StubHub has refiled its IPO prospectus on Monday (August 11), showing a wider quarterly loss for the first quarter of 2025, even as revenue jumped from a year earlier.
The company incurred an attributable net loss of $35.9 million, or $0.59 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, wider than the $29.7 million loss, or $0.49 per share, a year prior.
Revenue, however, jumped by about 10% YoY to $397.6 million from $360.1 million, according to its updated prospectus filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Gross merchandise sales, which capture the total value paid by buyers for ticket transactions and fulfillment, jumped 15% YoY to $2.1 billion in Q1 from $1.8 billion last year.
StubHub noted that it facilitated the sale of over 40 million tickets on its platform for more than 1 million sellers in 2024.
The company did not disclose when it plans to list its shares on the NYSE and how much it plans to raise from the offering. Last year, The Information reported, citing people close to the company, that StubHub is targeting a valuation of $16.5 billion from its planned IPO.
Founded in 2000 by CEO Eric Baker, StubHub claims to operate “the largest global secondary ticketing marketplace for live events.” Its platform connects buyers and sellers of tickets to sports events, concerts and theater shows, among other events.
The updated filing arrives months after a number of companies shelved IPO plans amid the tariff war. Swedish fintech company Klarna, which filed for a US IPO in March, might consider an IPO as soon as September, sources told Bloomberg two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, StubHub’s path to an IPO has been long-awaited. The company initially explored going public via a direct listing in 2022, when Bloomberg reported that the IPO could have valued the company at more than $13 billion.
Another attempt occurred in 2024 amid a surge in concert ticket sales driven by Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. The plan, however, failed to materialize due to unfavorable market conditions.
Chief Executive Eric Baker co-founded StubHub in 2000 but left before eBay acquired the company for $310 million in 2007. He then launched European competitor viagogo, which completed a $4.05 billion acquisition of StubHub in 2020, reuniting Baker with StubHub.
Baker holds 2.9 million class A shares in the company, accounting for a 5.2% stake. However, his class B shares carry 100-to-1 voting rights, giving him 90.4% of total voting power before the IPO.
Investment firm Madrone Partners holds the single-largest stake at 27.1%, although its voting power is limited at 2.8%. WestCap Management holds a 10.8% stake, while Bessemer Venture Partners owns a 9.6% stake.
The company plans to list shares on the NYSE under ticker symbol STUB. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are lead underwriters of the IPO, also serving as joint book-running managers.
StubHub plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to repay its existing debts outstanding under its term loan credit facilities. The company’s term loan credit facilities will mature in 2030. As of March 31, it had $2.4 billion outstanding under its term loan credit facilities and interest rates of 9.07% on its 2024 USD term loan, and 7.36% on its 2024 Euro term loan.
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