StubHub is set to make its long-awaited Wall Street debut this week, with its initial public offering pricing Tuesday and trading expected to begin Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol STUB.
The offering has generated intense investor demand, reportedly oversubscribed more than 20 times, according to Reuters. At the top of its $22–$25 per share pricing range, StubHub would carry a valuation of roughly $9.3 billion, with proceeds largely earmarked to pay down debt after years of aggressive expansion.
The IPO marks another milestone for co-founder and CEO Eric Baker, who previously launched rival ticket marketplace Viagogo before reacquiring StubHub from eBay in 2019 for $4.05 billion. The company rebranded under the StubHub name in 2021 and formally filed for a public listing earlier this year.
Competitive Landscape
StubHub’s arrival on the public markets gives investors a direct alternative to Vivid Seats (SEAT), which went public in 2021 via a SPAC merger. Benchmark Research analyst Daniel Kurnos noted StubHub shares are expected to command a steep premium over Vivid Seats, potentially trading at 45 times EBITDA compared to Vivid’s nine times, despite the companies sharing a “very similar credit profile.”
While Vivid has carved out partnerships with ESPN and the San Francisco 49ers, its market capitalization has shrunk to about $180 million, and analysts warn that StubHub’s aggressive spending could cut Vivid’s EBITDA by as much as two-thirds this year. Vivid recently underwent a reverse 1-for-20 stock split, seeking to shore up its value for investors.
Both StubHub and Vivid continue to face the shadow of Ticketmaster, the dominant ticketing player within Live Nation Entertainment (LYV), which itself holds a market capitalization near $40 billion. Ticketing revenue for Live Nation reached $743 million in the June quarter, compared with StubHub’s $430 million and Vivid Seats’ $144 million in the same period.
Market Context
The StubHub IPO follows a string of high-profile offerings in recent weeks, including Klarna, Gemini Space Station, Circle Internet, and Figma. While investor appetite for growth stocks remains strong, analysts caution that StubHub’s reliance on heavy marketing spend to fuel growth could be tested if revenue momentum slows.
Despite the uncertainty, Wall Street appears bullish on StubHub’s near-term prospects. “We give Eric Baker a ton of credit for masterminding all of this and getting everyone on board,” wrote Benchmark’s Kurnos, though he warned investors could sour “if the spending spigot dries up.”
For now, StubHub’s public debut represents not only a fresh infusion of capital but also a new stage in the increasingly high-stakes battle for online ticketing dominance.
