[U.S. IPO] Buyers Frenzied Like Fans? StubHub IPO Sees 20x Oversubscription, Masking Profitability Challenges

TradingKey - After years of ownership changes and a withdrawn IPO plan, StubHub, the largest secondary ticket marketplace in the U.S., is set to go public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker STUB, with an expected valuation of $8.6 billion. Investors are watching whether this “founder’s return” story can sustain the momentum of the IPO market and replicate the feverish ticket-buying frenzy seen at concerts.

StubHub will officially begin trading on September 17. The IPO price has been set at $23.50, right in the middle of the $22–$25 range, with 34,042,533 Class A ordinary shares offered, raising approximately $800 million. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are the lead underwriters for the offering.

StubHub is a secondary online ticket marketplace — primarily a resale platform — that enables buyers and sellers to trade tickets for concerts, sports events, and other live events. It also directly offers tickets from artists and venues.

The platform currently operates in over 200 countries and regions, supports 33 languages, and is one of the world’s leading secondary ticket markets, providing more than 100 million event tickets annually worldwide. 

Its primary revenue comes from transaction fees charged to both buyers and sellers, along with service guarantees ensuring valid tickets.

Founded in 2000, StubHub has faced turbulence in both operations and its path to IPO. Founder Eric Baker sold the company to eBay for $310 million in 2007, then later repurchased it through his new company Viagogo for about $4 billion — a move hailed as another classic case of a “founder’s comeback.”

StubHub filed for a direct listing in 2022 but withdrew due to unfavorable market conditions, when its potential valuation of $13 billion was far above the current $8.6 billion. In April this year, the company postponed its IPO again, citing disruptions from Trump-era tariffs.

With successful listings this year from Circle, CoreWeave, and Figma, StubHub has regained confidence in going public. Notably, last week marked the busiest IPO week since 2021, with six companies raising around $4.7 billion, including Klarna and Gemini.

Why Are Investors Rushing to Buy StubHub?

According to Reuters, StubHub’s IPO received over 20 times oversubscription, reflecting strong investor interest in this tech-driven consumer platform.

Overall, the investment thesis is multifaceted:

• Global scale and brand strength
• Bet on the post-pandemic recovery of live entertainment and sports
• AI-powered dynamic pricing models

Earlier this month, StubHub announced a major partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB), allowing it to sell event tickets directly to consumers. This marks a new step into the primary ticket market, although this segment remains small for now.

Renaissance Capital said investors will be highly interested in StubHub’s growth strategy, and expansion into primary ticket sales is a compelling part of the narrative. For consumers, switching costs are low, but owning the largest ticket marketplace and key brand partnerships creates strong network effects.

Additionally, the current valuation represents a significant discount compared to previous IPO attempts, offering room for potential re-rating. Investors may see this as a “high-value” opportunity.

StubHub’s Challenges

StubHub’s direct competitors include Vivid Seats (SEAT), SeatGeek, and TickPick, all focused on the “scalper economy.” Indirect rivals include Ticketmaster, owned by Live Nation (LYV), which dominates the primary ticket space.

As StubHub prepares for a hot debut, Ticketmaster is under investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over whether it has taken sufficient steps to prevent bots from illegally reselling tickets. 

Vivid Seats, a direct competitor, has seen its stock fall over 80% this year, and recently cited challenges from consumer spending pressure and intensifying competition.

StubHub acknowledges that while its resale model helps moderate extreme price spikes, it still faces evolving regulations and compliance risks. Several U.S. states and cities, as well as Canada, the UK, and parts of Europe, prohibit reselling tickets above face value.

StubHub warns these regulatory risks could increase operational costs and expose the company to additional liabilities.

Moreover, limited revenue growth paired with sharply widening losses poses a major concern for investors. 

After achieving double-digit average annual growth from 2022 to 2024, StubHub’s revenue growth slowed to low single digits in the first half of 2025, signaling that the post-pandemic demand rebound is normalizing.

In the first six months of 2025, StubHub reported revenue of $827.9 million, but a net loss of $76 million, compared to $803.45 million in revenue and only $24 million in losses during the same period last year. 

With sluggish top-line growth, the pressure to achieve profitability is mounting.