PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
TJ Media has grown revenue by dominating the coin-karaoke market, but operating margin erosion and complete capital impairment at its entertainment subsidiary are unfolding at the same time.
Consolidated 2025 revenue rose to KRW 94.4bn, but the consolidated operating margin fell for a third straight year, from 6.6% in 2023 to 3.5% in 2025.
The company maintains an effectively dominant position in the domestic coin-karaoke machine market, widening the revenue gap with rival Genie Entertainment.
Wholly owned subsidiary Withus Entertainment posted net losses for two straight years and fell into complete capital impairment, while affiliate Seed FNS also turned to negative equity.
After posting an operating loss of about KRW -0.68bn in Q1 2026, the company recovered to an operating profit of roughly KRW 0.77bn in Q2 2026.
With the founding family holding a 54.81% stake, dividend payouts exceeding standalone net income have drawn governance-related scrutiny.
Founded in 1991 and listed on KOSDAQ in 1997, TJ Media is the leading domestic karaoke machine maker, producing commercial and home karaoke systems as well as coin-operated karaoke machines.
Its business spans karaoke hardware, monthly-updated music content sold with the machines, electronic song-index tablets exported to Japan, sound chips produced by French subsidiary Dream S.A.S, an online/mobile platform run by TJ Communication, and an entertainment management arm, Withus Entertainment.
As of the Q1 2026 quarterly filing, the karaoke-music-content segment accounted for roughly 29% of consolidated revenue, while the electronic song-index segment was about 4% and the sound-chip segment about 14%. Withus Entertainment manages idol group The Wind as well as artists Apink, Whee In, and Hui.
The domestic karaoke market has shrunk as corporate after-work drinking culture faded, but coin-karaoke has spread rapidly among teens and twenties, and TJ Media captured this demand by adding room-versus-room song battles, easy payment, and a dedicated app.
An industry source noted that most coin-karaoke machines in the market are TJ products, while rival Genie Entertainment's revenue has been on a steady decline from KRW 32.5bn in 2020.
Overseas, TJ Media has supplied electronic song-index units to Japan's largest karaoke operator, Daiichikosho, and operates a Philippine subsidiary covering Southeast Asia. The company's extensive built-in music library and sound-chip technology are cited as barriers to new entrants.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩27.5B | ₩300M | 1.2% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩24.8B | ₩1.7B | 7.0% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩20.7B | ₩500M | 2.6% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩17.4B | -₩700M | −3.9% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩19.6B | ₩800M | 3.9% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩85.9B | ₩4.1B | ₩4.5B | 4.8% | 5.3% | 58.0% |
| 2023 | ₩96.4B | ₩6.3B | ₩4.7B | 6.6% | 5.5% | 48.2% |
| 2024 | ₩91.9B | ₩4.7B | ₩4.6B | 5.1% | 5.4% | 46.2% |
| 2025 | ₩94.4B | ₩3.3B | ₩4B | 3.5% | 4.8% | 52.0% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-09-05
Consolidated revenue rose from KRW 85.9bn in 2022 to KRW 96.4bn in 2023, then eased to KRW 91.9bn in 2024 and KRW 94.4bn in 2025.
Operating profit, by contrast, peaked at KRW 6.3bn in 2023 after KRW 4.1bn in 2022, then declined for two straight years to KRW 4.7bn in 2024 and KRW 3.3bn in 2025, with the operating margin falling for three consecutive years from 6.6% in 2023 to 5.1% in 2024 and 3.5% in 2025.
Net income attributable to owners moved more gently, at KRW 4.49bn, 4.70bn, 4.64bn, and 3.99bn in 2022 through 2025 respectively.
On a quarterly basis, Q2 2025 was relatively weak with revenue of KRW 27.49bn, operating profit of KRW 0.33bn, and owner net income of KRW 0.12bn, while Q3 2025 improved sharply to operating profit of KRW 1.75bn and net income of KRW 1.62bn even as revenue fell to KRW 24.82bn.
Q4 2025 revenue was KRW 20.74bn with operating profit of KRW 0.55bn, yet net income rose to KRW 1.75bn, suggesting non-operating items played a role.
Q1 2026 turned negative, with revenue falling to KRW 17.40bn and an operating loss of KRW 0.68bn, before Q2 2026 swung back to profit with revenue of KRW 19.62bn and operating profit of KRW 0.77bn.
Over the trailing four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026), cumulative owner net income was KRW 3.86bn, showing that despite quarter-to-quarter volatility the company has kept an annual profit.
On the balance sheet, the debt ratio improved somewhat from 58.0% in 2022 to 52.0% in 2025, while consolidated operating cash flow slowed sharply to KRW 3.81bn in 2025 from KRW 13.36bn in 2024.
The domestic karaoke industry has seen traditional group outings decline since the pandemic, but coin-operated karaoke aimed at teens and twenties has spread rapidly, reshaping the market structure.
TJ Media responded with coin-karaoke machines, room-versus-room song battles, and a dedicated app, emerging as the main beneficiary of this shift, which widened its revenue gap versus rival Genie Entertainment.
Still, growth in the domestic market itself is slowing, prompting the company to expand into Japan, the Philippines, and the United States.
Japan, the birthplace of karaoke, has been a key market where TJ Media's electronic song-index units supply the country's largest operator, though the Q1 2026 filing showed this segment's share of revenue dropping sharply versus prior periods.
The music content library and sound-chip technology act as barriers to new entrants, but they also require continuous investment such as monthly new-song production.
The entertainment business operates in a highly competitive field already dominated by large established agencies, and TJ Media's Withus Entertainment has yet to establish a clear profit model.
The company has said its dedicated app surpassed 100,000 subscribers within 11 months of its June 2025 launch, and it continues to expand content features such as room-versus-room song battles.
Overseas, a new tablet-based electronic song-index product for the Japanese market reportedly drew a positive customer response, and the company is pursuing Southeast Asian distribution expansion via its Philippine subsidiary.
The entertainment unit has broadened its artist roster beyond The Wind to include Apink, Whee In, and Hui, but no concrete restructuring plan to exit the subsidiary's complete capital impairment has been disclosed publicly.
The company reportedly did not respond to a media outlet's inquiries on the matter, leaving uncertainty around the direction of the new business.
The core karaoke-machine segment is counting on coin-karaoke replacement demand and a nationwide real-time song-battle system as growth drivers, though recent quarters, including the Q1 2026 loss, show results can swing with seasonal factors or export volumes.
Key items to watch going forward are whether results after Q3 continue the Q2 recovery trend, and whether further capital injections or restructuring occur at Withus Entertainment.
The price-to-book ratio sits close to 1x, implying the shares trade without a large premium or discount to net assets, while the price-to-earnings multiple falls within the band shaped by recent quarters of fluctuating profit.
On the dividend side, a payout exceeding standalone net income has been raised as a governance issue, and this context is worth weighing alongside any assessment of dividend yield.
Over multiple years, net income has stayed relatively stable even as the operating margin gradually declined, and the swing from an operating loss in Q1 2026 to a profit in Q2 2026 has been cited as evidence of a recent earnings recovery.
Given the company's relatively small market capitalization, trading liquidity and the concentrated ownership structure are also factors worth considering in how the price is formed.
PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are all calculated in-house (the same method as Naver and Toss) · Dividend yield = cash dividend per share from DART filings (supplemented by KRX) ÷ current price · As of 2026-09-05
TJ Media has captured coin-karaoke demand centered on teens and twenties, continuing to widen its revenue gap versus rival Genie Entertainment. An industry source noted that most coin-karaoke machines in the market are TJ products.
While the overall domestic karaoke industry is stagnant, TJ Media has positioned itself as the main beneficiary of this sub-market's reshaping.
A track record of supplying electronic song-index units to Japan's top karaoke operator, plus a Southeast Asian distribution channel via the Philippine subsidiary, offer an outlet to offset domestic market slowdown. A tablet-based new product reportedly drew a positive response from Japanese customers. That segment's revenue share, however, has shown large quarter-to-quarter swings.
After an operating loss in Q1 2026, the company recovered to revenue of KRW 19.62bn and operating profit of KRW 0.77bn in Q2 2026. Owner net income was also relatively solid across Q3 and Q4 of 2025. On an annual basis, the company has stayed profitable in each of the past four fiscal years.
The consolidated operating margin fell for three straight years, from 6.6% in 2023 to 3.5% in 2025. The standalone operating margin also declined every year, from 9.7% in 2023 to 6.4% in 2025. Profitability has failed to keep pace with revenue growth.
Wholly owned subsidiary Withus Entertainment posted net losses for two straight years and fell into complete capital impairment, prompting the parent to inject an additional KRW 3.6bn in 2024 and KRW 2.3bn in 2025. As a result, impairment losses on the subsidiary investment reached KRW 6.4bn over the past two years. Affiliate Seed FNS also turned to negative total equity.
Standalone net income in 2025 was only KRW 3.1bn, yet total cash dividends reached KRW 4.5bn, exceeding net income. Reports indicated the founding family, which holds a 54.81% stake, received a substantial portion of this payout, raising moral-hazard concerns.
A high-dividend policy pursued alongside a deteriorating new business raises questions about capital allocation priorities.
With Withus Entertainment's complete capital impairment ongoing, repeated capital injections or impairment charges could weigh on consolidated results. Affiliate Seed FNS's capital impairment carries a similar risk. No restructuring plan for the new business has been disclosed, leaving uncertainty.
With the founding family holding a 54.81% stake, reports of dividends exceeding net income have raised questions about the reliability of capital allocation policy. If such a dividend policy continues, it could strain financial health going forward.
With growth in the domestic karaoke industry overall slowing, coin-karaoke demand could also see its growth pace ease as the market matures. The export segment shows large quarter-to-quarter volume volatility, reducing the predictability of results.
The Q3 report filing deadline, when it will be possible to check whether the Q2 return to profit continues and how the revenue mix between karaoke machines and exports has shifted.
Watch for any further capital injections or impairment charges related to Withus Entertainment, and whether affiliate Seed FNS resolves its negative equity.
The FY2026 annual report and dividend resolution filing will show whether the payout-to-net-income ratio widens again and whether any governance improvement measures are introduced.
Export volumes to Japan and the Philippines, along with new-installation and replacement demand for coin-karaoke machines, should be tracked continuously through quarterly filings.
TJ Media has sustained its revenue base by widening the gap with rivals in the domestic coin-karaoke market, but core profitability has gradually weakened, with both consolidated and standalone operating margins declining for three consecutive years.
The swing from an operating loss in Q1 2026 to a profit in Q2 2026 can be read as a sign of earnings recovery, but given the high quarter-to-quarter volatility, subsequent quarters warrant close attention.
At the same time, complete capital impairment at wholly owned subsidiary Withus Entertainment and negative equity at affiliate Seed FNS remain structural burdens in the new-business segment.
With the founding family holding more than half the shares, the fact that dividends exceeded net income suggests further scrutiny of capital allocation policy and governance is warranted.
Export channels and app-based content expansion are cited as growth drivers, but whether these translate into stable results will need to be confirmed through future quarterly filings.
Overall, the company presents a mix of core-market dominance alongside new-business and governance risk, and both threads merit continued monitoring.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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