StubHub shares tumbled as much as 15% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the ticketing marketplace's second-quarter profit badly missed Wall Street's expectations — even as the company posted record revenue and ticket sales.

The company reported quarterly sales of $573.1 million, up 33% from a year earlier, and gross merchandise sales of $3.1 billion, up 34% and also a record, citing strong demand for live events including a record-setting World Cup summer. Adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled to $105.7 million, with margins expanding by roughly 600 basis points to 18%.

The Number That Spooked Investors

None of that mattered once investors saw the bottom line: adjusted earnings per share came in at essentially $0.00, far short of the $0.24 analysts had expected. Options markets had braced for a roughly 13% swing on earnings day — the stock's actual move landed right at the high end of that range, closing well off its 52-week high of $27.89.

RECORD REVENUE. RECORD TICKET SALES. AND A PROFIT NUMBER THAT MISSED BY A MILE.

The reaction underscores how unforgiving markets have become toward growth companies that can't translate top-line records into bottom-line results, even in a quarter that also saw StubHub raise its full-year gross-sales outlook. Guggenheim Securities had upgraded the stock to Buy just ahead of the report, setting a $12.50 price target — a call that looked premature within hours as shares fell well below that level.

StubHub, which went public in 2025, has whipsawed investors since its debut as it works to prove it can turn a surging events market into consistent profit. Management is expected to face investor questions on the next earnings call about the path from record volume to record margins.