Eugene Investment & Securities on the 11th said JYP Entertainment is expected to post record earnings this year on the back of a blockbuster tour by TWICE in the first half and Stray Kids in the second half. The firm kept its target price at 97,000 won and its "buy" rating. JYP Entertainment's closing price in the previous session was 62,600 won.
In the fourth quarter last year, JYP Entertainment's revenue rose 16.8% on-year to 232.6 billion won, and operating profit increased 13.6% to 41.9 billion won. It was the largest quarterly revenue on record.
Lee Hyun-ji, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, said, "The expansion of Stray Kids' Western fandom is becoming visible in the numbers, with album sales in particular reflecting Western sales of the group's albums released in the second half," and added, "In addition to a higher average selling price (ASP) than in Korea, the exchange rate effect contributed meaningfully to the increase in album revenue."
In concerts, overall scale also grew as, on top of TWICE's large-scale world tour, additional settlement of excess profit with Live Nation for Stray Kids was reflected.
This year, for TWICE, 46 of 52 tour dates in the first half are in North America and Europe, and the group is expected to extend steady growth centered on Western markets through full 360-degree open seating across all regions and venues. The expansion of Western tours by label artists such as ITZY and NMIXX and the resulting increase in the global fandom are positive.
The analyst said, "In the United States in particular, the company will strengthen collaboration focused on MD and licensing with Live Nation, and in China it will continue to expand its Greater China business through partnerships with CJ ENM and Tencent."
The analyst added, "Just as the expansion of Stray Kids' Western tour translated into a virtuous cycle leading back to album master and MD revenue, this year the solid growth of overseas fandoms for label artists, including TWICE, is expected to become visible in the numbers."