On May 6, SM Entertainment announced its consolidated Q1 2026 results, recording sales of ₩279 billion KRW (about $189 million USD) and operating profit of ₩38.6 billion KRW (about $26.2 million USD), representing 20.6% and 18.5% growth compared to the same period last year.
Separate Q1 sales rose 14.4% year-on-year to ₩189 billion KRW (about $128 million USD), driven by concert sales increasing by 56.0% and merchandise & licensing sales up 20.3%, continuing a stable growth trend on a standalone basis. Operating profit decreased 5.9% to ₩38.8 billion KRW (about $26.3 million USD) due to the previous year’s one-time music content revenue base effect; excluding this one-time factor, operating profit effectively grew compared to last year. Net profit rose 20.9% to ₩38.9 billion KRW (about $26.4 million USD).
This performance reflects growth in core IP album sales, expanded concert revenues from larger-scale performances, development in the merchandise & licensing segment, the impact of consolidating Dear U, and increased sales from key subsidiaries. As a result, the proportion of concert and IP-based revenues has expanded, diversifying the revenue structure.
In Q1, global tours by key IPs including Super Junior, NCT Dream, aespa, RIIZE, and NCT WISH helped drive concert revenue growth. Merchandise & licensing sales grew with increases in fan light sticks and planned merchandise, supported by EXO’s full album release pop-up events, the NCT WISH project, and aespa’s tour.
Major subsidiaries also showed improved performance. SM C&C saw growth in advertising and management sales, SM Japan’s revenues increased due to overseas activities of company artists, and Dear U continued stable profit contributions after consolidation. Subsidiaries improved profitability with operating profits returning to black compared to the previous year.
SM continues to advance its “SM NEXT 3.0” strategy focused on strengthening IP competitiveness and global expansion, enhancing content production capabilities, and broadening its IP portfolio to solidify a foundation for medium- to long-term growth.
Rookie group Hearts2Hearts, debuting last year, has rapidly expanded achievements in the global market. Their lead singles “The Chase” and “STYLE” each surpassed 100 million global Spotify streams, and “RUDE!” achieved approximately 85% of its streams from overseas, maintaining strong international performance. Additionally, Hearts2Hearts ranked first among K-pop girl group tracks released in 2026 on the Spotify Global Top 200 chart.
SM plans to sustain growth in album, digital music, and concert sales through a strong artist lineup in Q2 and Q3. Scheduled releases in Q2 include full albums from Taeyong, aespa, and NCT WISH; mini albums from SHINee, RIIZE, and Hearts2Hearts; and a single by Ryeowook. Q3 will see full albums from Taeyeon and NCT 127, mini albums from Super Junior-83z, Red Velvet, and WayV, as well as new releases from Yesung, Minho, and Yunho.
On the concert front, active global activities will continue. Starting in Seoul, aespa’s new global tour will extend across North America and Europe in Q2 and Q3. EXO’s tour concert, Yunho’s first solo concert tour since debut, and concerts by Irene are also scheduled.
