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AIPROPX ReportForbes · 6h ago
HYBE Posts Record Quarter After BTS’ ‘ARIRANG’ And Ongoing World Tour
Hollywood & Entertainment HYBE Posts Record Quarter After BTS’ ‘ARIRANG’ And Ongoing World Tour By Jeff Benjamin ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Jeff Benjamin is a New York-based writer covering global pop music. Follow Author Jul 28, 2026, 09:16pm EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary HYBE reported its best-ever quarter on July 28, 2026, with Q2 revenue soaring 105.5% to 1.45 trillion KRW and operating profit up 159.3% to 170.9 billion KRW, reversing a Q1 loss. This record performance was largely driven by BTS's ARIRANG World Tour, which boosted concert revenue by 243.3%, and their comeback album *ARIRANG*, the top-selling vinyl and CD in the U.S. for the first half of 2026. Other HYBE artists like ENHYPEN and CORTIS also contributed significantly to album sales, pushing South Korea to third globally in music exports. The superfan platform Weverse reached a record 14.43 million monthly active users. Looking ahead, HYBE plans over 200 tours in the second half of 2026, with new music from ILLIT, SEVENTEEN's Dino, KATSEYE, ENHYPEN, and upcoming debuts from new girl groups, alongside a teased NewJeans comeback.
HYBE delivered the best quarter in company history in a report shared Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
In a media alert, the company behind BTS , ENHYPEN, KATSEYE and more reported second-quarter revenue of 1.45 trillion Korean Won (currently equal to roughly $995.2 million), up 105.5% year-over-year, alongside record operating profit of 170.9 billion KRW (about $117.3 million), up 159.3%.
Additionally, net profit swung to 109.8 billion KRW (roughly $75.3 million), a 610.1% jump. The quarter marks a reversal from Q1, when HYBE reported a 196.6 billion KRW operating loss driven by a one-time 255 billion KRW stock-based compensation charge tied to a share contribution from a major shareholder.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the engine of growth was BTS. The group’s ARIRANG World Tour launched in after the Q1 books had closed in April and concert revenue promptly surged 243.3% year-over-year (and 630% quarter-over-quarter) to 647.7 billion KRW (about $444.6 million).
HYBE’s recorded music revenue climbed 43% to 326.8 billion KRW ($224.3 million), led by BTS’ comeback album ARIRANG , which Luminate’s 2026 Midyear Report revealed as the No. 1 vinyl and CD seller for the first half of the year in the U.S., the world’s largest music market.
Beyond the 567,000 CD albums ARIRANG sold in U.S. so far, HYBE artists took an additional four of the other nine best-selling CD albums in the country over the same period including ENHYPEN ( THE SIN : VANISH at No. 2 with 286,000 CDs sold), CORTIS ( GREENGREEN sold 169,000 copies for the No. 5 spot), Tomorrow X Together ( 7th Year: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns was No. 7 with 123,000 CDs sold), and KATSEYE (rounding out the list at No. 10 with their SIS (Soft Is Strong) EP selling 106,000 albums). Luminate noted that the high amount of album sales helped push South Korea to third place globally among music exporters, behind only the U.S. and U.K.
In the press release, HYBE also highlighted that CORTIS crossed five million cumulative album sales across its first two mini albums, with its latest GREENGREEN moving more than three million copies and hitting No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Additionally, the HYBE girl group super-collab “Iconic by Mistake” from LE SSERAFIM , ILLIT and KATSEYE debuted in the Top 40 of the Hot 100, earning new chart peaks for both LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT.
Beyond the artists, HYBE’s superfan platform Weverse reported a record 14.43 million monthly active users, though the 8% quarterly growth is a notable cooldown from the 20% it posted in Q1. Notably, Weverse added Filipino-pop acts SB19 and BINI to its platform, not only connecting with one of pop music’s most engaged fanbases but pushing its artist communities total past the 200 mark. HYBE reported total payment volume and average revenue per paying user also increased 12% and 24% quarter-over-quarter, respectively.
The report landed after a day of worries about the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) which closed Tuesday down 10.8% after trading was briefly halted, triggering a circuit breaker, with the decline chalked up to major semiconductor stocks suffering steep losses.
HYBE’s financial report went wide after the KOSPI closed for the day so its effects should likely be seen come Wednesday, July 29.
2026 has been an incredibly important year for the Bang Si-hyuk –founded company and its artists.
While touring has been largely successful with HYBE reporting its artists played 119 shows in the first half of the year, more than 200 are booked for the second half of 2026, with more concerts and tours coming from artists like BTS, ENHYPEN, LE SSERAFIM, BOYNEXTDOOR, ILLIT, KATSEYE, &TEAM, TWS, aoen, CORTIS and more.
When it comes to music releases, HYBE does not typically speculate about projects too far in advance. Still, there are several confirmed releases for its artists around the world including ILLIT (their Japanese single album I Got Your Back is out on July 29), Dino of SEVENTEEN (whose first mini album under the artist moniker PICHEOLIN drops August 3), HYBE’s global girl group KATSEYE (their new EP titled WILD is out August 14), ENHYPEN (whose highly anticipated THE SIN : BLISS drops on August 21) and the Japanese boy band &TEAM (whose second Korean mini album Mark on Me is out September 8).
SEVENTEEN has also teased that a new unit album with members Jeonghan and Joshua will be dropping in September. Plus, HYBE confirmed that a seven-member female act TUIDE , the first artist under its girl-group-specific label ABD, will be making their debut this summer. The second group created under HYBE x Geffen Records, the girl group Saint Satine, should also be making their debut soon after the completion of the World Scout: The Fin...
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