The growth was driven by increased album sales from key IPs and global tours, along with growth in MD and licensing sectors.
Rookie group Hearts2Hearts is gaining attention with over 100 million streams on Spotify.
[TVDaily Kim Ji-ha] SM Entertainment has continued its positive growth trajectory by releasing its Q1 2026 results. On the 6th, SM reported a consolidated revenue of 279.1 billion KRW and an operating profit of 38.6 billion KRW, reflecting year-over-year increases of 20.6% and 18.5%, respectively.
On a separate basis, the revenue reached 189.3 billion KRW, up by 14.4%, with concert revenue seeing a remarkable surge of 56.0%. The growth in the MD and licensing sectors contributed an additional 20.3%. While the operating profit saw a 5.9% decrease to 38.8 billion KRW due to the impact of a non-recurring music revenue last year, it still signals overall positive momentum when excluding that factor. The net profit for the period also rose by 20.9%, amounting to 38.9 billion KRW.
The results have been attributed to the combined effects of increased album sales from key IPs, growth in concert revenue from global tours, expansion in MD and licensing segments, as well as the consolidation effects from Dearyou. The global tours by various artists such as Super Junior, aespa, and NCT WISH played a significant role in the revenue increase, while the MD and licensing sectors benefited from EXO's regular album and associated events, resulting in increased sales of light sticks and planned merchandise.
The recent performance announcement from SM Entertainment illustrates the significant role of IP-driven revenue in their business model. Notably, global tours are a pivotal factor, highlighting how artist activities are expanding fanbases both domestically and abroad. This indicates a promising trend for refining IP utilization strategies within the popular music market.
Furthermore, the growth in the MD and licensing sectors presents an opportunity to offer fans a wider range of products, which is likely to enhance fandom engagement. SM plans to continue diversifying its revenue models by exploring various artist projects and events. This direction is likely to solidify SM's standing in the global music industry.
Additionally, the rookie group 'Hearts2Hearts' is gaining attention with their rapid ascent in global metrics since their debut. Their tracks have crossed 100 million streams on Spotify, showcasing impressive growth, while also achieving the top spot for K-pop girl group releases. This serves as a testament to the effectiveness of SM's artist development strategy.
This article is KOSTAR’s reinterpretation of a story originally reported by TVDaily.
Photo: SM Entertainment
