"Now is the time. If you have spare money, I would definitely buy our company's stock looking three to five years ahead," said JYP Entertainment's largest shareholder and producer Park Jin-young in November 2023. At that time, the stock price was in the 90,000 won range, but as of August 2026, it has plummeted to the 30,000 won range. Recently, the company has also gained notoriety for having the highest number of downward target price reports among its peers.
Since the beginning of the year, the stock price has been on a downward trend. On August 27, the Korea Exchange reported that JYP Entertainment's stock closed at 39,750 won, down 300 won (0.75%) from the previous trading day, marking a significant drop to the 30,000 won range. This represents a 48.7% decline from the 77,500 won price on the first trading day of the year, January 2. Notably, the stock fell 11.20% to close at 40,850 won the day after the second-quarter earnings announcement on August 13.
Reports analyzing JYP Entertainment have predominantly issued downward revisions. According to financial information provider FnGuide, from July 1 to August 23, JYP Entertainment received the most downward target price reports among individual stocks in South Korea. Yuanta Securities stated, "The outlook for future stock price increases is not promising," and has lowered its target price twice this month, now setting it at the lowest among securities firms at 55,000 won.
The lowered expectations stem from disappointing second-quarter results. JYP Entertainment's consolidated revenue for the second quarter was 183.1 billion won, a 15.1% decrease compared to the same period last year. Operating profit fell by 41.4% to 31 billion won, while net profit dropped by 40.3% to 21.7 billion won. For the first half of the year, net profit was 53.6 billion won, a staggering 49.2% decline year-on-year.
Underperformance in album sales has increased the burden of content production costs, and performances have been limited to smaller, multiple shows, restricting profitability. Analysts express further concern over a potential performance gap in the future, as there is a lack of long-term growth drivers to fill the void left by key artists. There are indications that TWICE may reduce its full-group activities, and from 2027, members of Stray Kids are expected to enlist in the military. Lower-tier artists like Kickflip have not yet matured enough to fill these gaps. Lee Gi-hoon, a researcher at Hana Securities, noted, "Considering the reduced activities of TWICE and the military enlistment of Stray Kids, we could see a decline in performance as early as 2027, or at the latest by 2028."
In contrast, the other three major entertainment companies reported strong performances in the second quarter. HYBE's revenue and operating profit surged by 105.5% and 159.3%, respectively, achieving record highs. YG Entertainment also saw revenue of 127.8 billion won and operating profit of 11 billion won, marking increases of 27.2% and 31.2%. SM Entertainment reported revenue of 349.6 billion won and operating profit of 52.9 billion won, reflecting growth of 15.4% and 11.0% year-on-year.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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