StubHub plunges on big earnings miss in a Taylor Swift-less Q4
Shares of ticket marketplace StubHub are down 16% in premarket trading following weaker-than-expected earnings results.
StubHub posted a loss of $1.56 per share, significantly worse than the $0.01 loss per share analysts polled by FactSet had expected. It booked $449.2 million in revenue, below the $485 million consensus and down about 16% from a year earlier.
Gross merch sales reached $2.3 billion in Q4, which StubHub pointed out would represent 6% year-over-year growth excluding the impact of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The figure was also below expectations.
Looking ahead, StubHub expects full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of between $400 million and $420 million. Analysts had expected $704.4 million.
Legal changes also threaten to squeeze StubHub in the year ahead. Earlier this month, lawmakers in both New York and California — two of the world’s largest live music markets — introduced legislation that would cap concert ticket resale prices to the ticket’s original face value.
JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth downgraded StubHub to “neutral” from “overweight” in the wake of these results, while slashing his price target to $10 from $22.
The company “needs to work through its lock-up expiration beginning this Monday, March 9, overcome ongoing regulatory concerns, and gain credibility with the Street,” he wrote.
