2025 K-pop in Review: Big 4 Company Scorecard

2025 was a really weird year for K-pop, in that it felt like everyone in the U.S. was finally talking about K-pop between K-Pop Demon Hunters, Rosé's "APT.", Katseye and BTS's return, but generally it felt like interest in any other K-pop topics were down. And I'm not talking about just from the American entertainment industry, but generally across the board from even diehard fans I kept thinking, "Ah, K-pop is boring."

That's not to say that K-pop was boring, but there was a sense in 2025 that the music was generic, that the tours were just for the sake of sales rather than performance art, and that merch is really the only thing companies care about right now.

According to the Korea Herald, "In the third quarter, Hybe posted 727.2 billion won ($493.5 million) in revenue, with 249.8 billion won coming from merchandise. SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment reported 321.6 billion won and 232.6 billion won in revenue, respectively, with merch accounting for 50.3 billion won and 29.3 billion won. YG Entertainment also recorded 28.1 billion won in merch revenue out of 173.1 billion won total."

I dragged my feet quite a bit before writing this roundup, as it felt like something I really love doing – accounting for a year in review both creatively and fiscally – was just going to show that K-pop's biggest entities aren't doing well. I, ultimately, wouldn't say that, but a general theme I had throughout this was that 2025 was a ho-hum year with some big moments but largely only JYP really impressed.

A quick overview of the standard categories I've created:

Music Quality - Based on my personal preferences and perception. This will be a score of the quality of a company's musical releases from my perspective.

Music Impact - Based on public and critical appeal, awards charts, etc. This will be a score of how well the company's musical releases fared. There are different metrics of album sales, so there may be some discrepancies, but generally the acts who sold a lot sold A LOT regardless of how it was reported.

Company Reputation - Based on general public perceptions of the company. This will be a score of the company's brand value.

Company Value - How the company is doing financially. This will be a score of the company's financial worth.

As always, disclaimer that this is a personally-guided scorecard, and if you disagree with how I feel about anything, please leave thoughts in the comments. I love feedback, insight, and criticism, but will not accept any ad hominem attacks.

Previous scorecards:

2025 K-pop H1 in Review Big 4 Company Scorecard

According to The Washington Post, the sound of summer 2025 is K-pop. With K-Pop Demon Hunters winning us all over, the return of BTS confirmed now that all the members have returned to civilian life, and major acts touring US stadiums, WaPo say it’s a great time to be a

Notes on K-popTamar Herman

2024 K-pop Year in Review Big 4 Company Scorecard

As I mentioned in my year-end check-in post, I’m never quite sure what I want to accomplish with this newsletter, but I keep working on it. I could write yet another newsletter about the messiness of the business and legal sides of K-pop last year, or go on about trends

Notes on K-popTamar Herman

Please note: I'm writing this in mid-March 2026, so have already nearly finished Q1 of the year, but was waiting for financial statements before working on this.

Hybe

Music Quality

I thought last year was fine for Hybe, but one of their most mid-years in sometime on the music front of things. There were a handful of enjoyable songs and albums, but aside from a few B-sides, what ILLIT was doing, and everything that Katseye touched, last year felt extremely lackluster from Hybe for me personally on the musical front. I thought albums and songs were fine, but far and few were great.

Music Impact

New boy band CORTIS and KATSEYE were undoubtedly the breakouts of Hybe's roster last year, and KATSEYE even landed a Grammy nomination for "Gabriela". Other artists from Hybe consistently had hits, like Enhypen's "Bad Desire (With or Without You) and ILLIT's "Not Cute Anymore", but only a handful of singles from Hybe in 2025 had true staying power.

Album sales for boy bands were major: Seventeen's HAPPY BURSTDAY was one of the best albums of the year, selling 2.63 million copies according to IFPI, while ENHYPEN's DESIRE : UNLEASH followed closely with 2.13 million copies. TOMORROW X TOGETHER's The Star Chapter: TOGETHER, &TEAM's Back to Life, and BOYNEXTDOOR's No Genre each sold over 1 million copies as well.

On the charts, Jimin's "Who" was the most succesful internationally, landing at No. 57 on the Billboard end of year Hot 100 ranking. In Korea, BOYNEXTDOOR's "IF I SAY, I LOVE YOU" was one of the top 15 most popular songs of the year according to streaming platform Melon, while it was ranked overall No. 10 on the Circle Chart's digital ranking for 2025, while Le Sserafim's Hot album resulted n hts for them.

Company Reputation

Hybe spent a lot of 2025 embroiled in controversy: There were the lawsuits with Min Hee Jin and NewJeans, while an investigation began into whether or not Bang Si-hyuk misled investors.

Although these were, and continue to be, sizable issues that struck blows to Hybe's reputation, things ended up on a bit of a high as 2025 ended with most of NewJeans members' returning to Hybe – sans Danielle whose contract had been terminated at the very end of the year , and Minji still TBD– and BTS returned to full force from the military hiatus.

Company Value

HYBE’s annual revenue reportedly grew 17.5% Year over Year to 2.65 trillion South Korean Won last year, around $1.85 billion USD. However, although the revenue overall grew, profitability fell, and the company's operating margin was only 1.9% after 8.2% in 2024. Concerts were a big moneymaker, but revenue for music was down, and the operating profit drop was ostensibly due to restructuring.

Despite the dips overall in 2025, Q3 was reported by Hybe to have highest-ever quarterly revenue, reaching KRW 727.2 billion, marking a 37.8% YoY increase.

At the end of 2025, Hybe was at its then-highest stock price to-date, based around the expectation of BTS's return, closing in December at over 310,000 KRW. As of March 15, 2026, Hybe's shares are priced at 361,500 KRW.

The company also sold some of its American investments, as well as selling stakes in both SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment, though opened Indian and Chinese branches.

Hybe ended the year with a lot of eyes on 2026's financial success or loss, given wait-and-see situations surrounding NewJeans and BTS.

JYP Entertainment

Music Quality

NMIXX spent last year releasing one amazing album after another, and there were also a few glorious B-sides from JYP's women. That said, I didn't really get inspired by pretty much anything the men of JYP did last year, though Xdinary Heroes' albums got fairly close to picking the pop rock spot in my brain. TWICE's Lollapalooza set, however, was one of my favorite live moments of the year.

JYP spent the year solidifying new acts, and letting the women at the company grow into the current stage of their careers, such as with Chaeyoung and Yeji getting very specifically them albums. Even if I didn't personally land on every song to my own tastes released under JYP throughout the year, it felt like JYP's A&R and producers at least had a sense of artistry and vision for each act in a solid, standout way that felt valuable and intriguing.

Music Impact

Along with NMIXX coming into their own with viral hits like "Blue Valentine",Stray Kids' KARMA was the best-selling album from Korea in 2025, selling 3.49 million copies, while TWCE was featured on the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack, one of the biggest viral hits of the year. TWICE's brand recognition grew internationally, thanks to the KPDH-feature, and Lollapalooza and Victoria's Secret Fashion Show performances.

Those alone would have meant a coup for JYP in 2025, but Day6 remains one of the most-beloved acts in South Korea, while JYP's rookie's group KickFlip had solid releases. VCHA was rebranded as Girlset, and ended the year successfully carving out a new identity for themselves.

Company Reputation

It was a relatively quiet year for JYP regarding make-or-break company reputaton issues, in that there was really nothing: the biggest issue that comes to mind was ticketing drama around Day6's tour and identity requirements restricting access for some fans.

Company Value

Q4 of 2025 was JYP's most-succesful quarter, achieving 16.8% year-over-year with a revenue of 232.6 billion KRW (around $155 million USD), and increased operating profit of 41.9 billion KRW (~$28 million), up 13.6 year-over-year, according to their financial report. Net profit increased by 6.4% year-over-year to 27.9 billion KRW ( ~$18.5 million USD).

This boom was largely credited to increased album and merchandise sales, and touring. An interesting thing to note was that advertising revenue increased, but appearances revenue decreased due to reduced domestic, South Korean events, due to the international focus of JYP in 2025.

The stability of 2025 resulted in no major highs or lows for JYP's stock price, which began 2025 around 60,000 KRW a share (around $40 USD) and ended in the low 70,000s (around ~$46 USD). Generally, a solid year for JYP, with some standout moments but no company shake-ups in any directions.

SM Entertainment

Music Quality

I think you'd have to really try to find a year where SM didn't put out music I liked, as their sonic styling is most similar generally to my personal taste. That said, Haechan and NCT Dream's albums last year were particularly attuned to my taste, while Kai, RIIZE, and Yuta also delivered strong albums. The women of SM had a bit of a lull last year, but releases from Hearts2Hearts, BoA, and the Red Velvet duo Irene & Seulgi rounded out a great soundtrack of the year. I was honestly a bit disappointed with aespa's releases, but their 2024 was so good, it would have been impressive to see them exceed that.

Music Impact

A fairly quiet year for SM acts, except for the rise of NCT Wish, who absolutely have won over many fans. When I was in Seoul in November, it felt like I rarely went more than a few hours before seeing at least one, if not more, Wishzen keychain dangling from a purse. RIIZE, NCT Wish, and aespa were SM's best-selling acts last year, each selling over a million each of at least one album.

But it was "Whiplash", aespa's 2024 hit, that was the No. 2 most-streamed song of the year on digital platforms in Korea, second only to Woodz' "Drowning". Hearts2Hearts' "The Chase" was the only non-aespa song to get recognized on the Circle Chart, way down in the 70s, making it clear that 2025 was a big year for fandom sales but not necessarily mass-market listening. SM has historically had a very strong domestic audience, so it felt like last year was a bit of a lull.

Company Reputation

SM has been defined in recent years by legal battles and drama surrounding leadership and investments. Artists like EXO's CBX have been fighting with the company for years now, and the hostile takeover that led to founder Lee Soo-man being ousted still has long-tailed implications. But, that said, it was fairly calm and business as usual at SM last year: no major hits, but no major upsets either.

There was a general sense that SM's artists were releasing music that was fine, but maybe a bit of coasting, aside from a few outstanding albums or occasional songs. I'd say this was a perfectly neutral year for SM, but set them up for an interesting 2026 with their SM NEXT 3.0 plan. We're already seeing big things –both good and bad– for SM in 2026, but we'll have to wait for the midyear scorecard to reflect on that.

Company Value

The year ended with a positive Q4 for SM, with consolidated revenue of 319 billion KRW (around $212 million USD), up 16.6% year over year, and an operating profit of 54.6 KRW (!$36.3 million USD), a significant 62.2% increase on last year's final quarter. The company claimed a net profit of 27.4 billion KRW (~$18 million USD). Concert earnings went up, and physical and digital music sales dropped, which is aligned with the company's plans for last year largely focusing on touring rather than releases.

SM Entertainment's stock price went up steadily and significantly in 2025, beginning 2025 around the high 60,000s ($40 USD) and low 70,000s KRW ($46 USD), but ending the year around 100,000 KRW per share (~$66 USD), showing that investors at least are confident in SM's future.

YG Entertainment

So, I haven't done this for any other companies but I feel like I need a little addendum here... When I was in Seoul last year, I met with a few people who work with or around YG and Teddy's The Black Label, and I kept hearing that the two are separate. The Black Label operates out of Itaewon rather than from the YG Hongdae-adjacent office in Hapjeong. The Black Label's biggest investor isn't YG anymore. The repeated narrative made it clear that the staff at Black Label is trying to truly separate its identity from the YG brand, and so I'm keeping this only to YG and not incorporate any artists solely under The Black Label. It is a fairly grim outlook, to be honest.

Music Quality

Off the top of my head, I can only confirm a handful of releases from YG label proper in 2025: Babymonster released the EP We Go Up, Treasure released the EPs Pleasure and Love Pulse, BLACKPINK released "Jump", Kang Seung Yoon released an LP, Page 2, and Lee Chanhyuk released his truly wonderful Eros album (before he left the company). Everything felt very typical of YG without reinventing anything, nothing felt inspired but just rehashing the old even when I enjoyed it.

I did appreciate the push for live albums, but to be honest... This felt like a death knell for YG Entertainment regarding creativity and longevity. I'd like to be proven wrong, but we shall see.

Music Impact

"Jump", "We Go Up" and Eros each had major moments last year, though "Jump" was really YG's only song to make waves among the general public outside of Korea.

Lee Chanhyuk and Babymonster definitely captured some attention within Korea, but it's unclear how that'll translate into longevity, considering that neither did as well on streaming charts as one would have thought: "We Go Up" didn't even appear on the year-end roundup, but 2024's "Drip" did, while "Endangered Love" from Lee didn't chart above the 80s.

Treasure's album was, surprisingly perhaps, one of the top 15 best-selling albums in Korea last year, and We Go Up was in the high 30s of sales.

Company Reputation

It was a semi-positive year for YG, until you look at the details: the few acts they have all got some attention, but the most prominent ones ended up leaving: 2NE1 returned, and had their Welcome Back tour, only to end the year with Park Bom going on hiatus and the group's future probably once again being shut down. Lee Chanhyuk had a critically-acclaimed album, then AKMU left YG.

Treasure and Babymonster are both solid sellers, and Babymonster has some good will from general public and K-pop fans in general, but for a company like YG that was once known for surefire hit after hit, it feels like a robbed house with very little going for it.

Company Value

YG is the only one of the four Korean entertainment firms on this list whose financial reports for 2025 were not widely reported in English-language media, which I think interestingly says a lot more than any actual financial metric. It makes me wonder whether I should even include them in this ranking in the future, not because this is solely based on finance but if we're truly no longer considering YG a power player or not. I also couldn't find the updated reports on YG's site, so defer to the Wall Street Journal. According to WSJ, in 2025 YG reported a net income growth of +190.21%, and growth of sales or revenue of 494.45%, though the actual amounts are not listed.

That said, YG's shares began 2025 around 46,000 KRW (~$31 USD), and closed the year out around 65,000 KRW ( ~$43 USD), so showed similar investment confidence in growth in the way SM did. This is largely credited to BLACKPINK's latest album, Bigbang returning, and betting on BabyMonster having a good year. What's even more interesting, is financial reports are similarly not considering The Black Label as YG, so I think we shouldn't anymore.