StubHub: Flywheel-Powered Marketplace

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Stubhub in one minute

StubHub didn’t start as a household name. Incorporated in Delaware in 2004 under the name Pugnacious Endeavors, the company launched as viagogo in 2006 with a bold vision: make buying and selling event tickets as seamless as any eCommerce purchase.

That vision scaled. In 2020, viagogo acquired StubHub from eBay for $4 billion, combining two major players in secondary ticketing. A year later, the company rebranded as StubHub Holdings, Inc., bringing both brands under one roof. Today, StubHub is active in over 100 countries and serves a global fan base with a curated ticketing experience.

StubHub’s model is simple—but powerful. It runs a two-sided marketplace where sellers list tickets and buyers search, select, and purchase. StubHub never holds inventory. Instead, it takes a cut—charging both buyers and sellers—while managing fulfillment, trust, and support end-to-end.

The result? A highly profitable, capital-light business with one of the most premium take rates in consumer marketplaces: 20.4%.

The Numbers That Matter

• Blended Take Rate (2024): 20.4%

• Average Order Value: ~$250

• Transactions per Buyer: 1.6

• Global Reach: 100+ countries

• Active Buyers: 30M+

  

StubHub isn’t Craigslist for concert tickets. It’s a full-stack platform, purpose-built to handle discovery, pricing, fulfillment, and trust. With no inventory risk and strong network effects, the business is primed for sustainable growth—no venture lifeline required. Let’s dig in to StubHub’s model.

Introduction

StubHub didn’t just enter the secondary ticketing market—it created it. The company was born from a clear mission: bring trust, liquidity, and transparency to a fragmented, offline world of ticket resales. At the time, secondary ticketing was an inefficient black box—dominated by shady street deals and outdated systems. StubHub set out to change that.

By building the first tech-enabled marketplace for event tickets, StubHub redefined how fans access live experiences. The goal wasn’t just to move tickets—it was to modernize the entire category using dynamic pricing, real-time inventory, and a global reach.

StubHub now operates what it believes is the world’s largest secondary ticketing marketplace, connecting over 30 million fans with sellers worldwide. The platform runs under two powerhouse brands: StubHub in North America and viagogo internationally.

StubHub’s model is designed to move fast, scale globally, and monetize efficiently. It’s a two-sided marketplace—no inventory, no venue ownership, just the infrastructure to power discovery, pricing, and fulfillment

StubHub’s opportunity doesn’t end with resale. The company sees a future where its end-to-end platform powers all ticketing transactions—whether secondary or original issuance. As live events evolve, content owners are shifting toward marketplaces that offer reach, data, and flexibility. StubHub is betting big that this trend will reshape how events are distributed and consumed.

The pitch is clear: a global platform that brings efficiency, trust, and liquidity to every corner of live entertainment. And with durable moats built on tech, scale, and brand trust, StubHub isn’t just reacting to change—it’s helping define what the future of ticketing looks like.

Let’s see how far that flywheel spins.

History

It was 1999 when Eric Baker hit a wall. He wanted to see The Lion King on Broadway, but the show was sold out. The box office had no answers. The resale market was fragmented, cash-based, and untrustworthy. There was no seat map, no price transparency, and no guarantee the tickets would even be real.

At the time, the internet was beginning to reshape commerce—but live events hadn’t caught up. You could buy books and electronics online, but not event access. That gap sparked an idea.

In 2000, while studying at Stanford Business School, Baker co-founded StubHub—the first dedicated online marketplace for secondary tickets. The goal: create a platform that solved the pain points fans faced—limited inventory, pricing opacity, and lack of trust. StubHub brought structure to chaos by building a tech-enabled, data-driven resale marketplace for concerts, sports, and theater.

The model resonated. StubHub didn’t just help fans find tickets—it gave sellers a trusted way to resell them. Season ticket holders, last-minute change-of-plan fans, and professional resellers suddenly had a liquid and reliable market. Content rights holders—teams, artists, performers—benefited too. With a thriving secondary market, tickets had real residual value. Fans were more likely to commit early, reducing inventory risk for sellers and driving attendance, revenue, and engagement.

By 2007, StubHub had become the dominant brand in U.S. ticketing. eBay took notice and acquired the company in January that year. Baker, who had left prior to the acquisition, set his sights overseas.

When Baker moved to London, he wanted to attend a Premier League match—but faced the same issues he’d encountered years earlier in New York. StubHub didn’t exist internationally. So, in 2006, he launched viagogo with two goals: bring the StubHub experience to international markets, and build a global-first tech stack that could scale across borders and currencies.

Over the next decade, viagogo expanded aggressively across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, becoming one of the world’s largest international secondary ticketing marketplaces. With an emphasis on data intelligence and localized growth, viagogo offered fans worldwide the same trusted, transparent experience StubHub had pioneered in the U.S.

In November 2019, viagogo announced it would acquire StubHub from eBay for $4 billion, reuniting the two businesses Baker had founded. The deal brought together complementary strengths: StubHub’s brand recognition and scale in North America, and viagogo’s tech platform and global reach.

The acquisition closed in February 2020—but the merger faced regulatory review by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), delaying integration. For 18 months, StubHub remained operationally independent. The CMA approved the deal in September 2021, and the companies fully integrated by late 2022.

Since integration, StubHub Holdings has delivered on its thesis. The business regained momentum, expanded its market share, and returned to profitable, cash-generating growth. In 2024 alone, fans from over 200 countries purchased more than 40 million tickets from over 1 million sellers.

StubHub’s platform now operates across two brands—StubHub in North America and viagogo internationally—reaching a global fanbase with the scale, speed, and liquidity to power any event. Its leadership team, battle-tested across markets and regulatory environments, continues to push the model forward.

The mission has expanded too. StubHub isn’t just focused on resale anymore. The company now sees a larger opportunity: become the go-to destination for any ticket—original or secondary—for any event, anywhere in the world.

From a sold-out show on Broadway to a global platform for live experiences, StubHub’s story is still being written.

Risk factors

StubHub has re-emerged as a category leader in global ticketing—but the business is not without risk. As the company scales across markets and expands into original ticketing, it faces a range of threats that could impact profitability, platform health, and long-term growth.

1. Live Events Are the Lifeblood—And They’re Not Guaranteed
StubHub’s entire business model depends on the consistent supply of high-demand live events—and the consumer demand to attend them. Concerts, sports, and theater performances fuel the flywheel. If artists stop touring, seasons are shortened, or fans simply don’t show up, the platform loses inventory, momentum, and revenue. Labor disputes (like league lockouts), global events (such as the FIFA World Cup), or health crises (like COVID-19) could quickly dry up ticket volume across key markets.

2. Consumer Behavior Is Volatile
The platform thrives on discretionary spending. That makes it sensitive to broader economic conditions—like inflation, rising interest rates, fuel prices, or dips in consumer confidence. In a downturn, fans cut back on non-essentials, and live events are often first to go. StubHub isn’t selling groceries—it’s selling experiences. And experience spending is among the most cyclical categories in consumer behavior.

3. Fan Trust and Liquidity Depend on Sellers
The value of the marketplace relies on a balanced ecosystem of buyers and sellers. Without a broad, healthy supply of tickets—both individual and professional—buyer demand becomes harder to fulfill. If sellers shift to competing platforms or if StubHub fails to maintain strong relationships with content rights holders (like artists and teams), inventory shrinks, prices rise, and user retention suffers.

4. Platform Visibility Is at the Mercy of Search Engines
StubHub depends on search engines—especially Google—for traffic and customer acquisition. Any algorithm change or paid search policy shift can hurt visibility and spike marketing costs. In 2019, viagogo was temporarily suspended from Google Ads, resulting in a sharp decline in Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS). Another disruption to paid or organic traffic could significantly impact growth and top-line performance.

5. App Store Gatekeepers Hold the Keys
StubHub also relies on third-party platforms like the Apple App Store and Google Play to distribute its apps. These companies have broad control over ranking, discoverability, and terms of service. Any unfavorable change—like commission increases, app downgrades, or restrictions on updates—could reduce downloads, increase CAC, and limit StubHub’s ability to iterate on user experience.

StubHub has built a global platform with real unit economics, a trusted brand, and deep liquidity. But the company isn’t insulated from macro risk. Event supply, consumer sentiment, seller relationships, and platform visibility all play critical roles in sustaining momentum.

Execution will matter. StubHub’s next chapter depends on its ability to navigate external volatility while expanding into original issuance and new geographies. If the business can stay ahead of shifting trends and platform dynamics, it has the potential to cement itself as the destination for live event access—worldwide.

Market Opportunity

The global market for live event ticketing is entering a new phase—one shaped by digital platforms, real-time data, and global demand. While secondary ticketing remains a multi-billion dollar category, the broader opportunity includes original ticket issuance, unsold ticket recovery, and adjacent verticals like sports betting, merchandise, and digital advertising.

Secondary Ticketing

The North American secondary ticketing market is estimated at $18 billion in 2024. Historically, this market has grown at a steady pace—13% CAGR from 2017 to 2019, before experiencing a temporary pause during the pandemic. In 2023, demand surged again, growing 24% year-over-year, driven by blockbuster tours like Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. The market normalized in 2024 with a 5% increase, still aligned with long-term growth averages.

Internationally, the opportunity is even larger. The secondary market outside North America is estimated to reach $23 billion over the medium term. Much of this market remains fragmented, offline, and under-penetrated. As global commerce continues to digitize, international ticket resale is expected to follow the trajectory seen in categories like ride-hailing and home-sharing—shifting toward centralized, trusted marketplaces.

Original Issuance

The global market for originally issued tickets—spanning concerts, sports, eSports, theater, and festivals—is valued at $132 billion annually. However, legacy ticketing systems often lack pricing transparency, have limited distribution channels, and fail to optimize for yield or attendance.

An emerging opportunity lies in direct issuance models that offer content rights holders—such as teams, performers, and promoters—a non-exclusive, digital-first distribution channel. In 2024, over $100 million in direct issuance GMS was transacted through marketplaces already expanding into this segment, signaling early-stage disruption with room to scale.

Unsold Inventory

An estimated one-third of live event tickets go unsold each year, representing roughly $22 billion in lost revenue based on average resale recovery rates. Beyond the ticket value itself, this unsold inventory results in missed revenue from concessions, merchandise, and in-venue sponsorships.

The root of the problem lies in outdated pricing systems and narrow distribution. As smarter marketplace infrastructure and dynamic pricing models become more widespread, yield recovery in this segment presents a significant upside for content rights holders.

Total Addressable Market (TAM): $726 Billion

Beyond ticketing, several adjacent categories offer additional monetization potential:

• Digital Advertising – Estimated at $19 billion. With high-intent user traffic and deep fan engagement, ticketing platforms have the potential to generate advertising revenue through display ads, promoted listings, and brand partnerships.

• Sports Betting – A $93 billion global market. Platforms with sports ticketing data and frequent fan interactions are well-positioned to enable lead generation, insights, and sponsorship opportunities for betting operators.

• Leisure Attractions & Experiences – Totaling $387 billion globally in 2024, this includes museums, tours, and city experiences. The fragmented nature of this market makes it a prime candidate for digital aggregation and ticketing integration.

• Sports Merchandising – Estimated at $32 billion. Jerseys, memorabilia, and event-specific merchandise are natural extensions of the live event experience. Ticketing platforms with access to fan demand data and checkout flows are positioned to facilitate this commerce.

While the current Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) across secondary, original issuance, and unsold ticketing is valued at $194 billion, the Total Addressable Market (TAM) exceeds $726 billion when factoring in digital ads, betting, attractions, and merchandise.

This shift reflects a larger trend: live events are no longer siloed, one-off transactions—they’re becoming digital experiences with multiple monetization layers. As fan expectations evolve and legacy systems continue to show strain, platforms capable of facilitating access, trust, and yield optimization across the full event lifecycle stand to capture significant value.

Product

StubHub operates a two-sided ticketing marketplace that monetizes both demand and supply. Its revenue model is simple but powerful:

• Buyer Fees: 10–15%

• Seller Fees: 5–10%

• Blended Take Rate (2024): 20.4%

Unlike traditional ticketing platforms, StubHub doesn’t hold inventory. That means no inventory risk, low capex, and high operating leverage—a setup that supports both profitability and rapid scalability.

What drives this model? A series of reinforcing flywheels that compound over time.

1. Growth Flywheel

The platform uses performance marketing and strong brand equity to drive high-intent traffic from fans. That user engagement generates rich data—on purchase behavior, browsing patterns, and event demand. The more data collected, the better the platform becomes at surfacing the right tickets to the right buyer.

• More engagement → better targeting → higher conversion rates

• Higher conversion → stronger marketing ROI → more traffic

• More buyers → more transactions → compounding growth

Over time, this loop improves both customer acquisition efficiency and overall transaction volume.

2. Liquidity Flywheel

As buyer demand increases, more sellers are drawn to the platform—professional brokers, individual fans, and content rights holders alike. That increased inventory creates more selection and pricing transparency, which further attracts buyers.

• More inventory = better fan experience

• Better fan experience = higher buyer retention

• Higher retention = higher liquidity

This dynamic mirrors successful marketplace models seen in sectors like travel, mobility, and e-commerce.

3. Marketplace Mechanics

StubHub’s product experience is designed to maximize discovery, trust, and conversion:

• Search & Discovery: Users can filter by seat, row, section, and event. The platform prioritizes listings optimized for conversion—not just price.

• Pricing Leverage: StubHub doesn’t set ticket prices—but benefits from moments of scarcity. Big events → higher AOV → higher fee capture.

• Fulfillment & Trust: StubHub guarantees delivery, supports customer service, and handles ticket logistics—a critical layer of operational complexity that builds user trust.

  

4. Data Flywheel

StubHub has built a significant first-party dataset over two decades of operations. Every transaction, search, and interaction feeds into a machine learning loop that improves pricing algorithms, fan personalization, and seller recommendations.

• High transaction volume = valuable behavioral data

• Behavioral data = smarter pricing and product decisions

• Smarter decisions = better fan experience → more transactions

As generative AI tools become integrated across pricing, customer support, and marketing, this flywheel only accelerates—enhancing platform defensibility.

5. Audience-Content Flywheel

StubHub’s growing direct audience also acts as a distribution channel for content rights holders—performers, teams, and promoters. As more content gets listed on the platform, the buyer base becomes more engaged. And as audience engagement grows, more content creators follow.

• More content = broader inventory

• Broader inventory = stronger fan engagement

• Stronger engagement = better monetization for rights holders

This flywheel is especially relevant as StubHub expands into original ticket issuance—providing a new channel for distributing first-party tickets without exclusivity constraints.

StubHub’s flywheel strategy—across growth, liquidity, data, and content—is enabling it to scale efficiently while maintaining high margins. With a 20.4% blended take rate, the platform has carved out one of the most premium price points in consumer marketplaces. As it moves deeper into original issuance, international markets, and ancillary monetization, these compounding effects are expected to intensify.

StubHub isn’t just facilitating ticket sales—it’s building the infrastructure for global event access, optimized by data, powered by liquidity, and reinforced by trust.

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Business Model

With no inventory risk, limited capex, and favorable working capital, StubHub runs a capital-light, cash-generative business with powerful network effects.

Here’s how it works—and why it scales so efficiently.

Transaction Fees

StubHub makes money by charging fees to buyers and sellers for facilitating ticket transactions.

• Buyer Fees: 10–15% per transaction

• Seller Fees: 5–10% per transaction

• Blended Take Rate (2024): 20.4%

Fees vary based on ticket type, event, and geography, but have consistently stayed above 20% of Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS). That makes StubHub one of the highest-margin consumer marketplaces globally.

Unlike primary ticketing platforms or retailers, StubHub doesn’t hold inventory. Ticket supply is provided by a mix of:

• Individual sellers (e.g. fans reselling unused tickets)

• Professional brokers

• Content rights holders (teams, artists, promoters)

This asset-light model allows StubHub to operate without warehousing, logistics, or fulfillment capex—while still maintaining control over the end-to-end experience, including delivery guarantees and support.

Network Effects Drive Liquidity

StubHub’s marketplace gets stronger with scale. More buyers attract more sellers. More sellers expand inventory. More inventory improves buyer experience. That cycle repeats.

This creates a double flywheel:

• Growth Flywheel: Marketing → fan engagement → conversion → revenue → reinvestment

• Liquidity Flywheel: Buyers → sellers → selection → pricing transparency → more buyers

As of 2024, over 40 million tickets were sold by 1 million+ sellers to buyers in over 200 countries and territories—making StubHub one of the largest and most liquid ticketing platforms globally.

Unit Economics

StubHub’s business runs with high transaction-level profitability. In 2024, cost of revenue represented just 18.9% of total revenue, translating into strong gross margins. Variable marketing spend is tightly controlled and aligned with ROI:

• No inventory costs

• No shipping unless needed

• High return on ad spend from performance marketing

• Repeat purchases drive lower customer acquisition cost (CAC)

Buyers making multiple purchases grew 2x faster year-over-year than one-time buyers—boosting lifetime value and reinforcing marketing efficiency

Capital Efficiency and Working Capital Advantage

StubHub operates with minimal capex. In 2024, capital expenditures totaled just $6.4M—or 0.4% of revenue. This allows the platform to reinvest in product, data, and marketing while generating free cash flow.

On top of that, StubHub benefits from negative net working capital. Buyers pay upfront; sellers get paid later. As of December 2024, the company’s net working capital deficit was $1.04 billion, providing significant cash flow support without needing to raise external capital.

What’s Next

While fees from secondary ticketing remain the core business, StubHub is investing in new layers of monetization:

• Direct Issuance: Over $100M in GMS in 2024—early proof of traction in primary ticketing

• Advertising: Monetizing buyer intent via promoted listings, sponsored inventory, and first-party audience targeting

• Merchandise & Sponsorships: Extending value capture beyond the ticket purchase

StubHub’s business model is built for scale, resilience, and profitability. As the platform expands into new geographies, event types, and monetization channels, its marketplace mechanics and capital-light infrastructure offer a compelling foundation for long-term growth

Management Team: 

Eric H. Baker – Chief Executive Officer & Founder

Eric Baker founded StubHub in 2000 and viagogo in 2006. Since then, he has served as CEO and Chairman, leading the company’s transformation into the world’s largest secondary ticketing marketplace. A former consultant at McKinsey and investor at Bain Capital, Eric holds degrees from Harvard College and Stanford Graduate School of Business. His experience in building category-defining platforms and deep knowledge of the ticketing industry continue to shape StubHub’s global strategy.

Connie James – Chief Financial Officer

Connie James joined StubHub as CFO in August 2023, bringing more than a decade of senior financial leadership across gaming, entertainment, and agriculture. Prior to StubHub, she served as CFO, Treasurer, and Corporate Secretary at Light & Wonder (NASDAQ: LNW), and held senior finance roles at Cargill and Aristocrat Leisure. A licensed CPA in Nevada, Connie holds a B.S. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. At StubHub, she oversees financial operations, capital efficiency, and strategic investments.

Nayaab Islam – President & Chief Product Officer

Nayaab Islam has been at the forefront of product innovation at StubHub since 2020 and viagogo since 2007. As President and CPO, he leads product strategy, UX, and marketplace design—pushing the platform toward its vision of becoming the global destination for live experiences. Nayaab holds both a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Cambridge and is known for scaling tech and product teams across geographies.

Artem Yegorov – Chief Technology Officer

Artem Yegorov became CTO in March 2022 after serving as SVP of R&D at The Trade Desk, where he led global engineering teams in the digital advertising space. At StubHub, Artem drives technical innovation and platform infrastructure, with a focus on machine learning, personalization, and end-to-end reliability across the global marketplace.

Mark Streams – Executive Vice Chairman

Appointed Executive Vice Chairman in April 2024, Mark Streams brings over a decade of legal and strategic expertise to StubHub’s leadership. He joined the company as General Counsel in 2011 and has served on the board since 2016. Mark holds a B.A. from Duke University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He plays a key role in governance, global compliance, and corporate development.

Investment

StubHub’s journey from a startup to a global ticketing powerhouse has been shaped by high-stakes acquisitions and deep-pocketed investors. After being acquired by eBay in 2007, the company returned to its roots in 2019 when founder Eric Baker—through his other ticketing venture, viagogo—bought it back for $4.05 billion. That transaction set the stage for StubHub’s next phase of growth: global scale, tech reinvention, and IPO readiness.

Here’s a look at StubHub’s current shareholder structure:

The Buyback Deal

In 2019, eBay agreed to sell StubHub to viagogo—Baker’s international ticketing platform—for $4.05 billion in cash, effectively reuniting the two companies he founded. The acquisition created one of the largest global marketplaces for live event tickets, operating across 100+ countries.

With support from long-term institutional backers like Madrone and Bessemer, StubHub is positioning itself as a next-gen platform—not just for resale, but for original issuance, data-driven ticketing, and audience monetization.

Competition

StubHub operates in a crowded and fast-moving global ticketing market, where competition is intensifying across both the supply and demand sides of the marketplace. The challenge is twofold: attracting high-intent buyers looking for premium live event experiences, and retaining sellers—whether individual fans, professional resellers, or content rights holders—who power the platform’s inventory.

Competing for Buyers

Buyers today have more options than ever to access tickets—from direct box office channels to rival resale platforms and even peer-to-peer social exchanges. StubHub’s ability to win buyers depends on more than just pricing. Key factors include:

• Depth and breadth of ticket inventory

• User trust and buyer guarantees

• Discovery tools and seamless UX

• Brand equity and global reach

What sets StubHub apart is the combination of curated listings, fulfillment guarantees, and a scaled global brand that consumers already associate with safe, verified access to live events.

Competing for Sellers

On the supply side, sellers have an increasing number of marketplaces and distribution tools at their disposal. StubHub competes by offering:

• Access to 30M+ active buyers

• Global demand across 100+ countries

• Pricing intelligence and performance insights

• A trusted platform for ticket fulfillment

Whether it’s a fan reselling season tickets or a professional managing high volumes, sellers benefit from liquidity and real-time analytics—making StubHub a preferred distribution channel.

Competitive Moats

StubHub’s competitive edge comes from its scale, data infrastructure, and brand trust. Unlike marketplaces that rely on discounts or exclusivity, StubHub’s model is built around transparency, dynamic pricing, and user safety. That’s particularly important for high-demand, limited-supply events where buyers value access over discounts.

Other players in the ticketing ecosystem—including primary issuers, event promoters, and smaller resale platforms—may offer pieces of the customer experience. StubHub is positioning itself as the end-to-end destination for fans, sellers, and content owners alike.

As the ticketing landscape evolves—with growing interest in dynamic pricing, direct issuance, and bundled experiences—the platform’s ability to monetize both sides of the transaction and scale globally will be its long-term differentiator.

Financials

StubHub’s financial performance over the past three years paints a picture of a high-growth, transaction-based marketplace scaling aggressively across geographies and revenue streams—while navigating the operational and macroeconomic complexity that comes with size.

Revenue Growth

StubHub’s top-line growth has been strong and consistent:

• 2024 revenue reached $1.77 billion, a 29.5% increase from 2023.

• 2023 revenue grew 31.9% from 2022, driven by record-setting tours and the completion of platform integration.

  

This growth is tightly tied to a rising volume of transactions. Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) surged to $8.7 billion in 2024—up 27% year-over-year—as the platform expanded its North American dominance and gained ground in international markets.

Even excluding Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour, which inflated comps in both 2023 and 2024, StubHub still saw 29% organic GMS growth last year. Its core business is expanding healthily.

Take Rate & Monetization

With a blended take rate of ~20.4% in 2024, StubHub remains one of the most profitable marketplaces per transaction. The platform generates revenue from both buyers (10–15% fees) and sellers (5–10% fees), giving it monetization leverage on both sides.

This dual-sided fee structure allows StubHub to maximize revenue as GMS scales, without increasing its operational risk or inventory exposure. It’s an asset-light model, reinforced by network effects and demand-side liquidity.

Profitability & Margins

Despite strong revenue growth, StubHub’s profitability dipped in 2024:

• Income from operations dropped from $253.2M in 2023 to $138.1M in 2024, due to aggressive reinvestment into marketing and new growth initiatives.

• Net income swung negative, from $405M profit in 2023 to a $2.8M loss in 2024.

  

The decline is primarily explained by:

• A 60% spike in sales and marketing spend ($827.9M in 2024) as StubHub leaned into new user acquisition, online channel expansion, and direct issuance growth.

• A 40% rise in general & administrative costs, largely driven by litigation reserves, loan extension costs, and personnel expansion.

However, gross margins remain strong. Cost of revenue represented just 18.9% of revenue in 2024, consistent with a scalable, low-variable-cost marketplace.

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

StubHub’s business model continues to generate strong cash flow:

• Free cash flow in 2024 was $255.1M, down slightly from $301.9M in 2023 but still impressive given increased reinvestment.

• The company operates with negative working capital, collecting revenue upfront from buyers and paying sellers later—a structurally cash-positive model.

• Capex remains low, just 0.4% of revenue, reinforcing the capital-light nature of the platform.

  

StubHub is executing a classic marketplace playbook: scale fast, reinvest aggressively, and deepen network effects. While profitability dipped in 2024 due to reinvestment, the fundamentals remain strong:

• GMS and revenue are growing consistently.

• Take rates are stable and premium.

• Cash flow remains positive.

• The platform is positioned to expand margins as growth initiatives mature.

StubHub is investing heavily in future disruption—especially around direct ticket issuance, international expansion, and digital monetization (advertising, data, ancillary services). The short-term hit to profitability may prove strategic, especially if these new bets pay off.

The challenge now is balancing continued GMS growth with tighter cost control—and turning strong top-line momentum into durable, long-term margin expansion.

Closing thoughts

StubHub enters the public markets as a rare breed: a global, scaled, and profitable two-sided marketplace with strong network effects, a capital-light model, and significant tailwinds from consumer demand for live experiences. With $1.77 billion in revenue and $8.7 billion in gross merchandise sales in 2024, the company has rebounded impressively from the pandemic years—growing 29.5% year-over-year while still generating nearly $300 million in adjusted EBITDA and over $250 million in free cash flow.

The marketplace fundamentals are solid. StubHub monetizes both buyers and sellers, commands a blended take rate of 20.4%, and benefits from operating leverage as more users transact. Investments in direct ticket issuance, international expansion, and data-driven services are positioning the company not just as a resale marketplace, but as a broader ticketing and event discovery platform.

Valuation will be closely watched. The bull case hinges on crossing $10B in GMS, further international traction, and Wall Street giving StubHub credit for optionality (e.g., direct issuance, advertising, dynamic pricing). The bear case assumes macro headwinds and a view that ticketing is a discretionary spend category—leading to compressed multiples.

StubHub is IPO-ready. The model scales, the cash flow is real, and the brand is strong. In a market hungry for durable, high-margin businesses with organic growth, StubHub is making a compelling pitch. Whether investors price in its upside optionality—or hold back based on macro volatility—remains the key question.

Here is my interview with Daniel Kang the CEO & co-founder of Y-Combinator-backed startup Flowbo, a marketplace that provides financing to influencers and allows fans to share in their success. He is the author of his new book – The Super Upside Factor: Asymmetric Principles that Will 10x Your Life

In this conversation, Daniel and I discuss:

• What are asymmetric principles and how do they apply beyond investing into everyday life decisions?

• Venture capitalists expect to be wrong 90% of the time—why is being wrong a necessary part of success in both business and life?

• Are creative, asymmetric career paths only for the privileged?

• How important is building a strong personal and professional network in creating asymmetric opportunities?

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