HYBE hit record quarterly sales and profit in Q3, driven by BTS’s world tour and strong growth in concerts, music, and MD sales.

HYBE updated its quarterly best performance, boosted by the results of BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan)’s world tour and the success of its “multi-home, multi-genre” strategy. On November 3, HYBE announced its financial results for fiscal 2026’s third quarter. It recorded sales of 1.5257 trillion won (about 179.7 billion yen) and operating profit of 188.5 billion won (about 22.2 billion yen), updating its all-time quarterly highs for both sales and operating profit. In addition, the operating profit margin reached 12.4%, proving solid profitability. As a result, it surpassed the quarterly record performance recorded in the second quarter, when BTS’s world tour “ARIRANG” began in earnest, by just one quarter (sales of 1.45 trillion won (about 159.5 billion yen), operating profit of 170.9 billion won (about 18.8 billion yen)). With this earnings report, cumulative sales through the third quarter reached 3.674 trillion won (about 432.6 billion yen), and cumulative operating profit through the third quarter, excluding temporary expenses that occurred in the first quarter, reached 417.9 billion won (about 49.2 billion yen), surpassing 400 billion won. The third-quarter performance numerically demonstrates that HYBE has structurally evolved beyond a K-pop company into a global entertainment platform company. In particular, direct-participation revenue generated from artist activities such as albums, digital music, and performances, and indirect-participation revenue such as MD (merchandise) and licensing were organically connected, allowing growth while securing both the “quantity” and “quality” of performance. In direct-participation revenue, the increase in the performance segment was especially notable. HYBE recorded sales of 726.8 billion won (about 79.9 billion yen) in the performance segment alone in the third quarter of this year, updating the all-time quarterly record for performance sales. Major factors included BTS’s North American and European tour, which drew audiences of around 70,000 per show, ENHYPEN’s South American and North American tours, and the fact that LE SSERAFIM, &TEAM, BOYNEXTDOOR, TWS, ILLIT, KATSEYE, and CORTIS all devoted themselves to touring activities throughout the third quarter. The album and digital music segment achieved sales of 282.8 billion won (about 31.1 billion yen) through synergy between new and old songs. Leading the way was ENHYPEN, whose 8th mini album “THE SIN : BLISS,” released in August, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s main album chart, the Billboard 200. In addition, &TEAM, KATSEYE, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Yeonjun, and EVAN (former Heeseung of ENHYPEN) successively released songs, driving the results of the album and digital music segment. CORTIS’s 2nd mini album “GREENGREEN,” which surpassed cumulative album sales of 4 million copies about months after release, BTS’s songs, which showed renewed growth momentum starting with the world tour, and KATSEYE’s streaming performance also contributed to the expansion of album and digital music sales. In indirect-participation revenue, the MD and licensing segment grew significantly, recording quarterly record sales of 334.6 billion won (about 36.8 billion yen). This strong performance was achieved thanks to efforts to strengthen the capabilities of the entire solutions division, such as diversifying production lines from the planning stage of products, building a stable supply chain, and maximizing purchasing convenience through initiatives represented by Weverse’s venue pickup service, “Weverse Pickup.” Improvements to the overall structure of the MD business were also a major factor behind the strong results. Traditionally, MD sales were concentrated at the beginning of tours, but HYBE tried initiatives in BTS’s second North American tour that led to sustained purchasing and repeat purchases throughout the tour period. Rather than relying solely on the scale of the tour itself, it succeeded in providing fans with a diverse MD experience through localization based on innovation across planning, production, and distribution. As a result, during BTS’s second North American tour, about 1 million fans visited MD sales venues across 12 cities over 45 days, and total MD sales reached 2 million items. HYBE plans to deploy the same successful formula for BTS’s tour, which will continue until next year, as well as for tours by artists belonging to its subsidiary labels. Through this, it expects artist growth to lead to expanded added value in various areas, including solutions. HYBE’s third-quarter performance is also especially meaningful because it numerically proved the results of the “multi-home, multi-genre” strategy it has promoted over the past several years. KATSEYE, which has succeeded in localization not only musically but also in business terms, is rapidly expanding its presence on a global scale. Its 3rd EP “WILD,” released in August, achieved the feat of reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and multiple songs, including the new track “Animal,” charted on the U.S. Billboard main singles chart, the Hot 100, for 12 consecutive weeks. KATSEYE’s momentum continues: as part of its world tour, “THE WILDWORLD TOUR,” all 31 shows on its Europe and North America tour across 10 countries and 27 cities have already sold out. It also appeared at the global fashion event “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2026,” establishing its position as a mainstream icon. KATSEYE is continuing to plan tours in Asia and Oceania in 2027, and is also scheduled to serve as a headliner at “Lollapalooza India 2027” in Mumbai, India. &TEAM, which is active based in Japan, the world’s second-largest music market, has also built a strong fandom. &TEAM successfully held its first solo dome concert at Belluna Dome, and further expanded its contact with global fans through a collaboration with SANTOS BRAVOS, the Latin boy group produced by HYBE AMERICA. To further accelerate the global expansion of artists belonging to HYBE MUSIC GROUP, HYBE launched “HYBE Global Label Services” in October. Going forward, it is expected to function as marketing and promotion infrastructure that broadly supports artists’ activities at bases in Korea, the United States, Latin America, Japan, India, and elsewhere. BTS, HYBE’s “one and only fundamental” and the driving force behind third-quarter performance, continues to maintain its unshakable position as HYBE’s representative artist. BTS is expected to continue its tour through the first half of next year, meeting fans around the world, while also concurrently advancing music production and a variety of projects for even broader development.