K-pop stocks

YG Entertainment-signed Blackpink. Photo Credit: @K_POP_Amber

Are K-pop stocks an especially appealing investment amid tariff-related market uncertainty? Multiple South Korean outlets believe so, and shares in Hybe, SM Entertainment, and more are up substantially on the year.

The Korea Times and others just recently touched on that view, citing various analyst comments in support of the position. U.S. tariffs, said analysts noted in different words, chiefly target physical goods and, in the process, leave the entertainment space (including K-pop) “largely unaffected.”

Running with the point, the mentioned newspaper calculated institutional investors’ cumulative year-to-date K-pop stock purchases (specifically in SM Entertainment, Hybe, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment) at ₩136.40 billion/$93.95 million.

Those same stocks have recorded material valuation boosts since 2025’s start: SM (KOSDAQ: 041510) is up 2.9% today and 32.9% YTD at $65.40/₩95,000 per share, while Hybe (KRX: 352820) is resting at $169/₩245,500 per share, up 3.2% today and 25.1% YTD.

JYP (KOSDAQ: 035900), for its part, finished at $57.54/₩83,600 per share (up 6.1% today and 23.7% YTD) on Tuesday, compared to $37.03/₩53,800 per share for YG (KOSDAQ: 122870), which is up 2.1% today and 20.4% YTD.

The “tariff haven” perk is certainly worth keeping in mind for the remainder of 2025. But tariffs or no tariffs, K-pop stocks wouldn’t be on the rise without the advantage of strong underlying financials and clear-cut positives on the horizon.

Regarding forthcoming positives, the Weverse developer Hybe (which is still grappling with fallout from NewJeans’ Ador dispute) is poised to benefit from BTS’ reunion later in the year, YG’s Blackpink will embark on a world tour in H2 2025, and Kakao Entertainment is reportedly preparing to launch a superfan app of its own.

Meanwhile, not solely because of these points, there are some indications that last year’s much-discussed K-pop sales slowdown could be in the rearview.

To be sure, SM Entertainment today reported $188.45 million/₩273.8 billion in Q4 2024 revenue (up 9% YoY), despite slips in core physical and digital ($59.19 million/₩86 billion total, down 5.1% YoY) as well as appearances ($14.73 million/₩21.4 billion, down 19.9% YoY).

Thanks to tours from NCT Wish, Chanyeol, and more, however, SM reported an 88.2% YoY spike in concert revenue for Q4, at $15.49 million/₩22.5 billion. Also on the way for the business is a new girl group, Hearts2Hearts, which has teed up its first release for February 24th.

Lastly, renewed access to China’s quick-growing music market (where SM and NetEase Cloud Music are engaged in extended licensing talks) could drive continued K-pop revenue growth. As described by the Times, China-based fans accounted for about one-fifth of South Korean entertainment companies’ revenue in 2016.

After the Chinese government in 2017 imposed restrictions on South Korean cultural exports, though, that share decreased to (and remains at) 8%, the outlet indicated.

But to name one recent change, South Koreans have since November 2024 had visa-free travel access to China. Bearing that point in mind, during a recent meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, Chinese President Xi Jinping (possibly preparing to visit South Korea in November) reportedly acknowledged the importance of “cultural exchange.”