HYBE easily overcame the traditional off-season of the entertainment industry and achieved its best-ever performance for a first quarter. The successful comeback of BTS and the all-around activities of rookie artists showing fierce growth contributed to this result.
HYBE's consolidation-based revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was 698.3 billion won. This is a staggering 40% increase from the previous first-quarter record high of the same period last year (500.6 billion won).
In particular, direct participation revenue such as albums, performances and advertising grew 25% year over year to 403.7 billion won, firmly driving overall results. Among them, sales in the album · digital music sector surged 99% from the same period last year to 271.5 billion won. This is an overwhelming scale comparable to the landmark album results in the fourth quarter of 2023 (276.2 billion won) in K-pop history.
At the center of this explosive album sales is undoubtedly BTS. BTS's fifth full-length album Arirang (ARIRANG) achieved the feat of selling 3.98 million copies on its first day of release alone. According to global music data analytics corporation Luminate, the Arirang LP sold 208,000 copies in a week, instantly setting a new group-sector weekly sales record since data began being compiled in 1991. It also became the first Korean artist to top the Billboard 200 for three consecutive weeks, and the title track "SWIM" went straight to No. 1 on the Hot 100, while all 13 album tracks charted, marking a major record.
Strong performances by existing artists and rookie groups also supported revenue growth. ENHYPEN joined the ranks of four-time double million sellers with their seventh mini-album THE SIN : VANISH. Global girl group KATSEYE surpassed 32 million monthly listeners on Spotify, recording the highest figure ever for a girl group worldwide, and easily exceeded a combined cumulative sales of 1 million for two EPs. Popular rookie boy group CORTIS also surpassed cumulative sales of 2 million with their debut album COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES, setting a new record for the highest debut album sales for a K-pop group.
Indirect participation revenue, including MD and licensing, content and fan clubs, rose sharply 66% year over year to 294.7 billion won. Demand for BTS world tour merchandise and fan club pre-sales surged, significantly contributing to revenue growth. Global superfan platform Weverse also recorded a first-quarter average monthly active user count of 13.37 million, a 20% increase from the previous quarter, marking the highest level since its launch and proving its solid platform competitiveness.
Meanwhile, HYBE's adjusted operating profit, reflecting the company's substantive business performance for the first quarter this year, was 58.5 billion won (operating margin 8.4%). However, on a pre-adjustment basis, operating profit showed a loss on the surface because 255 billion won, which the largest shareholder donated from personal assets as funding for employee performance bonuses (stock gift), was recognized in accounting as a one-time expense. This is an accounting treatment that does not represent an actual outflow of the company's net worth.
HYBE expects that in the coming second quarter, with major album releases and resumed activities by HYBE label artists including TOMORROW X TOGETHER, LE SSERAFIM, TWS, ILLIT and CORTIS, and with BTS's world tour results being fully reflected, both revenue and profit will draw an even steeper upward curve.
[Photo] HYBE
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