StubHub’s challenges after going public continued this week. The company posted another unprofitable quarter, showing that higher World Cup ticket sales were not enough to balance out rising costs and worries about losing market share.
The company reported a second-quarter loss of $40,000 for common stockholders, which is nearly breakeven per share. This is better than last year’s loss of $75.9 million, or 25 cents per share. Still, analysts were disappointed because they had expected a profit of 11 cents per share.
On Thursday, StubHub shares dropped 15%, marking their biggest one-day fall since November 2025, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The stock had already fallen further in premarket trading. Since going public in late 2025, StubHub has faced major struggles, with shares down over 60% this year due to ongoing profit issues and regulatory pressure.
Earlier this year, shares rose for a short time because of excitement about the 2026 FIFA World Cup. First-quarter results showed growth in both profit and revenue thanks to strong ticket demand. However, that positive trend did not last.
Revenue rose 33% to $ 573. Revenue increased by 33% to $573.1 million in the second quarter, which CEO Eric Baker called a company record. This growth was mostly due to World Cup ticket sales. However, expenses rose 37%, leading to a 29% drop in operating income compared to last year. Gross merchandise sales, the total value of ticket transactions and fulfillment, also rose 34% to $3.1 billion, again helped by the World Cup. BofA Securities lowered its rating on the stock, marking the latest downgrade since the firm began coverage with a bullish stance in late 2025.
StubHub expects gross merchandise sales to slow in the second half of the year, aiming for between $10.1 billion and $10.3 billion. BofA pointed out that this forecast does not match the strong demand for concerts reported by promoters like Live Nation. If there are still plenty of events, BofA suggested that StubHub’s weaker outlook might mean it is losing market share or seeing less demand for resold tickets, rather than the whole industry slowing down.
Regulatory uncertainty is also affecting how people feel about the stock, especially with the risk of more government action against secondary ticket marketplaces. In April, StubHub agreed to pay a $10 million penalty and offer refunds after the Federal Trade Commission said the company did not show full ticket prices upfront. The company has also spent much more on lobbying recently, especially in California, to fight laws that could limit resale ticket prices. StubHub reported almost $2.6 million in lobbying expenses from April to June, a big jump from $825,780 in the previous three months.
