The third quarter of 2025 was a busy and profitable time for South Korea’s “Big 4” K-pop companies: HYBE, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and SM Entertainment.
Each label declared strong revenue, largely due to world tours, album releases, and merchandise. Their performance in Q2 was also impressive and Q4 of 2025 looks even more promising.
HYBE Hits Record-High Quarterly Sales
HYBE had its highest quarterly sales ever in Q3 2025, largely thanks to multiple successful world tours. On November 10, the company reported consolidated sales of 727.2 billion won for the quarter, up 37.8% from the same period last year. This even surpassed the previous record of 726.4 billion won in Q4 2024. With strong first and second quarters, HYBE’s cumulative sales through Q3 reached around 1.93 trillion won.
Direct participation sales, which include concerts, accounted for 477.4 billion won, or roughly 66% of total sales. Large-scale tours, including BTS Jin’s global solo tour and the world tours of TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) and ENHYPEN, were particularly successful. These tours pushed performance sales up to 245 billion won, more than triple last year. Album sales, however, fell to 189.8 billion won because there were fewer artist comebacks during the quarter.
Indirect sales, like merchandise, licensing, content, and fan club revenues, reached 249.8 billion won, up 22% from last year. Merchandise and licensing, which made up the largest share, grew 70% to 168.3 billion won, boosted by tour merchandise, light sticks, and products based on artist IP. Despite strong sales, HYBE posted an operating loss of 42.2 billion won because of investments in expanding global artist IP and restructuring costs in North America.
CFO Lee Kyung Joon noted that while short-term profits dropped due to new team debuts, HYBE expects its long-term growth to remain solid. CEO Lee Jae Sang added that profitability should start improving in Q4 and next year as BTS resumes activities and other global projects continue.
YG Entertainment Sees Massive Growth From Concerts
YG Entertainment also had a strong quarter. Its third-quarter revenue reached 173.1 billion won, a 107% increase from last year. Operating profit was 31.1 billion won, turning a profit after a 3.6 billion won loss in the same period last year.
Concert sales were particularly impressive, reaching 50.8 billion won, a 1,528% jump year-over-year. This was fueled by 15 BLACKPINK stadium concerts and six BABYMONSTER North American shows. More concerts from BLACKPINK, TREASURE, and BABYMONSTER are scheduled for Q4.
YG said that new album releases, digital performance of TREASURE and BABY MONSTER, and global tour results helped push revenue to a record high. On an accumulated basis for the first three quarters, YG’s revenue was 373.6 billion won, up 43.2%, with operating profit rising to 49 billion won.
JYP Entertainment Shows Strong Revenue But Profit Drops
JYP Entertainment reported consolidated Q3 revenue of 232.6 billion won, up 37% from last year. Operating profit, however, fell 16% to 40.7 billion won, and net income dropped 30% to 27.1 billion won. The decline in profit was due to higher production costs from re-signing major artists (Stray Kids, DAY6, and ITZY) and more album releases.
The company said that album releases and world tours drove record revenue. However, operating profit dropped because most artists’ activities were focused on domestic concerts and fan meetings rather than global promotional events. The market had expected higher profits, and this is a notable “earnings shock” for investors.
SM Entertainment Continues Solid Financial Performance
SM Entertainment had a standout quarter with consolidated sales of 321.6 billion won. The operating profit was 48.2 billion won, a 32.8% increase in sales and a 261.6% jump in operating profit from the same period last year. Net profit soared 1,107% to 44.7 billion won. On a non-consolidated basis, sales reached 224.5 billion won, operating profit 40.2 billion won, and net profit 32.3 billion won.
Growth was pushed by album and music sales from NCT DREAM, aespa, and NCT WISH, all achieving million-seller status. Concert and merchandise sales also increased due to larger performance scales. SM’s veteran artists, like Super Junior, and rookies, including Hearts2Hearts, helped expand its roster.
SM is also actively building a sustainable global IP ecosystem under its SM 3.0 strategy. The company plans continued music releases and global tours in Q4 2025 and early 2026.
Upcoming activities include releases from TVXQ, NCT, RIIZE, aespa, EXO, SHINee, Super Junior, and Girls’ Generation members.
