SM Entertainment Posts Record Q4 ’25 Revenue as Live Thrives

SM Entertainment co-CEOs Dmitry YJ Tak (left) and Daniel Jang. Photo Credit: SM

Thanks in large part to a strong concerts and merch showing, SM Entertainment (KOSDAQ: 041510) has reported record fourth-quarter revenue and a sizable net income spike for 2025’s final three months.

The professional home of Aespa, Exo, and NCT Dream formally disclosed its Q4 2025 results this afternoon. All told, the K-pop giant pointed to ₩319 billion (currently $221 million) in revenue for the period, up 16.6% year over year (YoY).

Within the sum, core SM operations (revenue from the company’s various subsidiaries is classified separately) pulled in $139.9 million/₩202.2 billion, up 12.1% YoY, according to the document. As mentioned, concerts (up 53.6% YoY) and merch (up 50.6% YoY) were the biggest winners here, generating $23.9 million/₩34.5 billion and $54.0 million/₩78.1 billion, respectively.

(The latter also includes licensing contributions from Aespa’s PUBG tie-up and more. For merch, SM touted the “official fan-lights” of Aespa and Super Junior as top-sellers. Stateside, Aespa’s v2 fan-light will set one back a cool $59.90, per the appropriate webstore.)

Overall, SM acts delivered a total of 122 performances on the quarter, and the concerts category’s improvement helped to offset a 22.8% YoY decline for physical and digital music revenue, which came in at a combined $44.8 million/₩64.8 billion.

Explaining the slip, SM cited a release-volume decrease for albums; signed talent still managed to move 2.72 million physical units during the stretch, including 1.02 million Beat It Up copies sold by NCT Dream and 710,000 copies of Riize’s Fame.

Rounding out core revenue, appearances and different events kicked in $16.7 million/₩24.1 billion (up 12.3% YoY), against $484,331/₩700 million (up 9.8% YoY) for other. Meanwhile, SM proper’s net income hit $20.3 million/₩29.3 billion, up 106.5% YoY, compared to $19.0 million/₩27.4 billion on a consolidated company-wide basis.

As for “major subsidiaries,” the results of which overlap a bit with those highlighted above, Q4 2025 revenue cracked $117.0 million/₩169.1 billion (up 23.8% YoY).

Just in passing, this includes $11.4 million/₩16.5 billion from the live-geared Dream Maker (up 228.8% YoY) and $17.8 million/₩25.7 billion from SM Japan (up 27.1% YoY).

During the corresponding earnings call, co-CEOs Dmitry YJ Tak and Daniel Jang both emphasized the main elements of the ongoing “SM Next 3.0” initiative, which Tak stressed is “focused not on short-term scale expansion or speed-driven growth, but on building a sustainable growth structure.”

“Through our Multi-Creative system,” Jang elaborated, “we are enhancing production autonomy and operational efficiency, enabling greater consistency and scalability across IP development. By advancing new IP incubation alongside disciplined global expansion, we aim to drive revenue growth, improve profitability, and enhance long-term shareholder value.”

During today’s trading, SM shares posted roughly 5% growth en route to topping $83/₩120,000 – for a nearly 10% slip since 2026’s start but a 28% boost from mid-February 2025.