HYBE Records All-Time High Quarterly Revenue, Eyes Profit Recovery from Next Year

HYBE has once again demonstrated the growth potential of K-pop companies by achieving its highest-ever quarterly revenue, fueled by successful world tours and an expanding global fandom business.

On the 10th, HYBE announced its third-quarter consolidated revenue reached 727.2 billion KRW, a 37.8% increase year-over-year. This surpasses the previous record of 726.4 billion KRW set in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Following strong performances in the first and second quarters, the company continued its growth trajectory through the third quarter, bringing its cumulative revenue to approximately 1.93 trillion KRW.

The concert segment was a primary driver of this success. Global solo tours by BTS member Jin, alongside world tours by TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) and ENHYPEN, significantly boosted direct engagement revenue to 477.4 billion KRW (66% of total revenue). Concert revenue alone more than tripled year-over-year, reaching 245 billion KRW.

While album sales saw a slight decrease due to fewer artist comebacks, the MD and licensing division surged by 70% to 168.3 billion KRW, contributing to the overall indirect revenue growth of 249.8 billion KRW. Tour merchandise, light sticks, and IP-based character products achieved high sales in the global market.

HYBE's 'multi-home, multi-genre' strategy also yielded significant results. The global girl group CAT’S EYE achieved a remarkable feat, charting at 37th on the Billboard 'Hot 100' and earning nominations for 'Best New Artist' and 'Best Pop Duo/Group Performance' at the Grammy Awards. Spotify monthly listeners surpassed 33 million, and their global tour, spanning 16 shows across 13 North American cities, sold out every performance.

The global fandom platform Weverse also turned profitable on a cumulative basis by the third quarter, driven by new advertising initiatives and a growing paid membership model. Weverse is set to accelerate its global expansion by launching 'Weverse DM' on China's QQ Music on the 18th.

However, HYBE reported an operating loss of 42.2 billion KRW for the third quarter. This was attributed to one-off costs incurred from investments in new artists for global IP expansion and restructuring of its North American operations. CFO Lee Kyung-jun explained, "Although profitability declined in the short term, we anticipate a strengthening of our foundation for global fandom expansion in the mid-to-long term."

HYPE CEO Lee Jae-sang stated, "We expect our K-pop division to maintain profitability of around 10-15% this year. Cost burdens are expected to ease starting in the fourth quarter, and we anticipate a significant improvement in our profit structure from next year with the resumption of BTS's activities."

Korean netizens reacted enthusiastically, with comments like "HYBE is truly amazing!", "It's going to be even bigger when BTS makes their comeback", and "I really wanted to buy the tour merch, it was a shame it sold out so quickly."