StubHub IPO Falls on Wall Street as Growth Slows

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Photo:AP

StubHub, the popular online ticket marketplace, had a rough start on Wall Street on Wednesday. The company’s stock dropped 6.4% below its initial price of $23.50 per share on its first day of trading. StubHub is now listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol STUB.

The company sold just over 34 million shares, raising about $800 million. With the closing price on its first trading day, StubHub’s total market value stands at roughly $8.1 billion. The money raised will mainly go toward paying off company debt and covering other corporate expenses.

StubHub, headquartered in New York, serves customers in over 200 countries and territories. In 2024 alone, more than 40 million tickets were bought using the platform. The company was co-founded in 2000 by Eric Baker, who continues to serve as CEO and controls the company.

The company has a complex ownership history. eBay bought StubHub in 2007. Baker had left the company before that sale but returned when eBay sold StubHub to Viagogo in 2020 for $4.05 billion, effectively returning the platform to Baker. He then renamed the merged company StubHub Holdings. StubHub is one of the largest platforms for secondary ticket sales, competing with companies like SeatGeek and Vivid Seats.

Financially, StubHub has faced a slowdown. In the first half of 2025, revenue rose by only 3%, reaching $827 million, compared to the same period in 2024. This is much slower than the 29% growth the company saw in 2024.

The broader ticket industry, including StubHub, has faced criticism for high and hidden fees. Last year, the Washington, D.C. attorney general sued StubHub, claiming it advertised tickets at low prices but added extra fees later, misleading customers. StubHub is also under scrutiny for pricing and fees in Pennsylvania and New York.

Ticket prices for concerts, sports games, and other events have been rising faster than general inflation. According to government data, ticket prices went up 5.2% in 2024, following a 6.8% increase in 2023. This trend has continued in 2025, making tickets one of the more expensive items for consumers.

For comparison, Live Nation, which operates the primary ticketing platform Ticketmaster, reported a small revenue increase of 1.8%, earning nearly $23.2 billion in 2024.

Despite a weaker-than-expected start, the IPO market in 2025 is performing strongly, potentially marking its best year since 2021. Other notable companies going public this year include Figma, Klarna, Circle Internet Group, and the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini.

StubHub IPO, stock market, ticket resale