SM Entertainment Reports Q1 Revenue of 279.1 Billion Won, Up 20% Year-on-Year

SM Entertainment disclosed on the 6th that it achieved consolidated revenue of 279.1 billion won and operating income of 38.6 billion won in the first quarter of 2026, representing increases of 20.6% and 18.5% respectively compared to the same period last year.

Concerts, along with MD and licensing businesses, drove the majority of this growth. On a standalone basis, concert revenue rose by 56.0%, while MD and licensing revenue increased by 20.3%, indicating accelerated diversification in the company’s revenue structure. The company explained that “the proportion of revenue from concerts and IP-based activities continues to expand, further diversifying its income streams.”

During the first quarter, global tours by key artists such as SUPER JUNIOR, NCT DREAM, aespa, RIIZE, and NCT Wish attracted approximately 1 million attendees, contributing to higher concert-related revenue. Of this total, NCT DREAM’s Asian tour drew around 350,000 fans, RIIZE’s Japan dome tour attracted about 260,000 people, and SUPER JUNIOR’s Asian tour had roughly 190,000 attendees.

The MD and licensing sector also showed strong growth. Pop-up events tied to EXO’s comeback album, which sold 1.01 million copies, along with the NCT Wish project and the impact of aespa’s tours, led to increased sales of lightsticks and planned MD products. The sub-unit album by Jeno and Jaemin (NCT) also performed well, selling 520,000 copies.

In particular, the global expansion of the rookie girl group Hearts2Hearts has drawn significant attention. Thanks to their hit song “RUDE!” released in February, they surpassed 100 million cumulative Spotify streams globally just 28 days after release. With overseas streaming accounting for about 85% of their total streams, they demonstrated strong global competitiveness. Their song also ranked first among all K-pop girl group releases in Spotify’s “Global Top 200” chart for 2026.

SM Entertainment plans to maintain this growth momentum in the second quarter by releasing full-length albums by Taeyong, aespa, and NCT Wish, along with mini-albums by SHINee, RIIZE, and Hearts2Hearts. In the third quarter, full-length albums by Taeyeon and NCT 127, along with mini-albums by SUPER JUNIOR-83z, Red Velvet, and WayV, and new releases from artists such as Yesung, Minho, and Yuno Yunho are scheduled to be unveiled. The concert sector will also see new global tours by aespa, followed by EXO’s tours and the first solo concerts by Yuno Yunho and Irene.