🎟️ StubHub IPO: Key Takeaways
I spent hours reviewing the S-1 so you don't have to
Welcome to the Premium edition of How They Make Money.
Over 200,000 subscribers turn to us for business and investment insights.
In case you missed it:
The IPO market is back!
After covering CoreWeave and Klarna earlier this month, we now have StubHub, the ticket-resale giant, filing for a US listing under the ticker STUB—and reporting a 29% revenue jump in 2024.
If you’ve ever balked at an unexpected “service fee” at checkout, you’re not alone—yet those very fees are now fueling a multibillion-dollar public offering, as StubHub aims to raise over $1 billion at a valuation of at least $16 billion.
The company enjoyed a post-pandemic boost from marquee events like the FIFA World Cup and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Looking ahead, cautious consumer spending, regulatory scrutiny, and competition from Ticketmaster and SeatGeek loom large.
I pored over nearly 300 pages of StubHub’s S-1 so you don’t have to.
Let’s see what we learned.
Today at a glance:
Overview
Business Model
Financial highlights
Risks & Challenges
Management
Use of Proceeds
Future Outlook
Personal Take
1. Overview
Launched in 2000 by two Stanford classmates, StubHub pioneered the concept of a peer-to-peer ticket marketplace for concerts, sports, and other live events. The platform was acquired by eBay in 2007 for $310 million, then purchased by Viagogo in 2020 for $4 billion—merging two major players under one umbrella. Now, StubHub operates across 200+ countries, connecting millions of buyers and sellers worldwide.
Headquarters: New York City, with additional hubs in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Ireland, and Switzerland.
Mission: Make live events accessible via a transparent, user-driven marketplace.
Staffing: ~918 full-time employees (including ~370 in customer service).
Key Milestones
2000: Launched as a peer-to-peer ticket exchange.
2007: eBay acquires StubHub for $310 million.
2020: Viagogo buys StubHub for $4 billion, unites the two platforms.
2024: Hits $1.8 billion in revenue, selling over 40 million tickets.
2025: Files for IPO on the NYSE under the ticker STUB.
Today, StubHub is one of the largest secondary ticketing platforms, but it’s also expanding into “direct issuance” partnerships (where StubHub acts as a primary ticket seller for sports teams or artists)—aiming to become more than just a resale marketplace.
2. Business Model
StubHub primarily acts as a ticket marketplace connecting buyers and sellers (who can be fans, professional brokers, or venues offloading excess inventory).
The company tracks Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS)—the total dollar value of all tickets sold on its platform. This metric is a key indicator of the platform’s volume and scale as a marketplace for live event tickets. In FY24, StubHub’s GMS reached $8.7 billion, up 27% year over year (or 29%, excluding the impact of the Eras Tour).
In a standard secondary resale scenario:
Sellers List Tickets: Sellers (fans, brokers, or venues) post tickets at their chosen price. StubHub may charge them a listing fee or commission once the tickets sell.
Buyers Pay a Service Fee: On the checkout page, buyers typically see a service fee added to the face value of the ticket at checkout—often a percentage of the listed price.
StubHub’s Role: StubHub verifies the tickets, processes payments, and provides customer support. The platform retains a portion of every sale (fees from both buyer and seller) as its main source of revenue.
Revenue Streams
Transaction Fees