On July 28, HYBE announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2026, reporting revenue of 1.45 trillion KRW and operating profit of 170.9 billion KRW, up 105.5% and 159.3% year-over-year, respectively. It marks the first time the company's quarterly revenue has surpαѕѕed 1 trillion KRW and quarterly operating profit has exceeded 100 billion KRW, both setting new all-time quarterly records. As a result, HYBE's first-half revenue also exceeded 2 trillion KRW for the first time in the company's history.
The remarkable growth was driven by the steady comeback activities and global tours of HYBE's artists. Among them, BTS was identified as the key contributor to the company's second-quarter performance. After releasing their fifth full-length studio album, ARIRANG, in March, the group kicked off the world tour of the same name in April.
In its report, HYBE highlighted, "Direct engagement revenue reached 647.7 billion KRW for live performances and 326.8 billion KRW for albums and digital music. Most notably, BTS's world tour driven the second-quarter live performance results. The BTS world tour generated mαѕѕive economic impacts in every host city, even coining the new phrase 'BTS-nomics.'"
Notably, during the media briefing accompanying the earnings report, HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang also offered an intriguing update regarding BTS's ongoing world tour, leaving fans around the globe excited!
When asked about BTS's future plans, Lee responded, "There are still many dates left on the BTS world tour that haven't been announced yet, so I'm cautious about sharing additional performances and plans, but I do want to say that they are planned." His comments immediately sparked excitement, particularly among fans in countries that have yet to appear on the ARIRANG World Tour itinerary and are eagerly hoping for BTS to visit.
When the tour was first announced earlier this year, more than 70 concerts were scheduled across 34 cities worldwide. The 41 shows in North αмєяι¢α and Europe alone sold out within hours of going on sale. At many major stops, tickets disappeared almost instantly after sales opened, while even stadiums with capacities of tens of thousands of seats were unable to meet overwhelming global demand. As a result, the BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG' quickly became one of the most competitive concert tours to secure tickets for this year.
In response to the overwhelming demand, BigHit Music later added extra shows in Tampa, Florida; Stanford, California; and Las Vegas in the United States, as well as Lima, Peru; Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Melbourne, Australia. The newly added dates also sold out rapidly. Additional concerts were also announced in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Bulacan, Philippines, bringing the tour's current total to 88 shows, making it the largest world tour in K-pop history.
Previously, both кσяєαn media outlets and BigHit Music had hinted that additional tour stops in נαραи and the Middle East were being considered for announcement in the near future. Lee Jae-sang's latest remarks have further strengthened fans' belief that the current itinerary is still only part of the full scale of BTS's historic world tour.
On social media, many fans have already begun sharing optimistic predictions. One fan speculated, "נαραи 15+ shows April-May. US 8-10 shows June-ish. Europe (Wembley, ιтαℓу, other new cities, Paris) 12-16 shows Summer. Middle East, ιи∂ια, Africa - on the table. Finale in Seoul 4-6 shows - Oct 2027."
Meanwhile, countless ARMYs from countries that have yet to be included on the current schedule have also expressed hope that BTS will finally visit their hometowns when the next round of tour dates is announced, commenting: "I hope ιи∂ια is on the list, please drop the dates already", "I hope every country that didn't get the dates will get it now", "I hope Africa, ιи∂ια, and more dates in мєχι¢σ and Europe...", "Just one show in EGYPT is fine, pls", "The Arirang Tour just keeps getting bigger", "I think he means the נαραи and ME dates", "They will go back to Europe and some new countries", "BTS world domination continues", "Please, the unannounced Asia leg",...
Meanwhile, after just three months on the ARIRANG World Tour, BTS has drawn approximately 840,000 attendees across North αмєяι¢α and another 720,000 across Europe. In particular, the group's two concerts in Paris on July 17 and 18 each attracted 92,000 fans, setting a new record for the highest attendance at a single BTS concert. BTS is scheduled to continue the North αмєяι¢αn leg of the tour with two concerts at MetLife Stadium in New York early next month, while fans around the world eagerly await the announcement of even more tour dates.
