[Click eStock] "YG Entertainment Expects Highest Sales for BLACKPINK Album"

Hana Financial Investment Report, Target Price Up 7%
Blackpink Effect, Positive Debut for Treasure 12

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Hana Financial Investment maintained a buy rating on YG Entertainment on the 30th, stating that Blackpink's album sales could increase significantly, and raised the target price by 7% from the previous level to 44,000 KRW.

Considering Blackpink's global achievements and assuming two comebacks, album sales per release are expected to reach 1.3 million copies in 2021. YG Entertainment has never sold more than 1 million albums annually across the company.

Researcher Kihoon Lee of Hana Financial Investment said, "Since the core revenue source, tour resumption, is not easy, a short-term trading perspective is necessary, but there is a concentrated momentum for corporate value upgrades including Treasure 12's debut by September." He added, "If expectations for the easing of COVID-19 and the Hanhanryeong (Korean Wave ban) overlap, a historic record high can be anticipated."

Blackpink's song, which made a comeback on the 26th, surpassed 100 million views on YouTube in the shortest time in history. It also recorded the highest K-pop ranking on Spotify and exceeded 1 million downloads on QQ Music, setting record-breaking achievements across all overseas platforms.

Regarding album sales, pre-orders for the Chinese group purchase have already exceeded 300,000 copies. Considering the competing fandoms Twice and IZ*ONE surpassing 500,000 copies and the effect of the first full-length album, sales are estimated to exceed 600,000 copies. The average album sales of YG Entertainment over the past two years is 750,000 copies.

Blackpink is expected to have more than two comebacks with a special comeback scheduled for July-August and a full album release in September. All indicators suggest an upward trend, making it highly likely that album sales will reach the highest level in the company's history. Researcher Kihoon Lee explained, "Treasure 12 is also scheduled to debut within July and has surpassed 1 million YouTube subscribers even before debut." He added, "With four Japanese members, there is potential to surpass a market capitalization of 1 trillion KRW."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.