StubHub Posts $33.6 Million Net Profit, Raises 2026 Sales Forecast
Key Facts
StubHub reported net income of $33.6 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, compared with a net loss of $1,294.6 million in the year-earlier period, according to results published by the company via Business Wire. The company said net income margin was 7% during the quarter. The prior-year loss included $1,405.2 million in stock-based compensation expense, making the year-over-year comparison affected by this large item. Gross merchandise sales, a measure of transaction volume on the platform, rose to $2.62 billion. The results came as the company raised its full-year forecast range for the metric.
Gross merchandise sales increased by $181.6 million, or 7%, from $2.43 billion in the third quarter of 2025. Revenue was $502.0 million, up 7% from $468.1 million a year earlier. Revenue equaled about 19% of gross merchandise sales, the company said. On an adjusted profitability basis, EBITDA rose to $124.076 million from $67.493 million in the year-earlier period. Adjusted EBITDA margin rose to 25% of revenue, versus 14% a year earlier, an increase of 11 percentage points according to the reported figures.
StubHub raised its 2026 gross merchandise sales forecast to a range of $10.175 billion to $10.375 billion, while keeping its adjusted EBITDA forecast at $400 million to $420 million. Chief Executive Eric Baker said the revision reflected "our positive third-quarter results and expected performance for the rest of the year." He added that consumers continue to prioritize live events. Keeping the EBITDA range means the higher sales-volume forecast was not accompanied by a change in the adjusted operating earnings estimate. In the second quarter, the company reported record gross merchandise sales of $3.1 billion, up 34% year over year, and record revenue of $573.1 million, an increase of 33%.
The net leverage ratio improved to 2.5 times last-12-month adjusted EBITDA as of September 30, compared with 4.5 times on December 31, 2025. The company said it repaid $100 million of debt in July, then extended the maturities of its term loans by 3.5 years and reduced borrowing costs in October. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.2 billion at the end of September, against $0.8 billion in payments due to sellers. The leverage metric reflects an improvement of two times since the end of last year, according to figures cited by the company. Seller payment obligations remain part of the liquidity picture alongside the reported cash balance.
Despite the improvement in adjusted profitability, the company recorded negative free cash flow of $410.098 million in the third quarter, compared with negative $4.600 million a year earlier. Last-12-month free cash flow was $192.097 million through September 30, 2026. StubHub attributed quarter-to-quarter fluctuations in cash flow to seasonality and the timing of major events during the year. It cited the 2026 World Cup as an example of events that could affect free cash flow in a particular quarter. The quarter's cash flow reading was therefore much weaker than in the year-earlier period, despite higher adjusted EBITDA and an improved margin.
StubHub shares were trading at $5.85 before the results announcement, according to Reuters, near their 52-week low of $5.21 and well below their high of $19.86. That reading preceded the release of the results and does not represent a share-price move in response to them. The company had scheduled its third-quarter results announcement for after the market close on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, with a management call at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. The results release and management call were therefore scheduled for the same date, after the trading session ended. The available information did not provide a post-announcement share price.