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StubHub’s IPO Stock Begins Trading On Wednesday. Wall Street Wants a Hot Ticket.

Sep 16, 2025 12:35:00 -0400 by Paul R. La Monica | #IPOs

StubHub is the latest closely watched initial public offering. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg)

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IPOs are selling like hot concert tickets, soaring in value from their original price. Investors are watching to see if StubHub, the popular marketplace for ticket resales, will be the next initial public offering to wow Wall Street.

The stock could have a splashy debut, but investors should be careful. Like a once popular band that’s overplayed its welcome and done one too many reunion tours, the stock could ultimately disappoint.

StubHub is set to announce the price for its IPO sometime after the closing bell Tuesday and begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange around midday Wednesday under the ticker symbol STUB.

StubHub currently plans to sell 34 million shares in a range of $22 to $25 a share. At the midpoint of that range, it would raise $800 million and be valued at $8.6 billion. Not too shabby considering that the company, which was founded in 2000, was bought by eBay in 2007 for $310 million and then sold to European ticket reseller Viagogo in 2020 for more than $4 billion.

It also seems likely that StubHub could price its offering above the range. Recent demand for IPOs has been robust, with stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group, design software firm Figma , buy-now, pay later lender Klarna, and crypto brokerage Gemini all lifting their price ranges and debuting above their IPO prices.

But the strong first-day performances have been partly fueled by the relatively small number of shares available in an IPO, typically only about 10% to 15% of the total share count. That creates a frenzied rush for the limited supply. IPO stocks often come down in price several months after they begin trading once lock-up periods expire that allow insiders and employees to sell shares, which could flood the market with more stock.

IPOs also can face pressure once they report earnings for the first time as public companies and after Wall Street analysts initiate coverage of the stocks. That’s exactly what has happened to Circle and Figma, which are now both more than 55% below the peak prices they hit shortly after their first day of trading.

StubHub in particular could face some unique challenges.

The ticket business is highly competitive, with StubHub going up against Ticketmaster owner Live Nation and other resellers such as Vivid Seats and privately held SeatGeek. Vivid Seats, which is publicly traded, has plunged more than 80% this year. The company cited “pressure on consumer spending coupled with continued competitive intensity” in its most recent earnings report.

Growth hit a speed bump for StubHub in the first half of this year as well. Sales, which come almost entirely from fees, rose just 3%, to $827.9 million, in the first six months of 2025. StubHub reported revenue of nearly $1.8 billion in 2024, up nearly 30% from 2023. StubHub isn’t profitable either. It lost $2.8 million in 2024 year and another $76 million in the first half of 2025.

Investors also have to accept the fact that StubHub co-founder and CEO Eric Baker has overwhelming control of the company with a nearly 88% stake in the voting shares. Baker left the business after a falling out with his fellow co-founder before the eBay deal. He went on to found Viagogo, now StubHub’s owner.

So even if StubHub shares soar on their first day, investors should probably sit back and wait. Just as the price of a sold-out concert or sporting event tends to come down the closer to the actual event date, so could shares of StubHub in the weeks before its first earnings report, the launch of analyst coverage, and the end of its lockup period.

Write to Paul R. La Monica at paul.lamonica@barrons.com