HYBE Target Price Raised on BTS Tour Projections and Jimin’s Solo Success
Hana Securities has raised its target price for HYBE to 400,000 KRW, maintaining a ‘Buy’ recommendation, citing massive revenue forecasts for an upcoming BTS tour. This optimism is bolstered by the continued record-breaking solo success of BTS members, such as Jimin, even during their military service.
Analyst Raises BTS Tour Revenue Forecast to 1.2 Trillion KRW
In a report released on 31st October, Hana Securities analyst Lee Ki-hoon stated that following a new album release in March, BTS is expected to conduct a tour of approximately 70 shows. This tour is projected to generate over 1.2 trillion KRW (approximately £700 million) in revenue.
The report suggests that concert ticket sales alone could exceed 800 billion KRW. When combined with album sales, merchandise, and secondary rights, the 1.2 trillion KRW forecast is deemed “sufficiently possible.” Mr. Lee also noted that if current exchange rates hold, a further increase in average ticket prices could be possible.
Reflecting this outlook, the securities firm has significantly increased its 2026 operating profit forecast for HYBE to 500.6 billion KRW, a 191% increase year-on-year, raising the target P/E ratio to 43x.
Jimin’s ‘MUSE’ Sets New Spotify Record
Confidence in the BTS brand is reinforced by the outstanding solo achievements of its members. Jimin’s second solo album, ‘MUSE’, has become the fastest Korean-language album in Spotify’s history to surpass 3.5 billion streams, achieving the milestone in just 465 days.
It is also the first and only Korean-language solo album to reach this streaming figure. The album’s title track, ‘Who’, which famously charted on the US Billboard ‘Hot 100’ for 33 weeks during Jimin’s military service, leads the album’s streaming figures with over 2.097 billion streams.
Comprehensive Album Success
The success of ‘MUSE’ is not limited to its lead single. All seven tracks on the album have individually surpassed 100 million streams. Four tracks—’Who’, ‘Closer Than This’ (305m), ‘Be Mine’ (324m), and ‘Smeraldo Garden Marching Band’ (247m)—have all exceeded 200 million streams. The remaining tracks, ‘Slow Dance’ (123m), ‘Rebirth’ (117m), and ‘Interlude : Showtime’ (106m), demonstrate the album’s consistent popularity.
Continued Billboard Chart Dominance
Jimin’s chart presence also continues to expand. As of the 1st November chart, ‘Who’ marked its 66th week on the Billboard ‘Global 200’, placing at 146. It also charted at 108 on the ‘Global (Excl. US)’ chart.
With this, Jimin has become the first and only Asian solo artist to have multiple songs (‘Like Crazy’ and ‘Who’) spend more than 66 weeks on the Billboard ‘Global (Excl. US)’ chart.
HYBE’s Diversifying Portfolio
The positive forecast from Hana Securities also considered other factors within HYBE’s business. Positive developments in the legal dispute regarding NewJeans and ADOR are expected to contribute approximately 30 billion KRW to operating profit if the initial court ruling is finalised.
Furthermore, HYBE’s pipeline of new artists is showing strong results despite initial debut costs. Global groups like AOEN (Japan), MUSA (Latin), and SANTOS BRAVOS (Latin) have been launched. The girl group KATSEYE has seen rapid growth, entering the Billboard Hot 100 at 40 and already beginning an 80,000-capacity tour, indicating swift monetization.
The boy group TWS has delivered the strongest debut among HYBE groups in the last three years, selling over 600,000 debut albums. The release of five music videos for the group is seen as preparation for a tour within the next two years. The analyst concluded by recommending a “continuous overweight” position on the stock, advising investors to build their position before the BTS tour commences.
