SM Entertainment’s First-Qtr Revenue Hits 279.1 Billion Won, Driven by Concerts and Merchandise

SM Entertainment’s performance in the first quarter saw a significant increase compared to the same period last year. On a consolidated basis, the company reported revenue of 279.1 billion won and operating income of 38.6 billion won, representing growth of approximately 20% in revenue and about 19% in operating income.

The main drivers of this growth were concert activities and product sales. Concert revenue amounted to 60.8 billion won, up 56% from the previous year. Tours by SUPER JUNIOR, NCT DREAM, aespa, RIIZE, and NCT WISH contributed significantly to these results. Revenue from products and licensing increased by roughly 20% to 47.4 billion won, aided by events such as EXO’s “REVERXE THE WORLD” pop-up, NCT WISH’s “WISH BAKERY” initiative, and the sale of lightstick merchandise for aespa’s world tour.

Album sales also increased substantially in terms of volume. The physical album sales volume reached 1.79 million copies, nearly doubling compared to the same period last year. EXO’s “REVERXE” was the best-selling album with 1.01 million copies, followed by Jeno’s “Both Sides” at 520,000 copies and Irene’s “Biggest Fan” at 220,000 copies. However, revenue from physical albums and digital music decreased by 15% year-on-year to 39.3 million dollars.

The performance of SM Entertainment’s subsidiaries also improved. The combined revenue of its key subsidiaries rose to 136.8 billion won, an increase of about 31% from the previous year, while operating income shifted from a loss in the prior year to a profit. This improvement was attributed to increased advertising and management revenue from SM C&C, expanded activities by Japanese artists under SM Entertainment Japan, and the inclusion of DEARU in consolidated financials.

Despite these strong results, securities firms issued negative assessments. Major brokerage companies such as Samsung, Meritz, and Kiwoom Securities lowered their target stock prices. On the Seoul stock market, the company’s share price dropped by 4.8%, hitting its lowest level in over two weeks.