Analyst Ratings February 24, 2026

Guggenheim Cuts StubHub Target Amid Regulatory Concerns, Keeps Buy Rating

Analyst trims 2026-27 EBITDA forecasts and lowers price objective as new legislation and market dynamics weigh on secondary-ticket business

By Avery Klein STUB
Guggenheim Cuts StubHub Target Amid Regulatory Concerns, Keeps Buy Rating
STUB

Guggenheim reduced its price target on StubHub Holdings to $9.00 from $16.00 while retaining a Buy rating, citing regulatory proposals in the UK, California and New York and pressures in the concert secondary market in the U.S. The firm trimmed 2026 and 2027 adjusted EBITDA forecasts, leaving consensus estimates notably higher. StubHub’s recent commercial moves - including World Cup exposure and direct-issuance partnerships - are recognized as partial offsets to the headwinds.

Key Points

  • Guggenheim cut its price target on StubHub to $9.00 from $16.00 but kept a Buy rating; the stock trades around $9.31 and has fallen 58% over the past year.
  • The analyst cited regulatory proposals in the UK, California and New York and Concert secondary market pressures in the U.S. as primary near-term headwinds.
  • Guggenheim lowered 2026 adjusted EBITDA to $423 million and 2027 to $601 million, both well below consensus; StubHub reported negative EBITDA of $1.22 billion over the last twelve months despite an 80% gross profit margin.

Guggenheim has revised down its valuation of StubHub Holdings, setting a new price target of $9.00, lowered from $16.00, while keeping a Buy recommendation on the shares. The stock is trading near $9.31 and has declined roughly 58% over the last year, leaving the company with a market capitalization of about $3.22 billion.

The firm pointed to a mix of negative factors it expects to pressure the business this year. Foremost among them are regulatory actions and what Guggenheim described as Concert secondary market pressures in the U.S. Those headwinds, the analyst noted, are only partially mitigated by anticipated demand tailwinds from the World Cup and the company’s ongoing work on strategic initiatives such as advertising and direct issuance.

Regulatory developments are central to Guggenheim’s reassessment. The analyst cited proposed legislation in the UK, California and New York as primary sources of concern and wrote that additional jurisdictions are likely to create further pressure on StubHub’s core secondary business in the months and years ahead.

Reflecting those risks, Guggenheim lowered its adjusted EBITDA forecasts for StubHub. The 2026 adjusted EBITDA estimate was reduced to $423 million from $471 million - well below consensus of $708 million. For 2027, the firm cut its adjusted EBITDA estimate to $601 million from $737 million, compared with consensus at $1.11 billion. Those revised estimates come against the backdrop of last-twelve-months results in which StubHub posted a negative EBITDA of $1.22 billion while maintaining a gross profit margin of 80%.

InvestingPro analysis included with the coverage indicates that analysts do not expect StubHub to reach profitability this year. The company is scheduled to report earnings on March 4.

Guggenheim’s decision to keep a Buy rating despite the downgrade in target price and earnings estimates suggests the firm still sees value in the business franchise and its growth initiatives, even as near-term regulatory and market risks mount.


Commercial momentum and partnerships

StubHub has pursued a series of commercial partnerships and product moves that the market will watch closely. The company was named the Official Direct Issuance Partner for the 2025 World Sevens Football Championship, a role that will leverage its technology to manage ticket distribution in North America and, via viagogo, internationally. StubHub has also broadened its local partnerships across the U.S., working on events such as Washington D.C.’s "Duel in the District" basketball game and the Country Thunder music festival series. The company cites these collaborations as ways to expand its presence in key markets through its Direct Issuance technology.

In product development, StubHub rolled out a new app on ChatGPT that enables users to discover live events through conversational interactions and to access real-time ticket inventory and pricing information.


Other analyst actions

Market sentiment among some sell-side firms has shifted. Citizens downgraded StubHub from Market Outperform to Market Perform, pointing to the prospect of increased competition in 2026 that could pressure market share and raise marketing costs. Separately, Craig-Hallum began coverage with a Hold rating and a $12.00 price target, calling out the company’s rapid market share gains which it attributes to effective marketing strategies.

Overall, the coverage mix reflects a tension between StubHub’s operational progress - including partnerships, direct issuance deployment and product innovation - and regulatory and market pressures that have prompted material downgrades to near-term profitability expectations.

Risks

  • Regulatory risk: Proposed legislation in the UK, California and New York could weigh on StubHub’s core secondary-ticket business, with the firm expecting additional jurisdictions to apply pressure - this impacts the broader tickets and live-events market.
  • Market competition and cost risk: Analysts and some brokerages flag potential heightened competition in 2026 that could erode market share and increase marketing expenditures - affecting revenue and profitability in the consumer live-events sector.
  • Earnings and profitability risk: Consensus estimates remain substantially higher than Guggenheim’s revised adjusted EBITDA forecasts, and the company posted negative EBITDA over the past twelve months, indicating an uncertain path to profitability for the platform.

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