{"id":3562,"date":"2026-05-14T21:00:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T21:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/14\/stubhub-rallies-after-surprise-profit-is-the-turnaround-finally-here\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T21:00:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T21:00:46","slug":"stubhub-rallies-after-surprise-profit-is-the-turnaround-finally-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/14\/stubhub-rallies-after-surprise-profit-is-the-turnaround-finally-here\/","title":{"rendered":"StubHub rallies after surprise profit: is the turnaround finally here?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Shares of StubHub (STUB) surged Thursday after the ticketing marketplace reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings, fueled by rising ticket demand and improving profitability that helped ease investor concerns following a prolonged stock decline.<\/p>\n

The stock jumped as much as 21% during the session and was recently trading around $9.64, putting shares on pace for their largest daily percentage gain on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data. <\/p>\n

Despite the rally, StubHub shares remain down 36% year to date and roughly 60% below their record closing high of $22 reached in September 2025.<\/p>\n

The earnings report marked a significant turnaround for the company, which has posted a string of quarterly losses in recent periods.<\/p>\n

Ticket demand drives earnings beat<\/h2>\n

StubHub reported adjusted earnings of 6 cents per share for the first quarter, compared with a loss of 12 cents per share a year earlier.<\/p>\n

The result also exceeded Wall Street expectations, which had called for earnings of about 1 to 2 cents per share.<\/p>\n

Revenue rose 12% year over year to $446 million, ahead of analyst expectations of roughly $425 million, according to FactSet.<\/p>\n

Gross merchandise sales increased 7% to approximately $2.2 billion as demand for live events, including concerts and sporting events, remained strong.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s adjusted EBITDA climbed to more than $72 million during the quarter.<\/p>\n

StubHub also generated positive net income after reporting a loss in the prior-year period. <\/p>\n

Operating cash flow and free cash flow nearly doubled from a year earlier, while the company ended the quarter with approximately $1.5 billion in cash.<\/p>\n

Management additionally continued reducing leverage, including another $100 million debt payment made in May.<\/p>\n

StubHub reiterated its full-year 2026 guidance, forecasting gross merchandise sales between $9.9 billion and $10.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA between $400 million and $420 million.<\/p>\n

Analysts see progress but remain cautious<\/h2>\n

Following the earnings report, several Wall Street firms raised price targets on the stock while maintaining relatively cautious ratings.<\/p>\n

Morgan Stanley analysts led by Cameron Mansson-Perrone raised their price target to $8.75 from $8.25 while maintaining an Equal Weight rating.<\/p>\n

The analysts said StubHub\u2019s first-quarter results \u201crepresented progress toward\u201d delivering on the company\u2019s 2026 targets.<\/p>\n

Morgan Stanley said its balanced stance reflected \u201cthe strength of demand and overall growth outlook for live experiences, weighed against caution around the competitive nature of secondary ticketing.\u201d<\/p>\n

J.P. Morgan also raised its price target on StubHub shares to $11 from $10 while maintaining a Neutral rating.<\/p>\n

Guggenheim lifted its target price to $8.50 from $7.50 after the company exceeded both firm and consensus estimates for revenue and EBITDA.<\/p>\n

The company also disclosed that it settled with the Federal Trade Commission for $10 million.<\/p>\n

According to FactSet data, StubHub currently holds an average Overweight rating from Wall Street analysts, with an average price target of $12.85, implying additional upside from current trading levels.<\/p>\n

World Cup and new initiatives add optimism<\/h2>\n

Analysts also pointed to several potential catalysts that could support StubHub\u2019s business over the coming year.<\/p>\n

Morgan Stanley highlighted the upcoming FIFA World Cup as a possible boost for the broader secondary ticketing industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur World Cup work suggests that the event could prove a meaningful tailwind for the secondary ticketing industry,\u201d Mansson-Perrone wrote.<\/p>\n

The firm estimates the tournament alone could lift StubHub\u2019s gross merchandise sales by between 1.3% and 9.1%.<\/p>\n

Beyond major sporting events, StubHub is also expanding new business initiatives aimed at supporting future growth.<\/p>\n

The company said it is pursuing an open distribution strategy designed to work more directly with rights holders on ticket issuance.<\/p>\n

Management is additionally developing an advertising business intended to monetize StubHub\u2019s large audience of event-focused consumers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The post StubHub rallies after surprise profit: is the turnaround finally here?<\/a> appeared first on Invezz<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shares of StubHub (STUB) surged Thursday after the ticketing marketplace reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings, fueled by rising ticket demand and improving profitability that helped ease investor concerns following a prolonged stock decline. The stock jumped as much as 21% during the session and was recently trading around $9.64, putting shares on pace for their largest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3563,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}