[Click eStock] "HYBE Achieves Strong 2Q Performance... Attention on New Business Visibility in Second Half"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Eugene Investment & Securities maintained a 'Buy' rating on HYBE on the 4th, setting a target price of 240,000 KRW.

HYBE posted strong results in the second quarter with sales of 512.2 billion KRW and operating profit of 88.3 billion KRW, up 83.8% and 215.3% year-on-year, respectively. The release of new albums by major artists such as BTS, Seventeen, and TXT led to record-high album sales of 8.53 million copies. Concert revenue significantly increased, driven by BTS's Las Vegas performance and Seventeen's world tour. In particular, as the world tour began, tour-related MD sales rose, and MD sales remained solid in the second quarter as BTS-related items pre-ordered in the first quarter were recognized. However, Weverse's MAU slightly decreased to 6 million compared to the previous quarter, temporarily affected by BTS members opening individual SNS accounts.

In the second half of the year, new businesses are expected to become visible, achieving balanced growth across all areas. The game "In the SEOM with BTS," launched at the end of June, is sailing smoothly with 6 million cumulative subscribers and a peak DAU of 2.15 million. From the third quarter, related sales are expected to be reflected, driving content revenue. Weverse was updated to Weverse 2.0 in July by integrating V LIVE's video live function. Although a visible increase in MAU has not yet been seen, traffic growth is expected from the second half through the live function. The NFT marketplace is also scheduled to open in the fourth quarter, with new business achievements gradually becoming visible. In the core business, concerts by Seventeen, TXT, and ENHYPEN alone are expected to generate concert sales of around 150 billion KRW in the second half. NewJeans, who debuted in August, recorded 440,000 pre-orders over three days, showing rapid growth. In the fourth quarter, a Japanese boy group is set to debut, and next year, a U.S. girl group is planned, providing abundant rookie momentum.

Hyunji Lee, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, analyzed, "There remains uncertainty as issues related to BTS members' military enlistment have not been clearly resolved, which is a risk factor," but added, "It is necessary to pay attention to various events that will become visible in the second half."

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