June Card Grading Reaches a New All-Time High
June delivered a new benchmark for the grading market, with GemRate tracking 3.5 million cards graded across the major providers. That total topped the previous record of 3.1 million set in April and marked the strongest month yet for the hobby’s grading activity.
The latest report showed grading volume rising 13% on a per-business-day basis compared with May and climbing 65% year over year. A slightly longer month helped push totals higher, but the gains were broad enough to suggest continued strength across the grading business.
Four of the five grading companies tracked by GemRate posted record highs in June. PSA, CGC, Beckett, and TAG all reached new monthly peaks, while SGC was the only company to move in the opposite direction.
PSA Extends Its Lead
PSA remained the clear leader in the market, grading 2.50 million cards in June. That figure was up 21% from May and 74% compared with the same month last year.
Trading card games continued to drive much of PSA’s volume. TCG submissions, which include Pokémon, One Piece, and Magic: The Gathering, accounted for just over 71% of PSA’s June total, or 1.78 million cards. That segment rose 23% month over month and 95% year over year.
The report suggests PSA’s push to work through its grading backlog may be helping support the company’s latest surge in volume. After a slight dip in May, June’s results point to renewed momentum at the top of the market.
CGC, Beckett, and TAG Also Post Record Months
PSA was not the only company to set a new high. CGC, Beckett, and TAG each reported record monthly totals in June, adding to the sense that grading demand remains strong across multiple segments of the hobby.
GemRate’s data indicates that the broader market benefited from the extra business day in June, but the record-setting pace was still notable given the size of the overall total. On a month-over-month basis, both PSA and CGC climbed more than 15% from May.
The report did not include the deeper player-by-player or card-by-card breakdowns that have appeared in some previous months, so the June data is more limited than usual. Even so, the headline numbers show that grading activity remains elevated across the industry.
SGC Posts a Sharp Decline
While most of the tracked grading companies reached new highs, SGC saw a steep drop. The company’s June total fell 19% from May and was down 75% year over year, making it the clear outlier in an otherwise strong month for grading.
GemRate’s monthly graph also highlighted how quickly the gap has widened. SGC and CGC were close in grading volume through much of 2024, but CGC began to accelerate in the fall while SGC flattened and then declined sharply.
The downturn has raised questions about SGC’s current market position, especially as TAG has shown strong upward momentum in the TCG space. SGC was acquired by Collectors in 2024, the same parent company that owns PSA and Beckett, making its recent decline even more notable within the broader Collectors portfolio.
What the June Data Says About the Grading Market
The June report reinforces how central grading has become to both the sports card and TCG markets. PSA’s volume remains heavily influenced by trading cards, but the overall industry picture shows strength beyond a single category.
With 3.5 million cards graded in one month, the market has now set a new high-water mark for activity. That is a meaningful jump from the previous record and a sign that collectors continue to send in cards at a rapid pace across multiple services.
The year-over-year growth is especially striking. A 65% increase in per-business-day grading activity suggests that the current level of demand is not just a calendar-driven spike. Instead, it reflects a much larger wave of submissions than the hobby saw at this point last year.
GemRate Report Offers Less Detail Than Usual
One downside for readers of the monthly GemRate update is that the June report was less detailed than some of the company’s previous releases. The team said it skipped the additional breakdowns this month because of time constraints and noted that the report may be published after the holiday weekend.
In past months, those extra details have helped make the report especially useful by showing which players and TCG cards were being graded most heavily. That kind of information can offer a closer look at collector demand and emerging trends within the hobby.
The source material referenced an example from March 2026, when Kon Knueppel graded cards saw a major jump. Reports like that have added depth to GemRate’s monthly coverage and helped turn the data into more than just a volume snapshot.
Whether those expanded breakdowns return remains to be seen, but the June numbers alone make one thing clear: grading activity is running at a record pace, PSA continues to dominate the market, and SGC faces growing pressure as the landscape keeps shifting.
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