The ADOR Effect: HYBE’s Q3 2025 Earnings Reveal NewJeans’ Shocking Financial Contribution Amid Scandal!
- lewishooper1
- 3 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Inside the record-breaking revenue and unexpected operating loss—and the pivotal role of NewJeans' agency amid internal and global growth strategies. We have all the details!
Financials Amid Controversy
This year has seen HYBE hit the headlines, not necessarily for the most positive reasons, following the ADOR NewJeans scandal.
Even with all of these negative headlines, HYBE's Q3 2025 earnings reported a strong revenue of KRW 727.2 billion (USD 524.7 million), yet the company surprisingly posted an operating loss of KRW 42.2 billion (USD 30.4 million).
So what caused the loss? These losses primarily came from the proactive investments that the company ventured into, including new global IPs and one-off costs, which were related to the restructuring of its North American business. The ADOR subsidiary, home to NewJeans, still managed to report a net profit despite the group's highly publicized legal disputes.
NewJeans' Financial Contribution
Despite their halted activities during the highly publicized ADOR dispute, NewJeans' legacy IP still proved to be a strong revenue source for HYBE, which is most likely one of the reasons why HYBE was so against NewJeans giving up their contracts early.
Revenue: Record Growth vs. Slight Decline
Q3 2025 saw HYBE achieve its highest-ever quarterly revenue of KRW 727.2 billion, marking a massive 37.8% year-over-year (YoY) increase from Q3 2024. In contrast, Q3 2024 reported revenue of KRW 527.8 billion, which was actually a 1.9% YoY decline, which actually attributed to fewer album releases due to the Paris Olympics, according to their official website. This outstanding revenue surge in 2025 just goes to show the explosive success of global tours and merchandise despite a lighter overall album schedule. So will 2026 see an even bigger increase in revenue?
Impact and Fan Reaction
The surprising Q3 profitability of NewJeans' label, despite the group being largely inactive, sparked significant discussion among the fanbase on social media. Many fans took to online platforms to question the source of the high revenue, with comments asking how they "made that much" during a standstill period with little to no activity.
The Dojeon team, however, believes that the profits came from their commercial activities and investors, and even the news and interviews around NewJeans and ADOR, as bad press still helped their stock prices and place in the market.
Final thoughts
HYBE has so much influence and power that the Dojeon team firmly believes it will increase their profits next year, despite any losses that they may incur. Bad press is still press, and it brings interest to the organization, along with K-pop's growing rise outside of Korea.
Comment below and let the Dojeon team know your thoughts on these record-breaking revenues!
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