Major domestic entertainment companies, including SM Entertainment and HYBE, announced their second-quarter 2025 earnings. SM’s operating profit nearly doubled year-over-year, while HYBE recorded its highest-ever second-quarter performance.

SM announced that it achieved consolidated sales of 302.9 billion won, operating profit of 47.6 billion won, and net profit of 30.9 billion won for the second quarter of 2025. This represents a 19.3% increase in sales, 92.4% increase in operating profit, and 267.2% increase in net profit compared to the same period last year. SM attributed the positive performance to increased sales of new albums, increased digital music sales, and positive performance-related merchandise.

SM plans to strengthen its artist-focused intellectual property (IP) activities and expand its global presence in the second half of the year. NCT Dream’s full-length album, TVXQ’s Japanese single, and SHINee’s Key and Red Velvet’s Joy’s full-length and mini-albums are scheduled for release in the second half of the year. Additionally, aespa, NCT Wish, NCT Haechan, EXO Suho and Chanyeol, TVXQ Yunho, Girls’ Generation Taeyeon, Hearts to Hearts, Rise, SHINee Minho, NCT Jungwoo, NCT Yuta, and TVXQ Changmin are slated to release new songs and albums.

Upcoming concerts include Rise expanding their world tour to North America, while Red Velvet’s Irene & Seulgi, NCT Dream, EXO Kai, NCT Doyoung, and SHINee Key will perform domestically and internationally. SM Entertainment has also formed a strategic partnership with Chinese platform company Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), its second largest shareholder, to strengthen collaboration in the Chinese market.

HYBE recorded consolidated sales of KRW 705.6 billion and operating profit of KRW 65.9 billion in the second quarter of 2025, representing a 10.2% increase in sales and a 29% increase in operating profit compared to the same period last year. While HYBE emphasized that this was its best second quarter ever, sales from the album and music streaming divisions amounted to 228.6 billion won, an 8.4% decrease year-on-year.

Of HYBE’s total revenue, sales directly related to artist activities amounted to 447.9 billion won, with performance sales in particular increasing 31% year-on-year to 188.7 billion won. Approximately 1.8 million people attended world tours and fan concerts by HYBE artists in the second quarter, including BTS’s Jin and J-Hope’s solo tours, Seventeen’s Japanese fan meetings, and Tomorrow x Together and Le Seraphim’s world tours.

HYBE’s indirect participation revenue reached 257.8 billion won, with merchandise and licensing revenue increasing 40% year-on-year. Weverse, a fandom platform owned by HYBE, has shown growth with an average monthly active user (MAU) of 10.9 million, and in June, when all BTS members were discharged from military service, it recorded an all-time high of 12 million.