YG Entertainment reported results that exceeded market expectations, and securities firms forecast that it will continue its growth this year.
Samsung Securities maintained its investment opinion of "buy" for YG Entertainment on the 28th and raised its target price from 61,000 won to 75,000 won, an increase of 23%. MERITZ Securities set its target price for YG Entertainment at 74,000 won, up from 53,000 won, a 39.6% increase. NH Investment & Securities presented the same target price of 75,000 won as before.
The strong performance of YG Entertainment was influenced significantly by results that were better than expected. YG Entertainment announced yesterday that its consolidated revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 (October to December) was 104.1 billion won, with an operating profit of 1.3 billion won. The market had been expecting YG Entertainment to record an operating loss of 5.4 billion won.
Kim Min-young, a researcher at MERITZ Securities, noted, "The revenue generation period for lower-tier and new intellectual properties (IPs) is starting earlier than expected," and "as the stature of TREASURE and BABYMONSTER changes, it is estimated that they drove the performance."
There is a common opinion among securities firms that YG Entertainment's performance will also be good this year. BLACKPINK, WINNER, and AKMU will resume their activities. BABYMONSTER will embark on a world tour after only one year since debut, and TREASURE is also scheduled to release a special album in March and a regular album in the third quarter (July to September).
Choi Min-ha, a researcher at Samsung Securities, stated, "BLACKPINK has announced plans for a world tour starting in July, with 13 performances in 10 cities," and remarked, "During the last tour (October 2022 to September 2023), there were 66 performances with 1.8 million viewers, averaging about 27,300 attendees per performance, but the audience for this round is expected to increase to the 50,000 range." He added, "Revenue from concerts, as well as a clear increase in MD (merchandise) sales, is assured."
Lee Hwa-jung, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, also noted, "With some of BLACKPINK's world tour schedule revealed, it has been confirmed that BABYMONSTER has also entered a revenue-generating phase," and added, "It seems YG Entertainment will continue its performance growth, and the possibility of resuming performances in China is also a positive factor."