Why a $58 Million Bet on StubHub Stock Still Makes Sense Despite a 40% Post-IPO Drop in Share Price
Key Points
New York City-based Insight Holdings Group disclosed a new purchase of 3.4 million StubHub Holdings shares in the third quarter, adding an estimated $57.9 million in value.
The position accounts for 3.6% of reported assets under management (AUM).
This marks a new holding for Insight, which did not report holding StubHub shares in the previous period.
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New York City-based Insight Holdings Group disclosed a new position in StubHub Holdings (NYSE:STUB), acquiring approximately $57.9 million of stock, according to a November 14 SEC filing.
What Happened
Insight Holdings Group initiated a new stake in StubHub Holdings (NYSE:STUB), reporting ownership of 3.4 million shares valued at $57.9 million as of September 30, per its quarterly Form 13F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14. The new position constituted 3.6% of the fund’s reported U.S. equity assets.
What Else to Know
Top five holdings after the filing:
- NYSE:HNGE: $541.3 million (33.4% of AUM)
- NASDAQ:UDMY: $266.6 million (16.5% of AUM)
- NYSE:S: $148.4 million (9.2% of AUM)
- NASDAQ:MSFT: $112.6 million (7% of AUM)
- NASDAQ:NVDA: $87 million (5.4% of AUM)
As of Wednesday, shares were priced at $13.95, down about 40% from a September IPO price of $23.50.
Company Overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Price (as of market close 2025-11-14) | $18.82 |
| Market Capitalization | $4.91 billion |
| Revenue (TTM) | $1.80 billion |
| Net Income (TTM) | ($54.83 million) |
Company Snapshot
- StubHub offers a global digital marketplace for secondary ticket sales across sports, concerts, theater, and live events, generating revenue primarily from transaction fees.
- The company operates a platform-based business model that connects buyers and sellers, facilitating secure and efficient ticket resale transactions.
- It serves individual consumers worldwide, with a primary focus on event-goers seeking access to sold-out or high-demand live entertainment.
StubHub Holdings is a leading player in the secondary ticketing market, leveraging its technology platform to facilitate millions of ticket transactions annually. The company’s scale, global reach, and focus on user experience position it as a key intermediary in live event access. Its competitive advantage lies in its robust marketplace infrastructure and established brand within the event ticketing ecosystem.
Foolish Take
Buying around an IPO often reflects conviction in a company’s durability rather than being a momentum play, especially when volatility is often expected early in a public company’s life. And StubHub’s latest quarter helps explain why that patience may be warranted. The company generated $2.4 billion in gross merchandise sales in the third quarter, up 11% year over year, with growth accelerating to 24% when excluding the Taylor Swift tour impact, according to its earnings release. Revenue rose 8% to $468 million, while adjusted EBITDA climbed 21% to $67 million, pointing to improving operating leverage as scale increases.
The headline GAAP loss looks alarming at $1.3 billion, but it was driven primarily by a one-time $1.4 billion stock-based compensation charge tied to the IPO, not a deterioration in the underlying business. More importantly for long-term holders, StubHub used IPO proceeds to cut roughly $750 million of debt, reducing net leverage to 3.9 times trailing EBITDA.
Within a portfolio anchored by large, established growth names, this position reads as a measured bet on marketplace resilience, balance sheet repair, and steady margin expansion rather than a short-term trade.
Glossary
13F reportable AUM: The portion of a fund’s assets under management disclosed in quarterly SEC Form 13F filings.
Position: The amount of a particular security or asset held by an investor or fund.
Stake: The ownership interest or share an investor holds in a company.
Trailing twelve months (TTM): The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
Compound annual growth rate (CAGR): The average yearly growth rate of an investment over a specified period, assuming profits are reinvested.
Secondary ticket sales: The resale of event tickets after their original purchase, often through online marketplaces.
Transaction fees: Charges collected by a platform or intermediary for processing a sale or purchase.
Platform-based business model: A business structure where value is created by facilitating exchanges between independent buyers and sellers.
Intermediary: An entity that acts as a middleman between buyers and sellers to facilitate transactions.
Reportable AUM: The assets under management that a fund must disclose to regulators, often in periodic filings.
Alpha: A measure of an investment’s performance relative to a benchmark, such as the S&P 500.
52-week high: The highest price at which a security has traded during the past year.
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Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft, Nvidia, and SentinelOne. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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