StubHub, an online ticket resale marketplace, filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on Friday, aiming to go public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “STUB.”
According to its IPO prospectus, StubHub reported a net loss of $2.8 million on revenue of $1.77 billion for 2024. This marks a sharp contrast to 2023 when the company posted a $405 million profit on revenue of $1.37 billion.
Founded in 2000, StubHub has been a major player in the ticketing industry. In 2007, eBay acquired it for $310 million, but co-founder Eric Baker repurchased it in 2020 for $4 billion through his company Viagogo.
According to its prospectus, StubHub’s marketplace facilitated the sale of over 40 million tickets last year from approximately one million sellers.
As previously reported by CNBC, the company had initially considered an IPO last year but postponed its plans due to unfavorable market conditions.
As reported last year, the online ticketing space remains competitive, with SeatGeek exploring a potential IPO. Bloomberg noted in June that Citigroup and Wells Fargo were involved in SeatGeek’s planned listing. Other key competitors include Vivid Seats, which went public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2021, and industry giant Live Nation.
After a prolonged slowdown in IPO activity since early 2022, the market is beginning to show signs of recovery. AI infrastructure provider CoreWeave will debut next week, while Klarna, a buy now, pay later service, filed its IPO prospectus last Friday. Earlier in March, Hinge Health, a digital physical therapy provider, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
