PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩0 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
SAMG Entertainment returned to full-year profit in 2025, but quarterly earnings remain volatile, making the outcome of its film and new-season IP expansion the key variable for coming results.
2025 consolidated revenue reached KRW 141.2bn with operating profit of KRW 22.6bn, ending three consecutive years of operating losses from 2022-2024.
The four quarters from 2025Q3 to 2026Q2 alternated between profit and loss, showing earnings still swing sharply quarter to quarter.
Core IP Catch! Teenieping is broadening its audience from toddlers to teens and twenties through theatrical releases and a collaboration with SM Entertainment.
The August 2026 theatrical release 'Hachuping: Legend of the Whale Jewel' topped Korean film advance ticket sales on opening day and continued to draw audiences.
Analysts expect continued earnings improvement on rising overseas sales and license mix, but the hit-driven business model still leaves forecasting uncertainty.
Founded in 2000, SAMG Entertainment is a first-generation animation studio running an integrated IP business spanning content planning, production and distribution, character licensing, and merchandising (MD). Its flagship IPs include Catch!
Teenieping, Miniforce, Metal Kaddabot, and WishCat, with Teenieping serving as the core driver of both revenue and buzz.
The business is split mainly into product sales (toys and other MD, OEM-manufactured in China and distributed across China, Korea and Japan) and licensing, where the company collects royalties for its IP with a lower cost ratio and thus higher margins.
The company recently launched a new integrated robot-IP brand, expanding its lineup into mecha-genre fandom business. It has also signed an MOU with SM Entertainment, continuing to release collaborative content and merchandise with artists such as NCT WISH to widen its reach with global fandoms.
On the offline front, its 'The Teenieping Seongsu' flagship store has drawn visitors in their twenties alongside its core base of children aged 3-9 and their parents, an early sign of its age-broadening strategy.
The Hachuping film franchise drew 1.24 million admissions for its first installment in 2024, and the second installment, 'Legend of the Whale Jewel,' released in August 2026, topped Korean film advance ticket sales at launch, continuing the series' box-office momentum.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩35.5B | ₩5.4B | 15.1% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩21.7B | -₩700M | −3.4% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩48.4B | ₩11.7B | 24.2% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩37.7B | ₩3.9B | 10.3% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩37.5B | ₩2.1B | 5.5% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩68.3B | -₩400M | -₩23B | −0.5% | −48.8% | 62.8% |
| 2023 | ₩95.1B | -₩9.4B | -₩17.2B | −9.9% | −37.8% | 112.6% |
| 2024 | ₩116.4B | -₩6.1B | -₩19.4B | −5.2% | −67.0% | 216.3% |
| 2025 | ₩141.3B | ₩22.6B | ₩30.1B | 16.0% | 37.1% | 62.6% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-09-04
SAMG Entertainment posted three straight years of operating losses: revenue of KRW 68.3bn with an operating loss of KRW 0.36bn in 2022, KRW 95.1bn revenue with a KRW 9.42bn operating loss in 2023, and KRW 116.4bn revenue with a KRW 6.11bn operating loss in 2024.
Net income attributable to owners also remained negative throughout, at -KRW 22.96bn (2022), -KRW 17.15bn (2023) and -KRW 19.44bn (2024), despite steady top-line growth.
In 2025, the company achieved a clear turnaround with revenue of KRW 141.25bn (16.0% operating margin), operating profit of KRW 22.63bn, and net income attributable to owners of KRW 30.10bn.
However, the four most recent quarters (2025Q3-2026Q2) show substantial swings. 2025Q3 revenue was KRW 21.69bn with an operating loss of KRW 0.73bn and owners' net loss of KRW 0.96bn, repeating the seasonal off-peak deficit pattern, while 2025Q4 revenue jumped to KRW 48.41bn with operating profit of KRW 11.72bn, yet owners' net income was only -KRW 0.11bn, a notable gap between operating and bottom-line results. 2026Q1 showed improvement with revenue of KRW 37.66bn, operating profit of KRW 3.88bn and owners' net income of KRW 4.55bn, but 2026Q2 saw operating profit shrink to KRW 2.07bn on revenue of KRW 37.46bn, with owners' net income falling back into negative territory at -KRW 0.37bn.
This quarterly volatility reflects both the seasonality tied to film and new-season content release timing, and upfront R&D and personnel costs incurred for new IP development and global expansion.
While the full-year trend confirms structural improvement, quarterly results remain heavily influenced by content and box-office scheduling.
The character IP industry hinges on an original-source multi-use (OSMU) structure where content success translates into merchandise, licensing, and spatial business revenue. SAMG's Catch!
Teenieping has secured a powerful domestic fandom, with its core IP viewership rate surpassing 30%, and the company has diversified revenue channels through collaborations across automotive, finance, sports, beauty, and retail industries.
Overseas, strategies vary by region and IP -- in China, Metal Kaddabot has generated more revenue than Teenieping -- while a partnership with UK-based 8Lions is expanding English-language new-media content distribution to build awareness ahead of a fuller push into English-speaking markets.
In the first half of 2026, overseas revenue already reached roughly KRW 30.2bn, about 86% of the full-year 2025 figure, with direct entry into Taiwan and merchandise launches in the US market accelerating the shift toward a higher overseas revenue mix.
The global character IP market remains dominated by large players such as Bandai Namco, Sanrio, and Walt Disney, so SAMG competes on a much smaller scale, relying on the growth pace and fandom expansion of a single mega-IP in Teenieping.
Domestic peers such as Sonokong, Aurora World, and Carrie Soft are sometimes cited, but few have built as comprehensive an IP business model spanning film, licensing, and live shows as Teenieping.
The company continues to make IP expansion its central axis for 2026. The new season of Catch! Teenieping has finished its first-half run, with a new season slated for the fourth quarter, expected to coincide with the year's peak sales season.
Metal Kaddabot is nearing the end of its domestic season and plans further overseas expansion into markets such as China and Russia, extending the company's global IP diversification.
The second installment of the Hachuping film trilogy released in August 2026 continues to draw audiences, accompanied by merchandise and pop-up store tie-ins designed to boost derivative revenue.
With SM Entertainment, the company is planning new content combining K-pop artists with animated IP, targeting a global release by 2028 as a mid- to long-term growth story.
In an August 2026 note, Eugene Investment & Securities forecast full-year 2026 revenue of KRW 164.0bn (+15.8% year-on-year) and operating profit of KRW 23.0bn (+0.6% year-on-year), noting that first-half overseas revenue had already reached about 86% of full-year 2025 levels.
How direct entry into Taiwan, US merchandise launches, and discussions over distributing the second film in China feed into second-half results will be worth watching.
The price-to-earnings ratio calculated from the most recent four quarters sits higher than the level implied by full-year 2025 results, reflecting the quarter-to-quarter volatility in which owners' net income lagged operating profit in 2025Q4 and 2026Q2.
The price-to-book ratio trades at a premium to net assets, against a backdrop where equity contracted sharply in 2024 before rebuilding following the 2025 return to profit.
The company maintains a no-dividend policy, indicating a clear preference for allocating capital toward reinvestment and IP expansion rather than shareholder returns.
Looking across multiple years, the company moved from losses in 2022-2024 to profit in 2025, but on a quarterly basis it still appears to be in an early recovery phase marked by considerable earnings volatility.
Some brokerages have flagged room for consensus estimates to be revised upward, while also noting that such outcomes remain contingent on the unpredictable nature of content hits.
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 2026-09-04
The licensing business, structured around royalty collection, carries a lower cost ratio and lifts overall profitability. First-half 2026 overseas revenue already reached about 86% of the full-year 2025 figure, with direct entry into Taiwan and US merchandise launches continuing.
Some analysts note that as licensing and overseas channels grow, seasonal earnings volatility could ease over time.
Teenieping is broadening its consumer base from young girls to teens and twenties, with visitors in their twenties exceeding 20% at its flagship store. Collaboration with SM Entertainment is widening its reach into K-pop fandoms, and a new animated project targeting a 2028 global release is in preparation. This age- and geography-based expansion could translate into new merchandise and licensing revenue.
Beyond Teenieping, the company holds multiple IPs including Miniforce, Metal Kaddabot and WishCat, allowing weaker performance in one property to be offset by others.
The second installment of the Hachuping film trilogy was drawing audiences as of August 2026, with new season content also scheduled for the fourth quarter. The launch of a new integrated robot-IP brand further extends the business into mecha-genre fandom.
Among the most recent four quarters, owners' net income posted losses in both 2025Q3 and 2026Q2, and even in 2025Q4, when operating profit was largest, net income was a small loss.
Results continue to swing widely based on seasonal off-peak periods and content broadcast schedules, making quarter-to-quarter forecasting difficult for investors.
Upfront R&D and personnel investment for new IP development and overseas expansion has repeatedly pressured operating margins in recent quarters. One-off costs such as inventory valuation losses have added further burden to specific quarters.
If the payback period for these investments is delayed, the pace of profitability recovery could be slower than expected.
Revenue growth is heavily influenced by hard-to-predict variables such as box-office performance, collaborations, and social media buzz. Reliance on Teenieping as a single mega-IP remains high, so if new IPs or subsequent seasons underperform, earnings volatility could widen again. This inherent uncertainty in the content industry is cited as a factor limiting earnings visibility.
The success or failure of theatrical releases and new seasons directly affects derivative revenue across toys and licensing. The inherent unpredictability of hit-driven businesses means revenue growth estimates can swing widely each quarter. If a particular season or film underperforms expectations, it could also affect achievement of annual guidance.
The product segment relies on OEM manufacturing in China, exposing the company to external variables such as local production costs, exchange rates, and trade issues.
As overseas expansion widens, the range of risks to manage -- including country-specific licensing and distribution regulations and currency fluctuations -- also grows. Early-stage entry into new markets such as the US and Europe could bring additional local regulatory or distribution-partner risks.
The stock has previously seen sharp short-term rallies and pullbacks tied to earnings releases or IP buzz, leading to a prior designation as a caution stock by the Korea Exchange. As a small-cap name, price movements can be amplified by shifts in trading volume and liquidity.
Investors should be mindful that short-term volatility can increase around earnings releases and major content events.
Expected Q3 2026 earnings release date; a key point to check how much the August film's box-office momentum and summer-season derivative sales fed through to results.
Watch for whether the peak-season effect repeats through the new season of Catch! Teenieping and related toy/MD sales during the year's busiest quarter.
A point to check progress on Metal Kaddabot's additional overseas expansion into markets such as China and Russia following the conclusion of its domestic season.
Worth monitoring whether more concrete progress is disclosed on the K-pop and animation collaboration project with SM Entertainment, which is targeting a 2028 global release.
SAMG Entertainment showed early signs of structural improvement by turning to full-year profit in 2025 after three consecutive years of operating losses from 2022 to 2024.
However, looking at the most recent four quarters from 2025Q3 to 2026Q2, results still swung between profit and loss, with some quarters showing a gap between operating profit and net income attributable to owners.
On the business side, an expanding licensing and overseas revenue mix, Teenieping's broadening age and geographic reach, the collaboration with SM Entertainment, and a multi-IP lineup stand out as supportive factors.
On the other hand, upfront cost burdens tied to new IP development and global expansion, along with forecasting uncertainty inherent to a hit-driven content business, remain as offsetting factors.
Some brokerages have flagged expectations for further earnings improvement in 2026, while also noting that this outcome depends on the box-office performance of upcoming films and new seasons.
The Q3 2026 earnings release and fourth-quarter peak-season results will likely serve as the next checkpoints for gauging whether the structural improvement continues.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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