K-pop stocks have sold off this year, but Goldman sees a turnaround

cnbc.com:

It hasn't been an easy start to the year for investors in the K-pop sector as lower fourth-quarter sales and profits, as well as dating scandals, hit stock prices.

Goldman Sachs, however, expressed optimism for the industry in a March 14 report, saying the K-pop sector is «misunderstood.»

Shares of K-pop's «big four» companies have all fallen since the start of the year. JYP Entertainment's stock has plunged over 37% year to date, while YG Entertainment shed nearly 17%. Kospi-listed Hybe, home of superstars BTS, saw a smaller drop of about 4.5%.

Shares of SM Entertainment have plunged over 17%. The decline comes as one of the agency's artists was embroiled in a dating scandal that drew widespread international and domestic coverage.

In February, the stock fell for five straight sessions to its lowest level since October 2022 following the drama surrounding Karina, the leader of girl group Aespa. The sell-off wiped $50 million off SM's market value as Chinese fans <a href=«https://twitter.com/ChinaKarinaBar/status/1763092187846529366?ref_src=» https: target="_blank">threatened to boycott the group's albums.

Nonetheless, Goldman Sachs said it sees a «high potential for valuation re-rating,» as companies still continue to deliver multi-year earnings growth. For 2023, all four companies posted higher full-year revenue and net profits.

Goldman said the sell-off is tied to markets focusing on album sales, which has historically been considered a key proxy for the number of fans and, by extension, prospects for the companies.

«We challenge this mainstream mindset, arguing that offline concert audience… is the superior metric to measure the growing reach of K-pop,» the analysts wrote. They explained album sales can be tainted by