JYP Entertainment's Q2 Revenue Falls 15% as Stray Kids Tour Gap Bites — While Streaming and Album Sales Climb
JYP Entertainment's revenue fell 15.1% year-on-year to KRW 183.1 billion (approximately USD $122 million) in the three months to the end of June, the company reported on August 12. Net profit dropped 40.3% to KRW 21.7 billion ($14.5 million), and operating profit fell 41.4% to KRW 31.0 billion ($20.7 million). Music Business Worldwide
The Seoul-based label, listed on Korea's KOSDAQ exchange and home to Stray Kids and TWICE, attributed the decline to what it called a "high base" — the comparison quarter, Q2 2025, was inflated by Stray Kids' dominATE world tour, which was still on the road. In that period, revenue had more than doubled year-on-year and net profit had risen 2,734.4%. The tour finished in October 2025 with a finale at Incheon Asiad Main Stadium. The group's next tour did not open until July 2026, nine months later — after the second quarter had already closed.
The gap hit the touring-linked lines hardest. Concert revenue fell 35.7% to KRW 39.9 billion ($26.6 million). Merchandise revenue — described in JYP's filings as "MD," shorthand for merchandising goods sold at concerts and online — dropped 34.5% to KRW 43.9 billion ($29.3 million), which the company attributed to the "absence of large-scale tour/online MD." Revenue from appearances, a category covering fan concerts and festival slots, fell 28.0% to KRW 7.0 billion ($4.7 million), though it still reflected Stray Kids fan meetings and headline festival appearances.
Beneath those declines, several non-touring lines grew sharply. Physical album revenue rose 36.7% to KRW 37.0 billion ($24.7 million), with catalog sales of Stray Kids albums climbing from 120,000 units in Q2 2025 to 420,000 units in Q2 2026. Streaming revenue jumped 71.6% to KRW 19.7 billion ($13.1 million), which JYP credited to "global streaming sales expansion from increased mass fandom and YouTube revenue reclassification." Advertising revenue rose 20.5% to KRW 13.6 billion ($9.1 million), attributed to "enlarged artist mass awareness." The company released five titles in the quarter, up from three a year earlier.
Costs moved in mixed directions. Artist fees dropped 25.3% to KRW 48.1 billion ($32.1 million) on lower management revenue, but content production costs rose 25.9% to KRW 34.0 billion ($22.7 million) on new releases, catalog activity and digital singles. Selling, general and administrative expenses climbed 6.9% to KRW 39.8 billion ($26.5 million). Gross margin contracted 3.1 percentage points to 38.7%, and operating margin fell 7.6 percentage points to 16.9%, which the company attributed to "high base impact and limited leverage."
The quarter sits in contrast to JYP's most recent strong stretch: Q1 FY2026 revenue had risen 32.1% year-on-year to KRW 186.0 billion with operating profit up 70.0%, though net profit in that quarter had decreased 53.9% year-over-year. (JYP IR board)
The broader K-pop market offered a starker comparison. Rival HYBE reported Q2 2026 revenue up 105.5% to a record KRW 1.45 trillion ($967 million), with operating profit rising 159.3% to KRW 170.9 billion ($114 million) — driven by BTS' ARIRANG world tour, which lifted HYBE's concert revenue 243.3% year-on-year. HYBE's operating margin, however, was 11.8%, below the 16.9% JYP posted even after its decline.
What the numbers lay bare is the central tension in a tour-dependent label: when the road is quiet, streaming and albums can grow fast in percentage terms and still not come close to replacing the money a stadium circuit generates. JYP's next tour cycle began in July. Its effect will show in Q3.
