HYBE Shares Fall on News of Investigation Into Chairman Bang

The K-pop company's stock declined 6.8% for the week ended May 30 as the 20-company Billboard Global Music Index was unchanged.

May 31, 2025 - 04:05

HYBE Shares Fall on News of Investigation Into Chairman Bang

Amidst new reports about a South Korean investigation into its chairman, HYBE shares fell 6.8% to 266,000 KRW ($192.69) during the week ended May 30. That was the biggest decline for a music stock in a week marked by modest gains and losses.

Reports out of South Korea this week said police in Seoul have resubmitted a search and seizure warrant for HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk in an investigation into allegations of fraudulent stock transactions by the music mogul. Bang allegedly misled previous shareholders about HYBE’s intention to go public, which caused them to sell HYBE shares ahead of the company’s initial public offering in 2020. Sources told Yonhap News Agency that Bang netted $291 million in 2020 from deals with private equity firms to share a portion of the gains from HYBE’s IPO.

The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) was unchanged at 2,800.84 as the index had an even number of winners and losers. In a week with a remarkable amount of unremarkable movement, the majority of companies fell within a narrow band between a 2% gain and a 1% loss.

Music stocks underperformed numerous market indexes. In the U.S., the Nasdaq gained 2.0% to 19,113.77 and the S&P 500 rose 1.9% to 5,911.69. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.6% to 8,772.38. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index jumped 4.1% to 2,697.67. China’s SSE composite was flat at 3,347.49.

But music stocks have posted big gains in 2025. The BGMI is up 31.8%, far surpassing the gains of the Nasdaq (14.2%) and the S&P 500 (up 12.0%). Spotify, the index’s most valuable component, has risen 42.8%. Universal Music Group (UMG), the BGMI’s second-largest company, has gained 17.8%.

The lone music company to report earnings this week, Reservoir Media, rose 7.9% to $7.80. The quarterly earnings released on Wednesday (May 28) showed a 10% revenue gain and a 14% improvement in adjusted EBITDA. Meanwhile, the only company to post a double-digit gain was Cumulus Media, which rose 15.4% to $0.15. Cumulus tends to have wild swings, however, since it was delisted from the Nasdaq on May 2 and began trading over the counter.

iHeartMedia jumped 6.5% to $1.31. Spotify, the BGMI’s fourth-best performer, rose 1.9% to $666.25. Madison Square Garden Entertainment improved 1.5% to $37.11, and UMG gained 1.4% to 28.16 euros ($31.95).

Live Nation fell 5.4% to $137.24, lowering its year-to-date gain to 6.0%. On Thursday, the company fell 2.9% on heavier-than-average trading volume following reports that it canceled concerts at Boston’s Fenway Park by Shakira and Jason Aldean due to safety concerns about the venue’s stage.

Both Chinese music streamers had off weeks that reduced their stellar year-to-date performances. Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) fell 4.0% to $16.82, lowering its year-to-date gain to 50.9%. Netease Cloud Music, the BGMI’s biggest gainer of 2025 at 88.2%, fell 2.9% to 211.20 HKD ($26.94).