HYBE (352820) posted record annual revenue of 2.65 trillion won ($1.8 billion) for 2024, up approximately 18% from the previous year, driven by its "multi-home, multi-genre" strategy targeting global markets and strong growth in its concert business.
The company held 279 global performances last year, including 250 concerts and 29 fan meetings, generating 763.9 billion won in concert revenue—a 69% increase year-over-year.
The success propelled HYBE to fourth place globally in Billboard's "2025 Boxscore Year-End Report" for top promoters, climbing five spots to join the industry's "Big Four." Three of the four K-pop artists featured in Billboard's "2025 Top Tours"—J-Hope, SEVENTEEN, and ENHYPEN—are HYBE Music Group artists.
Despite an overall adjustment in the album market, HYBE maintained its dominant position with approximately 19.6 million units sold and a 30% market share on the Circle Chart. HYBE artists accumulated 3.7 billion streams annually, capturing 3% of Spotify's Global 200. Streaming revenue accounted for about 37% of total recorded music sales.
Weverse, the company's global superfan platform, turned profitable for the full year through revenue structure reforms and operational efficiency improvements. The platform expanded artist partnerships, enhanced e-commerce operations, and diversified into digital businesses.
Operating profit fell 73% year-over-year to 49.9 billion won, reflecting initial investment costs for new artist debuts and one-time restructuring expenses. New artists including Japan's aoen, Korea's CORTIS, and Latin America's SANTOS BRAVOS debuted last year. Aoen topped Oricon's daily chart with debut single "The Blue Sun," while CORTIS achieved million-seller status in its debut year. SANTOS BRAVOS sold out its 10,000-seat debut concert, with 70,000 additional viewers watching online.
HYBE also recorded approximately 200 billion won in impairment losses in the fourth quarter as it restructured its North American operations from a management-focused model to a label-centered IP business model. The non-cash accounting adjustment was made to enhance transparency and predictability, with limited risk of additional large-scale write-downs given HYBE America's strengthened fundamentals.
The label-centered model's effectiveness was demonstrated by Katseye, which surpassed 36 million monthly Spotify listeners in Q4 2024—the highest among girl groups globally. Title track "Gabriela" has charted for 28 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, with two songs simultaneously ranking in the top 30—a first for a girl group since Destiny's Child. The group's debut tour "The Beautiful Chaos Tour" sold out all dates, with per-attendee merchandise sales exceeding those of established pop artists.
BTS will release its fifth studio album "ARIRANG" on March 20, marking the group's first full-team release in approximately four years. The album will be supported by the largest world tour in K-pop history, with 82 confirmed shows across 34 cities worldwide. Additional dates in Japan and the Middle East will be announced.
HYBE plans to debut a new Korean girl group this year and launch a follow-up global girl group in North America building on Katseye's success. A U.S. boy group project is in development with four-time Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum producer Ryan Tedder. The company will also introduce innovative IP combining storytelling and music through Alan's Universe, a project with 100 million YouTube subscribers, and launch a localized project for the Indian market.
The company announced a three-year shareholder return policy, becoming the first K-content company to introduce a minimum dividend guarantee of 500 won per share. HYBE will shift its dividend calculation from net income to consolidated free cash flow to reduce volatility from non-cash items and improve predictability. The company plans to allocate up to 30% of free cash flow for shareholder returns from 2025 through 2027.