SM Entertainment eyes North America and Europe as aespa, RIIZE lead Western push

SM Entertainment is betting big on North America and Europe. Asia-first is out. Global is in.

aespa is the flagship. Their album track Lemonade charted on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100. The world tour is almost entirely Western—North America, South America, Europe—with only Korea and Taiwan dates outside that footprint. Yugin Investment Securities named aespa and RIIZE as SM's twin North American growth engines. RIIZE, a rookie group, is building overseas fandom at an unusually fast pace and could become SM's next major growth driver.

The numbers: Yugin projects Q2 revenue at 325.5 billion won and operating profit at 51.9 billion won. That's up 7.5% and 9% year-over-year, matching market expectations. A packed comeback schedule—NCT WISH, aespa, RIIZE, and Hearts2Hearts (하츠투하츠)—should push album sales higher. Concert revenue gets a boost from large-scale tours by aespa, SHINee, Super Junior, EXO, and TVXQ. NCT WISH popup store pre-orders from Q1 will also flow into Q2 revenue.

H2 could tighten up. Japan schedules get heavier, which Yugin flags as a potential gap in global activity. NCT 127's 10th debut anniversary album and Asia tour should help fill it, along with aespa's ongoing global push. A new boy group debut is planned for Q4.

Yugin's verdict: buy. Target price, 110,000 won. The firm's take is straightforward—SM stopped being an Asia-centered entertainment company. It's chasing the global market now.