HYBE Became First Korean Entertainment Company To Ever Have Sales Surpassing 2 Trillion Won And Here’s Why

HYBE announced on February 26th that it recorded sales of 2.17 trillion won and operating profit of 295.8 billion won in 2023, respectively. Its sales and operating profit rose 22.6% and 24.9% year-on-year, the highest ever. The average annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past three years was 31.7% for sales and 24.7% for operating profit.

HYBE Labels artists sold 43.6 million albums in 2023, a doubling year-on-year. By artist, Seventeen sold 16 million albums in cumulative sales, breaking the new K-pop album sales record they set. BTS members’ solo albums sold 8.7 million copies domestically and internationally, proving their strong global influence. Albums of artists such as TOMORROW X TOGETHER (6.5 million), NewJeans (4.26 million), and ENHYPEN (3.88 million) were also popular.

HYBE’s treaming performance also showed remarkable growth. Jungkook stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Seven,” “3D,” and “Standing Next to You.” NewJeans ranked first and second in Korea’s annual streaming charts and also had five songs on the Billboard Hot 100. In North America, artists from HYBE America’s country music label Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) and hip-hop label QC Music recorded solid streaming performance. As a result, HYBE’s music sales reached about 300 billion won last year, a 80% increase from the previous year.

Thanks to the post-pandemic effect, sales in the concert sector also increased by about 40% from KRW 258.2 billion last year to KRW 359.1 billion last year. The number of performing artists has increased from 4 teams to 7 teams, and the total number of concerts has increased from 78 to 125. The performance of BTS Sugar Tour, Seventeen’s “Follow” Tour, the first North American Stadium and Japanese Dome Tour by TOMORROW X TOGETHER and ENHYPEN, and the first world tour of LE SSERAFIM were reflected in this performance.

The average monthly number of users (MAU) of the global super fan platform Weverse has remained stable at around 10 million due to the continuous addition of domestic and foreign artists. As of the end of last year, the number of artist communities opened on Weverse was 122, an increase of 72% compared to 71 in the same period last year. The number of Weverse Lives hosted by artists is also increasing from 900 last year to more than 1,400 times. The number of community members and the activation of Weverse Lives are also increasing the number of users.

HYBE plans to debut a number of artists this year to build a richer lineup. Starting with Pledis Entertainment’s TWS debut in January, Belief Lab’s I’LL-IT and HYBE x Geffen Records’ KATEYES will debut sequentially. Existing HYBE artists also plan to start album activities from the second quarter.

Additionally, the management department of HYBE America, the Scooter Braun Project, signed new contracts with Ozuna, Kaliii, and others last year. In 2024, they are anticipating significant revenue growth with the release of Ariana Grande’s full album.

Alongside the performance announcement, HYBE also disclosed plans for cash dividends to enhance shareholder value. The dividend amount is 700 won per share, totaling 29.2 billion won (approximately 26.55 million USD.)

Despite being in the growth stage, the proactive initiation of a shareholder return program reflects the management philosophy of prioritizing shareholder value.

Furthermore, during the conference call, HYBE applied Supertone’s AI audio technology. Supertone’s TTS (Text to Speech) technology, synthesizing voices based on learned big data, vividly reproduced the voice of HYBE CEO Park Jiwon.

Source: Sports Chosun