
How much of a yen TPC keeps depends on whether it sells the product or licenses it. On licensed merchandise it collects a royalty of about 4–9¢ per shopper dollar. Trading cards it prints and sells itself, keeping the wholesale price, so a yen spent on cards is worth 4–14× as much to TPC. That is why cards are its biggest line (Trading cards), why it raised the Japanese pack from 180円 to 200円 in May 2026, and why it sold TCG Pocket itself rather than license it (Mobile). Selling also means carrying the risk: Pocket’s players fell from 39m to 23m a month in a year.
The core games are the exception. Nintendo sells them and pays TPC an undisclosed share (Video games).
TPC keeps the profit
TPC’s group earned ≈¥249–260bn of net profit in its last year, including a one-off gain of ¥23.8bn. Its owners are paid from the Tokyo parent, and the parent paid nothing for that year. Over a decade it paid out 2.88% of its own profit and kept the rest (The Pokémon Company has the record). On the whole group’s profit the share paid out is lower still. An estimated half of the group’s profit sits outside the parent’s accounts, in its subsidiaries, and what they send up to Tokyo is not visible. Pokémon Korea’s filed accounts show no dividend in any year from 2017 to 2025.
Nintendo books its 32% share on paper, and that share has just had its strongest half on record (Nintendo).
The owners hold the name and are paid another way
TPC was founded to manage Pokémon’s rights worldwide on its owners’ behalf, but managing is not owning. The trademarks belong to Nintendo, Creatures and Game Freak, and TPC told a dispute panel it is “not a trademark owner” (Brand). No owner has a majority.
The owners are paid by working. Nintendo sells the games (Nintendo); Game Freak makes them and Creatures develops the cards (Game Freak, Creatures). What TPC pays any of them for the name is not in any document we have found.
Why fans keep coming back is its own story, told on Characters and Video games. Who else takes a cut is on Partners, and who is spending on Collector market.