People walk outside of a StubHub storefront operation in New York (Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons)
StubHub Delays IPO Plans Amid Market Turmoil
StubHub has reportedly paused its plans to go public, choosing to wait out a stock market thrown into chaos by President Trump’s announcement of massive tariffs on goods across the globe. The ticket resale marketplace had filed for its IPO in March, and was planning on launching its investor pitch road show next week, but has opted to put those plans on ice for the time being, according to the Wall Street Journal.
StubHub, which filed paperwork to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “STUB” also paused plans for an IPO in 2023 amid stagnant market conditions. Markets across the globe tumbled dramatically on Thursday in the wake of the Trump administration’s tariff announcement. The Dow fell 1,679 points (3.98%) while the S&P 500 dropped by 4.8% and the NASDAQ plunged by 5.9% – each indexes worst sell-off since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
According to the WSJ, the messy market sparked concerns that investors would not be interested in participating in the IPO, and also going forward with the plan during such a chaotic market might appear desperate.
According to its prospectus, the company reported a net loss of $2.8 million on $1.77 billion in revenue for 2024. That compares with a $405 million profit on $1.37 billion in revenue in 2023. It was rumored to be seeking a valuation in excess of $16 billion – 9.3 times its 2024 sales and 120 times its operating profit for the year – massively more expensive than similar companies that already trade publicly, per analysis posted to The Motley Fool.
