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'Baby Shark’ production company swims into IPO, promises more viral hits

Published: 03 Nov. 2025, 19:05 Updated: 03 Nov. 2025, 19:13

JIN MIN-JI
[email protected]

Characters from the Pinkfong Company [The Pinkfong Company]

The company behind the global sensation “Baby Shark Dance” — the most watched YouTube video of all time — is set to debut in the Korean stock market later this month, aiming to launch a new wave of content to replicate the viral success of the song.

This move by the Pinkfong Company, a children’s entertainment firm, comes as it seeks to expand its global footprint beyond animations and songs and tap into other digital content such as webtoons to serve a wider variety of audiences.

“We are not just an animation producer but a business — grounded in big data and AI — that designs a sustainable content model for the global market,” Kim Min-seok, the CEO and founder of the company, said during a press conference held in Yeouido, western Seoul on Monday. Powered by AI and other technology, the Pinkfong Company expects to release new intellectual properties (IPs) once every two years instead of the previous three, Kim added.

Established in 2010 as SmartStudy, the company was created by four developers as a tech firm and subsidiary of Samsung Publishing Company to provide educational programs on its own app. It shot to global stardom in 2018 with the breakout hit "Baby Shark Dance," two years after the video was released on YouTube. Known for its catchy tunes and simple yet addicting lyrics, the song now has more than 16 billion views on the platform, making it the most watched YouTube video in history.

The firm, which changed its name to The Pinkfong Company in 2021, operates in 244 countries. North America serves as its largest overseas market.

Set to go public on the secondary Kosdaq exchange on Nov. 18, the company is targeting a range of 32,000 to 38,000 won ($22 to $27) apiece, with the market cap expected to range up to 545.3 billion won.

The Pinkfong Company CEO Kim Min-seok speaks at a press conference held to share details of the company's upcoming initial public offering in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 3. [THE PINKFONG COMPANY]

Beyond Baby Shark

The Pinkfong Company has achieved several milestones. Not only has “Baby Shark Dance” held the title of most watched YouTube video for the past 60 consecutive months, but the company's YouTube subscriber count is approximately 280 million.

Since debuting in 2022, Bebefinn, an animated children’s series following the daily lives of a family with a three-year-old, has also claimed the No. 1 spot in the Netflix Kids section across 11 countries, including the United States. The Pinkfong Company expects more of such achievements through an upcoming animated series featuring a girl named Bora and unicorns.

Despite the company's massive reach, concerns remain as its revenue remains heavily dependent on its flagship characters.

Revenue from content featuring its flagship characters — Baby Shark, Pinkfong and Hogi — accounted for a hefty 77 percent of the company’s total revenue, while Bebefinn only took up 15 percent as of last year. The company said revenue from Bebefinn is projected to rise to 40 percent of total sales this year as new licensing deals move forward.

But analysts still caution that growth from the company’s newer IPs remains limited.

The Pinkfong Company’s existing IPs have “entered a mature phase, making it difficult to expect the same high growth in performance as in the past,” according to Shin Eun-jeong, an analyst at DB Securities, in a report last month. “While the Bebefinn IP is gradually gaining recognition and showing growth, new IPs like Sealook and Moon Shark have yet to deliver significant results.”

Moon Shark is a romance webtoon featuring teenage characters, and Sealook is a series of animated videos following the adventures of seals.

Eyeing recovery amid market optimism

Boosting the popularity of its content is seen as crucial for the company, which has been struggling with weak earnings in the past years.

After posting a net profit of 22.56 billion won in 2021, the company swung to a net loss of 18.34 billion won in 2023. The Pinkfong Company attributed the decline to weak performance by a Hong Kong-based toy manufacturer and its subsidiary, which the company has since sold. The loss recovered to 4.99 billion won in net profit last year but was still far short of the 2021 peak.

“It would be more correct to say that the year 2021 was an exceptional one, driven by the popularity of the game Monster Super League and the recognition of profit from Baby Shark merchandise deals,” said Choi Jung-ho, the chief financial officer of the company.

“It took us two years to turn Baby Shark into a profitable brand because we lacked the skill at the time. Now that we have that experience, we can accelerate the process,” he added.

Building on its accumulated experience, the IPO may also benefit from the current favorable market environment, with the Kospi repeatedly breaking record highs.

“The IPO market environment is currently favorable due to liquidity expansion and expectations for further rate cuts, making the funding situation relatively comfortable,” said Hwang San-hae, an analyst at LS Securities. “Because of the strong AI boom, which has significantly pushed up stock prices, other sector stocks are also catching up, narrowing the gap.”

Kim is the company's largest shareholder with a 18.44 percent stake, followed by Samsung Publishing Company's 16.77 percent.

BY JIN MIN-JI [[email protected]]