[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] SANGSANGINVESTMENT&SECURITIES announced on the 12th that it is maintaining its “Buy” investment rating and target price of 320,000 won for HYBE(352820).

Lee Na-ra, an analyst at SANGSANGINVESTMENT&SECURITIES, stated, “We expect the growth foundation for early-stage IP (intellectual property) to expand through Cortis’ rapid growth and the 2027 debut of a new U.S. boy band and Saint Satin.” She added, “However, we believe the growth potential of early-stage IP is not being sufficiently highlighted, as the market’s focus is concentrated on the steep revenue growth driven by BTS.”
She continued, “Although the stock price corrected in the second quarter as operating profit fell significantly short of market expectations, we expect any further earnings shocks stemming from the same factors to be limited, as the profitability of BTS concerts was confirmed by those results.”
The firm projected third-quarter revenue at 1.4537 trillion won (up 99.9% year-over-year) and operating profit at 156 billion won (returning to profitability), both of which are expected to fall short of the market consensus (operating profit of 162.2 billion won). He explained, “Since the number of BTS concerts—which are driving HYBE’s revenue growth—remained at 24 in the third quarter, the same as in the second quarter, we expect the overall earnings composition to be similar to that of the second quarter,” adding, “In the third quarter, the concert, merchandise, and licensing segments are projected to grow compared to the second quarter, as 83 tours featuring IPs other than BTS were held.”
The analyst elaborated, “We expect operating profit to be lower than the previous quarter due to a decrease in music-related activities compared to the prior quarter and cost burdens resulting from the expansion of offline activities,” adding, “It was confirmed that newer IPs contributed more than older ones in the third quarter as well, with Cortice’s cumulative annual album sales reaching 5.4 million copies.”