Hybe Stock Slumps After BTS Comeback Underwhelms

GettyImages 2267222389 — (From L to R) K-pop boy group BTS members RM, Jimin, Jungkook, V, J-Hope, Suga (partially hidden) and Jin perform during their concert at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on March 21, 2026. South Korean megastars BTS reunite on March 21, for their first show in nearly four years, with an expected 260,000 fans taking over central Seoul for a K-pop extravaganza livestreamed to millions more worldwide. (Photo by KIM Min-Hee / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Shares of Korean entertainment mega-conglomerate Hybe fell more than 15% Monday after underwhelming attendance at the much-ballyhooed Seoul comeback concert for BTS.

Seoul police had prepared for crowds of at least 260,000, leading to a large law enforcement presence around the city’s Gwanhwamun Square which irked local merchants. But that level of preparation may not have been warranted.

“An estimated 104,000 fans attended the Gwanghwamun Square concert, based on ticket sales and data from the country’s three major mobile carriers,” HYBE said in a statement to AFP.

Even that number far exceeds the police estimate, which put the crowd at 42,000.

The news sent a shock to Hybe’s stock, which had its worst day since June 2022. That sell-off was linked to the beginning of BTS’s hiatus due to the members’ compulsory military service.

The six-member group performed 12 songs over an hour at the Saturday night concert, which was also streamed worldwide on Netflix. The streamer is expected to release viewership numbers later this week.

Daily Pulse