I guess we can say that SM never really let their groups' potential and popularity go beyond what they can handle. During Lee Soo Man's time, especially after Tvxq, SM seems to never really want their groups to expand more and have really huge popularity that can threaten the company position in controlling them.
But now after Lsm is gone, I wonder if SM will sticks to this 'strategy' and stops Aespa's growth once the company thinks their popularity is enough or will they continue to push them to their fullest potential.