HYBE, SM, JYP & YG Reveal Their 2nd Quarter Profits For 2021
HYBE and K-Pop’s “Big 3″—SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment—have finally revealed their revenue and profits from 2021’s second quarter (Q2). Which agency came out on top with the most money between April and June this year? Read on to find out.
First, a quick breakdown of the three key K-Pop company finance terms. Revenue is a company’s total income from all sales before any costs are deducted. Operating profit is how much money the company has left after paying most of its expenses, not including savings or investment profits. Finally, net income (arguably the most important figure) shows the true profitability of a company—their final earnings from all cash flows minus all costs and expenses.
Now, let’s get into the numbers.
4. YG Entertainment
YG Entertainment is the only company from the “Big 4” that failed to turn a profit in 2021’s second quarter, ending June with a loss of ₩1.50 billion KRW (about $1.29 million USD). The company’s operating profit was ₩10.4 billion KRW (about $8.92 million USD) after generating ₩83.6 billion KRW (about $71.7 million USD) in sales.
In Q2 of 2021, no YG Entertainment artists released new music, explaining the negative income figures. Sales are expected to rise significantly in the third quarter when BLACKPINK‘s Lisa makes her expected solo debut.
YG Entertainment’s finances have seen a downturn since the first quarter of 2021, when the company reached ₩8.65 billion KRW (about $7.42 million USD) in net income thanks to comebacks from TREASURE, iKON‘s Bobby, and WINNER‘s Seungyoon as well as BLACKPINK Rosé‘s solo debut
3. JYP Entertainment
Next up is JYP Entertainment, which reached a net income of ₩4.80 billion KRW (about $4.12 million USD) in 2021’s second quarter. The company’s operating profit was ₩9.60 billion KRW (about $8.24 million USD) after generating ₩40.6 billion KRW (about $34.8 million USD) in sales.
While none of the companies came back earlier in the year, Q2 of 2021 saw acts like DAY6, ITZY, TWICE boost sales significantly with their new releases.
However, JYP Entertainment has also declined financially since the first quarter of 2021. Despite not releasing any new music between January and March, the company reached ₩12.0 billion KRW (about $10.3 million USD) in net income.
2. SM Entertainment
SM Entertainment reached a net income of ₩16.3 billion KRW (about $14.0 million USD) in 2021’s second quarter. The company’s operating profit was ₩27.5 billion KRW (about $23.6 million USD) after generating ₩186 billion KRW (about $160 million USD) in sales.
In Q2 of 2021, SHINee and SHINee’s Taemin, Super Junior‘s Yesung, EXO, and NCT Dream all came back with new releases. The quarter also saw Red Velvet‘s Wendy and Joy make their solo debuts, further boosting sales.
SM Entertainment has almost doubled its earnings from the first quarter of 2021, when the company reached ₩8.67 billion KRW (about $7.44 million USD) in net income after SHINee, Super Junior, and EXO’s Baekhyun made their comebacks.
1. HYBE
Finally, HYBE had the highest net income of 2021’s second quarter: ₩20.2 billion KRW (about $17.3 million USD). The company’s operating profit was ₩28.0 billion KRW (about $24.0 million USD) after generating ₩279 billion KRW (about $239 million USD) in sales.
After a quiet first quarter, Q2 of 2021 saw numerous HYBE artists make their comebacks: BTS, TXT, SEVENTEEN, NU’EST, and ENHYPEN, all racking up sales and streams.
HYBE’s earnings have seen an uptick since the first quarter of 2021, when the company reached ₩15.8 billion KRW (about $13.6 million USD) in net income with no comebacks.
“Big 4” HYBE, SM, JYP & YG Reveal Their Profits For 2021’s 1st Quarter
