BTS comeback drives Hybe to record quarterly sales above W1tr

BTS proved it is a true super IP. When the group returned, Hybe — South Korea's largest entertainment company — posted the best earnings in its history.

Hybe disclosed preliminary second-quarter results Tuesday, reporting consolidated sales of 1.45 trillion won ($989 million) and operating profit of 170.9 billion won. Sales jumped 105.5 percent year-on-year, while operating profit surged 159.3 percent. Net profit for the period also soared 613 percent to 109.8 billion won.

Both milestones — quarterly sales exceeding 1 trillion won and quarterly operating profit topping 100 billion won — are firsts in the company's history. Cumulative first-half sales also broke the 2 trillion won mark, setting another all-time record.

Performances stood out most sharply. Concert revenue jumped 243.3 percent year-on-year, from 188.7 billion won in the second quarter of last year to 647.7 billion won this year. Hybe's second-quarter 2025 results — sales of 705.6 billion won and operating profit of 65.9 billion won — had already been the strongest second quarter on record at the time.

The multi-label structure, anchored by Tomorrow X Together, Enhypen, Le Sserafim, Boynextdoor and &Team, had already demonstrated that Hybe could generate solid returns even without BTS.

BTS's return changed everything. After the group released its fifth studio album "Arirang" and launched a world tour, growth accelerated sharply. Concert revenue alone grew by 459 billion won, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total sales increase.

The surge in concert revenue set off a chain reaction across other business lines. The BTS tour drove simultaneous fan spending on on-site merchandise, licensing deals and the "The City" project. Merchandise and licensing sales reached an all-time high of 310.6 billion won.

Other Hybe acts contributed to the momentum alongside BTS. During the same period, Enhypen embarked on a stadium tour in South America, while Boynextdoor launched its first world tour. Le Sserafim and Katseye continued their global activities. Hybe artists claimed half of the top 10 spots in US CD sales for the first half of the year, and seven acts achieved million-seller status in South Korea.

Hybe has scheduled more than 200 performances for the second half of the year, with world tours continuing for BTS, Enhypen, Le Sserafim, Boynextdoor and Katseye. If this quarter represented a leap driven by BTS's return, the next set of results will test whether the multi-label strategy can sustain that momentum as lasting growth.

The artists' busy schedules also lifted Weverse. The platform's monthly active users hit an all-time high for the second consecutive quarter, reaching 14.43 million. Total payment volume and average revenue per paying user each grew by double digits quarter-on-quarter — 12 percent and 24 percent, respectively.

"Hybe has proven through its results that in the second quarter it redefined the global entertainment market and is functioning as a core export infrastructure for South Korea's cultural industry," Chief Executive Lee Jae-sang said. "We will steadily pursue sustainable expansion and growth strategies grounded in business innovation."