STUB Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

StubHub posted strong second-quarter growth: GMS rose 34% year over year to $3.1 billion, revenue increased 33% to $573 million, and adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled to approximately $106 million, lifting the margin to 18%. World Cup demand boosted results but increased costs: The event attracted buyers from more than 150 countries, while fulfillment, payment processing and customer-support investments temporarily pressured margins. Management expects profitability to improve as those costs subside. The company raised its full-year GMS outlook to $10.1 billion–$10.3 billion while maintaining adjusted EBITDA guidance of $400 million–$420 million. StubHub also reduced debt by $1.1 billion over the past year, bringing net leverage down to 3 times adjusted EBITDA.

StubHub reported second-quarter results marked by strong growth in gross merchandise sales, revenue and adjusted EBITDA, aided by demand for live events and the World Cup. Management also raised its full-year GMS outlook while maintaining its adjusted EBITDA forecast, citing a disciplined approach to the second half following the tournament’s concentrated demand. Gross merchandise sales, or GMS, increased 34% year over year to $3.1 billion in the second quarter. Revenue rose 33% to $573 million, while adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled to approximately $106 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by nearly 600 basis points to 18%.

Chief Executive Officer Eric Baker said the quarter reflected healthy demand for sports, concerts, theater and other live entertainment, as well as the advantages of StubHub’s marketplace scale, liquidity and global reach. World Cup Drives Demand and Operational Investment The World Cup was the quarter’s standout event, according to Baker. More than 75 matches occurred over roughly two and a half weeks during the quarter, creating what he described as one of the industry’s largest and most dynamic ticketing environments. Fans from more than 150 countries attended matches using tickets purchased through StubHub, and about one in seven World Cup tickets sold on the platform went to buyers outside the U.S. and Canada, Baker said. The company said the event demonstrated the global nature of its marketplace and its ability to connect international demand with available ticket supply. However, the event’s complexity also led StubHub to increase spending on customer support and fulfillment. Baker said a small subset of orders encountered fulfillment issues, and the company invested to address them. He said StubHub’s goal is to eliminate such problems, acknowledging that refunds are an inadequate outcome for fans who miss an event. Chief Financial Officer Connie James said World Cup-related costs affected profitability metrics during the quarter. GMS-to-revenue conversion was approximately 19%, roughly flat from the prior year, while gross margin was approximately 82%. James attributed the gross-margin result to the tournament’s effects on payment processing and fulfillment efficiency, along with incremental customer-experience investments. Management said those costs were not representative of the company’s underlying margin structure. James said GMS-to-revenue conversion and gross margins had already improved in the weeks after the World Cup ended, with gross margin returning toward the company’s typical mid-80% range. Marketing Efficiency Supports Margin Expansion Sales and marketing expense represented 47% of second-quarter revenue, an improvement of approximately 800 basis points from a year earlier. James said the improvement reflected operating leverage from StubHub’s marketplace position and comparisons with a period of accelerated investment in 2025.