BABYMONSTER, TREASURE, and Even BIGBANG's Comeback? This Place Looks Set for a Windfall [Weekend Money]

Expectations Rise for BIGBANG’s Comeback in August
Momentum for YG Entertainment’s Stock Rally

G-Dragon (Kwon Ji-yong), a member of the group Big Bang and an invited professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST, watched with interest a quadruped robot dancing to music at an event held at KAIST in Daejeon on April 9 last year. Photo by Yonhap News

YG Entertainment, celebrating its 30th anniversary, is preparing for another leap forward. Coincidentally, this year also marks the 20th anniversary of YG Entertainment’s flagship group, BIGBANG. As the company turns thirty and the group turns twenty, the market is closely watching to see whether this symbolic convergence will translate into tangible performance results.

On February 27, Hana Securities maintained its target price for YG Entertainment at 100,000 won and its investment opinion as 'Buy.' The closing price from the previous trading day was 71,300 won. The brokerage believes there is ample room for further upside, considering this year’s lineup, which includes the potential return of BIGBANG.

The company’s fourth-quarter results last year signaled a rebound. Sales reached 171.8 billion won, and operating profit was 22.3 billion won, representing increases of 65% and 2,145% respectively compared to the same period the previous year. Operating profit was largely in line with the market consensus of 22.7 billion won.

In the album segment, the return of BABYMONSTER contributed significantly, with approximately 690,000 units sold. In the concert segment, BLACKPINK’s 12 Asia stadium performances and TREASURE and BABYMONSTER’s tours in Korea and Japan drove results. Concert revenue stood at 59.3 billion won, exceeding Hana Securities’ projections. Sales of BLACKPINK official merchandise (MD) are also estimated to have surpassed expectations. YG Investment, which recorded other operating income of 6.4 billion won, also contributed to the overall results.

The market’s attention is already turning to the ‘next chapter.’ The decisive variable for this year’s performance is undoubtedly the possible return of BIGBANG. Although there has not yet been an official announcement, the possibility of a comeback continues to be discussed through various channels.

Currently, after the release of BLACKPINK’s album, YG Entertainment’s short-term momentum is somewhat limited. At this point, if BIGBANG resumes activities in August, marking its 20th debut anniversary, and embarks on large-scale concerts, it is expected that additional profits of 30 to 40 billion won could be generated in the second half of the year alone. In this scenario, the annual operating profit for this year could be revised upward by about 50% compared to previous estimates.

Lee Kihun, a researcher at Hana Securities, stated, "The announcement of BIGBANG’s comeback in August will be a very significant momentum," adding, "After the second quarter, BABYMONSTER and TREASURE are each expected to release at least one album annually, and a new rookie group is also scheduled to debut in the second half of the year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.