Hive, Poised for a Strong Rebound After Weak First Half

Expectations for Hive 2.0 with Improved Second Half Performance
New Girl Group Joins BTS Full-Group Activities Next Year

Hive's stock price has been on a rebound since hitting its yearly low on the 26th of last month. There is growing optimism that after a sluggish first half of the year, the company's performance will significantly improve starting in the second half.

According to the financial investment industry on the 5th, Hive's stock price rose 6.2% over the past six trading days. During the same period, the KOSPI fell by 1.3%. Institutional investors led the stock price increase with a net purchase of 16.9 billion KRW.

NH Investment & Securities estimated that Hive recorded consolidated sales of 632.2 billion KRW and operating profit of 7.3 billion KRW in the second quarter of this year. Sales increased by 2% compared to last year, while operating profit decreased by 10%. Researcher Lee Hwajeong of NH Investment & Securities explained, "This is in line with lowered market expectations," adding, "The core business performed steadily, but the new gaming business was disappointing."

Due to somewhat weak performance in the first half of this year, Hive's stock price fell 24.6% from the beginning of the year through the end of July. The previously sluggish stock price is now rebounding alongside expectations for improved performance in the second half. Researcher Lee said, "It is time to focus on the abundant mid- to long-term growth drivers rather than short-term negative growth caused by the departure of existing artist fandoms," and analyzed, "Next year, the male idol group BTS will resume full-group activities, which will improve performance."

Researcher Lee Seonhwa of KB Securities forecasted, "The third quarter of this year is the peak season for tours," and added, "Low-experience artists such as Enhypen, Le Sserafim, NewJeans, TO1, and ILY:1 are rapidly contributing to profits, so fundamental improvements are expected."

Hive's growth strategy to appease angry shareholders is also receiving favorable reviews in Yeouido's securities circles. On the 1st, Hive sent a letter to shareholders revealing details about 'Hive 2.0.' The core of the strategy is to reorganize the existing three main business areas of 'Label-Solution-Platform' into 'Music-Platform-Tech-based future growth businesses.'

Researcher Lim Sujin of Daishin Securities explained, "Hive will establish a music group APAC to maximize synergy effects between labels while maintaining the independence of each label," adding, "It will transform into a multi-label system that compensates for the competition among Hive artists, which recently acted as a drawback of the multi-label structure." She continued, "The long-awaited subscription membership service will be launched in the fourth quarter of this year," adding, "It will offer services such as digital membership cards, bonus Jelly charging, ad removal, and exclusive membership content viewing."

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