• by Thom Forbes  @tforbes, February 7, 2017

The royal Disney ladies are doing their magic for Hasbro. But with overall sales up 11%, its success can also be attributed to realizing that folks are not bored with board games even as they flail away at villains and sprites on their electronic devices.

“Hasbro bucked the glum holiday toy season with surprisingly strong sales of Disney princess dolls, sending its shares to an all-time high Monday,” up 14% at the close, the New York Post reports. “The No. 2 U.S. toymaker won the lucrative contract for dolls based on Walt Disney’s princesses, including Cinderella and Snow White, from arch-rival Mattel in 2014. It started selling them last year.”

The bank account is also looking good for more traditional reasons.

“Hasbro Inc.’s decision to stick by Monopoly and other traditional games — a daring move in an increasingly digital world — is paying off after a robust holiday season boosted the shares the most in 16 years,” writes Matthew Townsend for Bloomberg. “The toymaker bucked lackluster results at Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. and Mattel Inc., thanks in large part to games like ‘Pie Face’ and ‘Magic: The Gathering.’” 

Its studio partner’s timing helps.

“Disney has made a habit of releasing Star Wars films late in the year: both ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ and ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ came out in December,” observes John Kell for Fortune. “As a result, Hasbro gets a late-season boost from the property as well as a long runway to boost sales the following year when sales for toys are typically light.”

And fairy tales have sequels, too.

“Hasbro expects another big year in 2017, with product tie-ins to an assortment of major movie releases including ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’ Disney's ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ and ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’ The company also noted the upcoming Transformers and My Little Pony movies, which are based on its own brands,” the Associated Press reports on ABC.com.

Seeking Alpha has transcribed the Hasbro earnings call in its entirety.

“While I love to tell you ‘I told you so,’ even I didn’t realize the numbers could be this good,” “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer tells us before interviewing CEO Brian Goldner yesterday, reports CNBC’s Abigail Stevenson.

“It's all about engaging the consumer across storytelling and innovation, a lot of digital engagement. We do it all around the world,” Goldner tells Cramer. “Our international business, category for category and region for region, we are up considerably.” 

Back in Pawtucket, R.I., headquarters, John Frascotti, who joined the company in 2008 as CMO and became president of Hasbro Brands in 2014, was named president of Hasbro, Inc. He succeeds — and will continue to report to — Goldner, who becomes chairman and CEO.

Frascotti “has played a critical role in the re-imagination and re-invention of Hasbro’s world-class portfolio of brands including Transformers, Nerf, My Little Pony, Monopoly, Magic: The Gathering and Play-Doh,” according to a news release. “His experience in brand building, brand marketing, digital marketing and entertainment to has contributed to expanding the reach of these brands globally.”

Frascotti has quite the pedigree: a BA in economics from Yale, a Harvard Law degree and varied experience at Reebok, including SVP of the Sport Division, before joining the toymaker.

Speaking of Disney royalty and succession, as Disney watchers are wont to do, sources tell the Wall Street Journal that CEO Robert Iger may extend his tenure yet again. 

“Iger originally was scheduled to step down as CEO in 2015, after 10 years on the job, and then in 2016. When his exit was pushed back again to June 2018 just more than two years ago, he said ‘this time I really mean it’ and has since given no indication he has changed his mind,” Ben Fritz and Joann S. Lublin write.

But, they report, “Inside Disney, few think any executives are currently poised to ascend. There also is a widespread belief that it would be difficult for an outsider to get their hands around the world’s largest media conglomerate in less than a year and a half.” 

In the meantime, after its close today, Wall Street will attempt to get its hands around Disney’s earnings for the fiscal quarter ending December 2016. Three things to watch, says the Los Angeles Times’ Daniel Miller, while pointing out that Disney shares have surged nearly 19% over the past three months: 

• Can “Rogue One” deliver?

• How is ESPN doing? 

• Will CEO succession be addressed? 

With storylines like those developing, the house should be sold out.