2 fans holding a sign for tickets at Taylor Swift show

(Richard Lautens/Getty Images)

StubHub’s IPO filing shows it spent $2 billion on sales and marketing since 2022, 48% of its revenue

The ticketing company is finally going public after abandoning IPO plans last year.

3/24/25 9:44AM

StubHub, an online platform where fans — and, of course, touts posing as fans — go to resell and exchange tickets for sports matches, concerts, and other shows, filed for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. Though details aren’t yet finalized, the company’s reportedly looking to raise over $1 billion at a market value of $16.5 billion, according to sources cited in the Financial Times.

Hottest ticker in town?

In July last year, StubHub said it would be postponing plans for a potential summer IPO amid “stagnant market conditions” and a lack of other major consumer offerings. However, seemingly buoyed by some $1.77 billion revenues in 2024, helped by resale demand for Taylor Swift’s 149-date Eras Tour, the 25-year-old ticket seller is now pressing on with plans to hit the market as “STUB.”

Still, while the company’s sales rose last year, its associated operating costs did too, sending operating income to $138 million for 2024, compared to $253 million the year before.

StubHub’s biggest expense? Getting its name out there.

Even though it’s long been one of the biggest players in the resale game, having been acquired by eBay in 2007 and then resold to merge with co-founder Eric Baker’s European equivalent, Viagogo, in 2022, StubHub is still spending a lot of money each year to establish itself as the go-to resale platform. Last year, for example, the company spent a whopping $828 million on sales and marketing, most of which went on “fixed and variable marketing and advertising expenses,” per the filing. That was 47% of the company’s revenue; in 2022, it was a genuinely mind-boggling 63% of the company’s takings.

For a platform that often faces criticism from its users about a lack of support on fake tickets, ticket touts, price gouging, and technical issues, the company’s operations and support budget looks pretty measly. Last year, the company spent just $59 million on operations and support — its sales and marketing spend was nearly 14x that amount.

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American Airlines joins the flock, hiking bag fees amid higher jet fuel prices

American Airlines on Thursday announced that it, too, will be hiking the fees it charges customers to check luggage.

With the move, all four of the major US airlines, which together control about 80% of the US market, have now hiked their baggage fees in recent days amid surging jet fuel prices.

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Since late March, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Canada’s WestJet, and Southwest have hiked their fees. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

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The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

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Less than a year after implementing them, Southwest is also hiking its bag fees

Southwest Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines opting to hike their bag fees amid sustained higher jet fuel costs.

Starting today, the first checked bag at the carrier — which implemented bag fees less than a year ago — will jump from $35 to $45, and the second from $45 to $55. Southwest quietly disclosed the change Tuesday.

Southwest assigned the decision to “part of an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop.”

As of Wednesday, jet fuel prices dropped to $4.16 a gallon, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, down from $4.81 on Tuesday following President Trump’s ceasefire announcement, which sent travel stocks soaring. Major airlines have shed some of those gains in premarket trading Thursday.

With the move to hike bag fees, Southwest joins JetBlue, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Canada’s WestJet, all of which also boosted fees this month. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

Three US airlines have already hiked baggage fees. More are likely on the way.