Stubhub

StubHub is a pioneering online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of tickets for sports, concerts, theater and other live entertainment events. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, StubHub emerged as one of the first platforms to enable peer-to-peer ticket resale at scale, facilitating secondary-market liquidity and making live event access more dynamic. Over the years, the company has evolved beyond simple ticket exchange into a full-fledged event-commerce ecosystem, incorporating primary ticketing, partnerships with venues and teams, mobile ticketing, and global experiences. Its mission revolves around making live culture accessible, transparent and supported by technology.

At the core of StubHub’s value proposition is its user-friendly platform that allows sellers to list tickets and buyers to browse, compare, and purchase seats with confidence. The company offers features such as interactive venue maps, transparent pricing information, mobile delivery and its “FanProtect” guarantee—ensuring that buyers receive valid tickets in time for their event. For sellers, StubHub provides access to a vast marketplace of event-seekers, simplified listing tools and payment options when tickets are sold. In addition to the peer-to-peer model, StubHub maintains relationships with teams, leagues and venues, enabling access to exclusive allocations, VIP packages and branded experiences. The platform’s technology handles listing, inventory management, dynamic pricing, transfer logistics and buyer-seller trust mechanisms, which together facilitate millions of transactions annually.

Strategically, StubHub has leveraged its marketplace foundation to expand into adjacent revenue streams and geographic markets. As live experiences have grown in demand and digital access has become increasingly important, StubHub has emphasized mobile adoption, global expansion, ticket-issuance partnerships, and targeted marketing for event-discovery. The company’s monetization includes commissions on ticket sales (both from buyers and sellers), service fees, advertising, and premium services such as VIP experiences. By focusing on live-event commerce rather than static product resale, StubHub has positioned itself to benefit from trends such as the experiential economy—where consumers prioritize experiences—and mobile streaming of event access. Moreover, the company's scale and data assets enable insights into event pricing, demand patterns and consumer behaviors that inform partner strategies and platform optimization.

Looking ahead, StubHub faces both opportunities and challenges in a rapidly changing event-commerce landscape. On the opportunity side, rising global demand for live experiences, growth of hybrid live-and-virtual events, and expanded digital ticket delivery offer tailwinds. However, the company must navigate regulatory scrutiny around ticket resale practices, competition from platforms like SeatGeek and Ticketmaster, evolving venue technologies, and consumer expectations for streamlined purchase and delivery experiences. Execution on mobile innovation, global service reliability, marketplace trust and event-ecosystem partnerships will be critical. If StubHub continues to refine its platform, enhance its service reliability, and grow its live-event network worldwide, it stands to remain a cornerstone of the live-event economy in the digital age.