- HYBE shares surged to a four-year high, adding almost ₩1 trillion in market value due to BTS' comeback.
- Analysts upped tour and earnings projections, driving up target prices on the back of a record-breaking global tour.
- HYBE also intends to turn its Weverse platform into a profitable entity.
HYBE's stock is once again soaring on the momentum of BTS. The South Korean entertainment giant's shares have risen to an all-time high in the past four years. The massive BTS world tour announcement has also led South Korea’s major financial firms to raise their projections for HBYE. The entire positive outlook towards the company also has investors looking past the near-term profit weakness and focus on the sharp rebound in 2026 and beyond.
HYBE shares soared as much as 9.5% in recent sessions and closed the day up by 8.92%, reaching their highest mark up since late 2021. The rise also boosted the company's market valuation by more than ₩ 1 trillion (~ $677 million USD). The stock prices concluded at ₩ 338,500 on Friday (Jan 16, 2026), up by 2.27% on the day and bringing its one-month gain to a bit more than 13%, noted the Korea Exchange. Retail and overseas investors purchased ₩ 38.8 billion and ₩ 11.1B shares, respectively, during that time period.
The driving force behind this market rally is BTS' comeback. After the end of mandatory military duty, the seven-member group is set to release their fifth studio album on March 20. It will also lead to the group embarking on K-pop's greatest international year long tour ever. The Live Nation-promoted tour will kick off on April 9 with three gigs at Goyang Stadium in Seoul, before expanding to venues across various countries. The initial schedule contains 79 concerts, with additional dates in Japan and the Middle East, which are yet to be revealed.
BTS Concert
Analysts Lift Crowd Estimates, Earnings as BTS Nears Their Comeback
Attendance estimates for BTS concerts have also been raised significantly higher. Analysts now predict total crowds of over 4.5M this year, with an average attendance of about 65,000 per event, greatly exceeding earlier estimates of 3.0M to 3.5M across 65 concerts. Higher-margin regions will play an important role, with North America and Europe accounting for 44% of the concerts, which have inherently higher ticket prices.
Reportedly, financial firms like Kiwoom Securities boosted its estimate share price of HYBE to ₩ 450,000 since BTS revealed their comeback dates. Other companies like LS Securities, Yuanta and IBK have also significantly increased their projections for HYBE to ₩ 430,000 to ₩ 420,000 respectively. Nomura too upgraded HYBE target prices to ₩ 410,000, noting that the BTS tour could be "larger-than-expected."
The earnings impact is projected to be additionally significant. FnGuide predicted HYBE's sales would increase 46.9% year on year to ₩ 3.87T, with operating profit rising 555.7% to ₩ 480B, reversing the earnings slump caused by the BTS' hiatus. According to reports, at the time, the company saw the operational profit plummeting 37.5% in FY2024. HYBE has also started cashing in, announcing plans to sell ₩ 5.16B (~ $3.5M USD) in shares after the market spike.
However, the comeback comes at a time when HYBE changed business patterns. During BTS' absence, HYBE expanded into the United States, Latin America, Africa, and India, introducing new global acts and scaling its Weverse platform. According to CEO Jason Jaesang Lee, the goal for the company now is to turn those investments into profits, with BTS serving as a catalyst rather than a crutch.
