How much does it cost to make a box of Space Marines?

We've all heard the rumours that it costs Games Workshop 20p to make a box of Space Marines, but is this true?

To estimate how much it costs Games Workshop to manufacture a box of their poster boys, we analysed their annual accounts going back to 1992. Manufacturing costs started to be included in their accounts in 2011, for this article we estimated the cost of manufacturing Tactical Marines from 2011 to 2024.

Retail price of Tactical Marine Squad compared to estimated cost of manufacture

The above graph shows how the retail price of a box of Adeptus Astartes has increased from 2011 to 2024, compared to their estimated cost of manufacture. The first notable point is that the retail price of a Tactical Squad has increased from $37.25 in 2011 to $60 in 2024, an increase of 62% over 13 years. For comparison, the US CPI (Consumer Price Index) has increased by 40% over the same period.

The estimated cost to manufacture Tactical Squad in 2011 was $3.16, this steadily fell to $0.55 in 2021. In 2022, it rose to a high of $4.51 in 2024. This was calculated by estimating the mark-up percentage and dividing the retail price by the mark-up percentage.

Games Workshop's estimated mark-up percentage

The graph above shows Games Workshop's estimated mark-up percentage, this was calculated by dividing Games Workshop's core operating by the estimated cost of the manufacture. The estimated cost of manufacture was calculated in several ways due to Games Workshop changing how they published their accounts in different years.

However, it still shows Games Workshop has consistently operated with a mark-up percentage of at least 1000%. Their mark-up percentage increased nine years out of ten from 2011 to 2021; a significant reduction followed this in 2023 and 2024. In 2024 Games Workshop changed how they reported their manufacturing costs, including 2023's measured the same way.

Does the mark-up percentage and operating profit correlate?

The above graph shows Games Workshop's core operating profit from 2011 to 2024. During the reported period, Games Workshop's core operating profit increased from £15,300,000 to £174,800,000.

As Games Workshop's profits continued to rise in 2023 and 2024 despite their estimated mark-up reduction, it is assumed the change in estimated mark-up was due to how the costs were reported. As Games Workshop's profits continued to rise, it can be assumed they did not reduce their mark-up percentage but changed how they reported their costs.

Conclusion

The anecdotes of Games Workshop's manufacturing costs may be exaggerated, but they consistently have a mark-up percentage of at least 1000%. Currently, the estimated cost to manufacture a box of Tactical Marines is $4.51, which is above the anecdotal expenses that are mentioned when Games Workshop increases its prices.