StubHub

Sacra estimates that StubHub generated $828 million in revenue in the first half of 2025, reflecting 3% growth compared to the same period in 2024. The company's revenue totaled $1.77 billion for full-year 2024, an increase of 30% from the prior year.

StubHub's revenue growth has shown volatility, driven largely by major touring events. The company experienced strong growth during 2023 and 2024, supported by Taylor Swift's Eras tour, which contributed to annual growth rates of 30% during that period. In 2025, with fewer large-scale tours, growth has slowed significantly.

StubHub processes over 40 million ticket transactions annually through its marketplace, with revenue derived primarily from transaction fees charged to both buyers and sellers. Gross merchandise sales reached $8.6 billion in 2024, implying a take rate of approximately 20%.

StubHub’s revenue is underpinned by repeat behavior and scale: over 40 million annual ticket transactions, 30M+ active buyers, and an average order value of ~$250. The company’s model monetizes emotional urgency and high-intent transactions, with 1.6 transactions per buyer annually.

StubHub completed its IPO on September 17, 2025, pricing 34,042,553 Class A shares at $23.50 and raising approximately $800 million gross. The company began trading on the NYSE under the ticker STUB and closed its first day with a market capitalization of approximately $8.1 billion.

The IPO was originally targeted for earlier in 2025 but was delayed in April after tariff-driven market volatility triggered a sharp selloff. In the months preceding the offering, StubHub raised $50.0 million through Series N redeemable preferred stock in May 2025 and $56.7 million through Series O redeemable preferred stock between June and August 2025.

The company used net IPO proceeds to repay approximately $750 million of debt, reducing net leverage to 3.9x trailing-12-month adjusted EBITDA. By full-year 2025, StubHub had reduced total debt by approximately $900 million and held $1.2 billion in cash.

The company was acquired by co-founder Eric Baker from eBay in 2020, with backing from WestCap, Madrone Capital Partners, and Bessemer Venture Partners. Baker holds approximately 13% of equity but controls 90% of voting power through a special class of shares carrying 100 votes each. Since the 2020 buyback, StubHub raised over $2 billion in equity financing prior to the IPO.

StubHub operates as a two-sided marketplace connecting ticket buyers and sellers for live events, including sports, concerts, theater, and other entertainment. The platform facilitates transactions for over 1 million sellers and more than 40 million annual buyers across 200 countries.

For buyers, the platform includes search and discovery tools that organize events by date, venue, and performer. The Best Value algorithm identifies tickets priced below market value, while interactive venue maps and augmented reality features allow users to preview sight lines from specific seats before purchasing.

Buyers can set price alerts for specific events and receive notifications when ticket prices fall below their target. Tickets are delivered as digital barcodes compatible with team apps, mobile wallets, or the StubHub app.

For sellers, the platform offers listing tools, pricing recommendations, and payment processing. StubHub manages the transaction process and provides its FanProtect guarantee, ensuring tickets are valid or replaced and refunded.

The platform supports 33 languages and 48 currencies, with mobile apps serving as the primary interface for most transactions.

StubHub operates a B2C marketplace model, generating revenue through transaction fees on ticket sales. The company collects approximately 20% of gross merchandise value via a combination of seller fees and buyer service charges.

The business leverages network effects, where an increase in sellers attracts more buyers, and vice versa. StubHub's scale enables it to provide a broader inventory and more competitive pricing compared to smaller competitors. Historically, the company employed drip pricing, displaying lower base prices initially and adding fees during checkout. Federal Trade Commission regulations now mandate all-in pricing, which affected conversion rates and created a one-time headwind on the North American secondary market, slowing 1H25 revenue growth to 3% YoY on GMS of $4.38 billion (+11%).

StubHub generated $1.7706 billion in revenue in 2024, up 29.5% YoY, on GMS of $8.68 billion (+27%), with adjusted EBITDA of $298.7 million and a net loss of $2.8 million versus net income of $405.2 million in 2023. In 2025, revenue was $1.7 billion (-1% YoY) on GMS of $9.2 billion (+6%; +18% on an underlying basis excluding the prior-year Taylor Swift effect), with adjusted EBITDA of $232.4 million and free cash flow of $158.2 million. Q3 2025 revenue was $468.1 million (+8%) and GMS was $2.4348 billion (+11%), with adjusted EBITDA of $67.5 million (+21%). For 2026, management has guided to GMS of $9.9–$10.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $400–$420 million.

StubHub is diversifying beyond marketplace facilitation into direct ticket sales, which currently account for approximately 1% of gross sales volume. This initiative allows the company to achieve higher margins by bypassing the seller commission structure.

The business model is seasonal and event-driven, with revenue peaking during major concert and sports seasons. High-profile touring acts, such as Taylor Swift, can significantly influence annual performance, presenting both opportunities and risks.

Ticketmaster controls approximately 70% of primary ticketing relationships with major U.S. venues, leveraging exclusive partnerships to drive both primary sales and secondary resale through its platform. As a subsidiary of Live Nation, it integrates these functions to create a self-reinforcing ecosystem.

AXS employs a similar strategy through its affiliation with AEG, managing key venues such as Crypto.com Arena and combining primary and secondary ticketing within its network.

These vertically integrated models provide access to captive inventory unavailable to StubHub, increasing its reliance on paid customer acquisition strategies.

SeatGeek markets itself as a mobile-first platform with a focus on user experience and transparent pricing. The company has established partnerships with prominent sports organizations and has gained market share through its product design.

Vivid Seats follows a comparable marketplace approach but has faced significant challenges, with its stock declining over 80% and revenue dropping 21% in the first half of 2025. These results underscore the competitive pressures within the secondary ticketing market.

New entrants are targeting StubHub's model by offering no-fee structures, emphasizing last-minute inventory, or utilizing blockchain-based authentication. These companies often concentrate on specific niches or geographic regions to differentiate their offerings.

Certain platforms prioritize mobile-first experiences or social features designed to attract younger users, which could gradually erode StubHub's customer base.

StubHub is expanding into primary ticket sales, targeting the $132 billion original issuance market and $22 billion in unsold primary inventory. The company currently generates over $100 million in direct issuance gross merchandise sales and has secured early partnerships with venues and promoters as indicators of broader market entry potential, including a designation as Major League Baseball's Official Direct Issuance Partner, enabling MLB to distribute primary ticket inventory through the platform ahead of the 2026 season.

Primary ticketing enables StubHub to achieve higher margins by utilizing its existing demand generation and pricing capabilities, bypassing the seller commission structure that governs its secondary marketplace.

StubHub's high-intent traffic presents opportunities for advertising revenue, with management estimating a $19 billion digital advertising market. Revenue streams include native ad units, promoted listings, and brand partnerships, all of which offer high-margin potential.

Integration with sports betting provides an additional monetization channel, with the global sports betting market valued at $93 billion. StubHub can generate revenue through data licensing and affiliate partnerships that convert browsing activity into betting transactions.

International growth leverages StubHub's presence in 200 countries to address the 5.4% projected annual growth in global live entertainment through 2034. The platform's support for 33 languages and 48 currencies facilitates deeper penetration into existing and new markets.

Theater and performing arts represent an untapped vertical, with a partnership with ATG Entertainment adding 16 U.S. venues and access to 18 million annual theater-goers. Partnerships with festivals and niche events further diversify inventory beyond sports and major concerts.

Regulatory pressure: FTC-mandated all-in pricing has reduced StubHub's North American secondary market by an estimated 10%, slowing 1H25 revenue growth to 3% YoY, and the company has received a direct FTC warning over apparent non-compliance, with potential penalties of up to $53,088 per violation under the Fees Rule.

Event dependency: StubHub's revenue is closely tied to major touring acts and sporting events beyond the company's control. Excluding the prior-year Taylor Swift effect, 2025 underlying GMS growth was 18%, but reported GMS growth was only 6%, illustrating the outsized impact a single tour can have on headline results.

Vertical integration: Competitors such as Ticketmaster and AXS maintain control over primary ticketing relationships, securing exclusive inventory access and customer acquisition advantages. As more venues consolidate primary and secondary operations, StubHub faces growing challenges in competing for inventory without the leverage of a captive supply.