HYBE is a diversified entertainment company that earns money from the music IP of many groups—BTS, SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN, ILLIT and others—along two axes: a direct-participation side of albums, concerts and advertising, and an indirect-participation side of merchandise, licensing and the fan platform Weverse. In Q1 2026, direct participation reached ₩403.7 billion (albums alone ₩271.5 billion, +99%) and indirect participation ₩294.7 billion (+66%), producing record revenue, while Weverse's monthly average users hit an all-time high of 13.37 million. The headline loss stemmed from a one-off cost tied to a share gift by the largest shareholder, and on an adjusted basis the core business rebounded +170.8%. What stands out lately is that BTS's full-group return and Weverse, a recurring-payment platform, combine to give the core business strong earnings power—yet earnings swing heavily with tour and comeback schedules, making quarters volatile, and second-half results need to come in as expected for a re-valuation to continue.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- Revenue rose 17.5% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 39.5% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is -7.3% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 1.9%.
- The forward P/E sits above the sector median, reflecting elevated expectations.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Bang Si-hyuk 30.86% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 31.71%
With the controlling bloc holding 32%, the ownership structure is stable.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- HYBE is a diversified entertainment company that houses many groups—BTS, SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN, ILLIT and others—as sub-labels and earns money from the music IP they create.
- Revenue splits broadly into two streams: a "direct-participation" side that artists make themselves (albums and tracks, concerts, advertising) and an "indirect-participation" side that extends and sells that IP (merchandise, licensing, content, fan clubs, and its own fan platform Weverse).
- As of Q1 2026, direct participation was ₩403.7 billion (albums alone ₩271.5 billion, +99% YoY) and indirect participation ₩294.7 billion (+66%).
- Weverse in particular hit an all-time high of 13.37 million monthly average users, serving as a platform where money circulates steadily even in periods without an album or tour.
- In short, HYBE's revenue goes beyond a "sell an album and earn once" structure to one where large IP (BTS) meshes with a recurring-payment platform (Weverse).
- The recent close is ₩216,000 and market cap is ₩9.3 trillion.
- The price sits above its 20-day line (₩211,195) but below its 60-day line (₩228,638).
- With the short- and mid-term trends diverging, direction should be read separately.
- The RSI (an auxiliary gauge that weighs up-days against down-days over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 50.4, a neutral reading.
- The 1-month change is +5.4%, the 3-month change is -15.6%, and it stands -46.6% below its 52-week high.
- Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 9 (1-99, a recency-weighted conversion of returns against the index over the past year—higher means stronger than the market), placing it around the top 91% of all stocks by strength.
- Over the past three months it has lagged the index by 33.2%.
- Chart reading is best done alongside trading volume and the dates of disclosures.
- On surface metrics alone it looks burdensome.
- 2025 was a loss-making year with net profit of -₩237.3 billion, so no P/E (how many times one year's earnings the price represents) can be computed; the P/B (how many times book net assets) is 2.86x and ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) is -7.3%.
- The debt ratio (debt against equity) is 59%, not excessive, and the current ratio of 322% leaves ample short-term liquidity.
- Crucially, though, these loss figures come not from a deteriorating core business but from a large one-off cost.
- In fact, the Q1 2026 headline operating loss of ₩196.6 billion stems from an accounting one-off, non-cash cost of about ₩255.0 billion recorded when the largest shareholder gifted shares to employees; excluding it, adjusted operating profit was ₩58.5 billion (+170.8%).
- Valuation based on last year's and Q1's losses therefore understates the firm's current earnings power, and for a stock at an earnings inflection, forward earnings are the real picture.
- The top line has grown steadily.
- Revenue rose from ₩1.26 trillion (2021) to ₩2.65 trillion (2025)—a +20.5% five-year annual average—and +17.5% even in 2025, an accelerating pace.
- Earnings wobbled, from net profit of ₩187.3 billion (2023) to ₩9.4 billion (2024) to -₩237.3 billion (2025), a stretch where BTS's full-group hiatus overlapped with large one-off costs.
- The inflection is 2026.
- Q1 revenue hit a record ₩698.3 billion (+39.5%) despite being an off-season, centered on BTS's fifth studio album "Arirang" (3.98 million copies on day one).
- From the second quarter, BTS's world tour spanning Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America and Australia goes into full swing, and given the nature of the entertainment sector, earnings are loaded heavily into the second half when albums and tours cluster.
- On top of this, the one-off share-gift cost will not recur.
- So this year's earnings are best seen as a structural rebound from last year's loss to a sizable profit—a judgment that reflects a trajectory in which a smash album is already booked and the tour is layered on in the second half, not simply one quarter multiplied by four.
- There is, moreover, no basis for this recovery to fall below next year's, so there is no signal to treat the present as a cycle top.
- Recent disclosures show this transition plainly.
- Provisional results on April 29 confirmed record Q1 revenue and adjusted operating profit of ₩58.5 billion, and a May 21 disclosure of a "gift received from a related party" supports the cause of the Q1 headline loss—the largest shareholder's share gift (in the nature of employee compensation, a one-off accounting cost).
- On May 19 a decision to acquire treasury shares signaled intent on shareholder returns, and a May 29 corporate-governance report updated governance information.
- Changes in the holdings of the largest shareholder and executives (large-holding and ownership reports) followed in succession.
- In other words, this is the point at which the nature of the earnings recovery, shareholder returns and the one-off cost was clearly laid out in disclosures.
- The points to watch are clear.
- The strengths are (1) that BTS, a world-class IP, has returned as a full group, so albums, tours and merchandise are booked at once; (2) that Weverse, a recurring-payment platform, is supported by a record-high user base; and (3) that the Q1 headline loss stemmed from a one-off cost that will not recur, while the adjusted core business has already rebounded strongly (+170.8%).
- So the impression of "expensive and loss-making" based on last year's and Q1's losses understates the true earnings power.
- The cautions are (1) that earnings swing heavily with tour and comeback schedules, making quarters volatile; (2) entertainment-specific uncertainties such as artist risk and the cost of developing new acts; and (3) that although the price has already corrected sharply, second-half results need to come in as expected for a re-valuation to continue.
- In sum, viewed not through the "headline loss" but through the "core business after removing one-offs plus the second-half tour," this is a strong stock, especially when the comeback and tour cycle runs smoothly.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Fairly valued
The three large listed domestic entertainment companies (music-IP based); HYBE adds a large global IP (BTS) and its own platform (Weverse) to that structure.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| JYP Entertainment | 10.94x | 2.83x | 25.87% |
| SM Entertainment | 4.92x | 1.70x | 34.63% |
Peers JYP Ent. and SM trade at low P/Es on a profitable base, but HYBE's losses last year and in Q1 mean no trailing P/E can be computed at all, and judged only by P/B and loss metrics it looks "overvalued." Yet that loss stems from a non-recurring, non-cash one-off cost arising from the largest shareholder's share gift, while the adjusted core business is already firmly profitable. With BTS's full-group return and the world tour going into full swing, 2026 is an inflection where earnings swing sharply back, so it should be read on forward earnings rather than trailing metrics. On a forward basis a premium to peers exists, but it is a level justified by the distinctiveness of a top-tier global IP and platform revenue—neither extreme undervaluation nor excessive overvaluation—so we judge it a "fairly valued" zone.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩216,000 and the market capitalization is ₩9.3 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩211,195) and below its 60-day moving average (₩228,638). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 50.4, a neutral level. The one-month change is +5.4%, the three-month change is -15.6%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -46.6%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 9 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market). It is stronger than roughly 9% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 33.2%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Relative performance stock vs index · start = 100
Excess return vs index · 3M -33.22% / 6M -60.04% / 12M -68.22%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
A net loss makes the P/E an unreliable valuation gauge. The P/B of 2.86x is above the sector median (1.93x).
Enterprise value (EV)
EV = market cap + net debt. It reflects cash and debt, so it captures the real cost of the whole business that market cap alone misses; lower multiples are cheaper relative to earnings or sales.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is -7.3%, below the sector average (6.0%). The operating margin is 1.9%. The debt ratio is 59.4%, so the financial structure is stable.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.4B | $1.5B | $1.8B | +17.48% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $195.9M | $122.0M | $32.7M | -73.20% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $124.1M | $6.2M | -$157.3M | -2629.70% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $832.4M | $1.2B | $1.4B | $1.5B | $1.8B |
| Operating profit | $126.1M | $157.0M | $195.9M | $122.0M | $32.7M |
| Net profit | $93.3M | $31.8M | $124.1M | $6.2M | -$157.3M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 20.52% | ||||
Revenue rose 17.5% year over year (2023 ₩2.2 trillion → 2024 ₩2.3 trillion → 2025 ₩2.6 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. The pace of growth also quickened from the prior year. Operating profit fell 73.2% year over year. The decline widened. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 20.5%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 10.3%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 39.5% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- Revenue grew 17.5% year over year, a sign of growth.
Points to watch
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- The most recent full year was a loss, so it is worth checking whether profitability recovers.
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-04-29EarningsQ1 2026 consolidated provisional results: revenue of ₩698.3 billion (+39.5% YoY, a Q1 record). A headline operating loss of ₩196.6 billion, but adjusted operating profit of ₩58.5 billion (+170.8%) excluding the one-off cost. Album revenue from BTS's fifth studio album "Arirang" was the driver.Confirms that core earnings power has already rebounded strongly. A starting point for a full-fledged recovery on the second-half BTS world tour. Source
- 2026-05-21FilingDisclosure of a gift received from a related party. The largest shareholder gifted shares to employees, generating a large one-off, non-cash accounting cost that was the main cause of the Q1 headline operating loss.Supports that the headline loss is a non-recurring one-off item rather than a deterioration of the core business. A basis for normalized earnings in coming quarters. Source
- 2026-05-19FilingMaterial-fact report (decision to acquire treasury shares). A shareholder-return decision via a share buyback.Confirms intent on shareholder returns amid a price correction. Positive for medium-term supply-demand and sentiment. Source
- 2026-05-29FilingCorporate-governance report disclosure. Updates governance-related information such as the board and shareholder returns.Periodic information on governance transparency. Limited direct earnings impact but a reference for investment judgment. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-06-01OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-29Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-28Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-28Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-21Disclosure
- 2026-05-21OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-05-21OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-21OwnershipAmended filing
- 2026-05-21OwnershipAmended filing
- 2026-05-19TreasuryMaterial-fact report
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-04-29EarningsFair-disclosure notice
📖 Plain-language glossary — expand if you are new to this
- P/E
- How many times a year's net profit the price is worth (lower is cheaper relative to earnings). The P/E here is on trailing (last full-year) results; for companies whose earnings swing fast (memory chips and other cyclicals/high-growth), a forward P/E on this year's expected earnings is more accurate.
- P/B
- Price relative to net assets (equity). Around 1x means it trades near book value; below 1x means below book.
- P/S
- Price relative to a year's revenue — useful for growth companies with thin earnings.
- Net debt / EV
- Net debt = interest-bearing debt − cash. Negative means more cash than debt (net cash). EV (enterprise value) = market cap + net debt, closer to what it would cost to buy the whole business.
- EV/EBIT · EV/EBITDA · EV/Sales
- Enterprise value against operating profit (EBIT), EBITDA, or revenue. Unlike P/E these reflect debt and cash; lower is cheaper relative to earnings power or sales.
- FCF / FCF yield
- Free cash flow = operating cash − capex, the cash actually left over. FCF yield = FCF ÷ market cap; higher means more cash generated per unit of market value.
- Intrinsic value (DCF)
- Future free cash flow (or, for some capex-heavy but profitable names, forecast earnings) discounted to today to estimate per-share value. Because it shifts a lot with the discount-rate and growth assumptions, it is shown as a bear/base/bull range, and the basis and assumptions are disclosed in one line beneath it.
- ROE
- How much profit the company earns in a year on its equity (%). Higher means better returns on capital.
- EPS / BPS
- Earnings per share / net assets (book value) per share.
- Operating / net margin
- Profit left from the core business / final profit after tax and interest, per unit of revenue.
- Debt ratio
- Debt relative to equity (%). Higher means more reliance on borrowing (norms vary by sector).
- Current ratio
- Assets convertible to cash within a year against debt due within a year. Above 100% leaves some short-term headroom.
- Interest coverage
- How many times operating profit covers the interest owed. Below 1x means operating profit alone struggles to cover interest.
- Dividend yield / payout ratio
- The year's dividend as a % of today's price / the share of earnings paid out as dividends.
- Revenue CAGR
- Multi-year growth expressed as a single yearly average (compound annual growth rate).
- RSI (short-term signal)
- Whether recent price action is overheated or beaten down. Above 70 is overbought, below 30 oversold.
- MA20 / MA60 (moving averages)
- The 20- and 60-day average price. Price above them signals a firmer short-term trend.
- vs 52-week high
- How far below the past year's peak the price sits now (%).
All figures are for reference only; how they read varies by sector and over time.
Sources: Korea FSC market-price API (data.go.kr), OpenDART, KRX/KIND — public data only.
Bong Stocks presents public-data-based information for reference only. It is not investment advice and contains no target prices, ratings, or buy/sell recommendations. Verify independently before making any decision.