By Kit Norton

Shares of StubHub skyrocketed Thursday, on track for their biggest daily jump after the company's earnings report showed rising ticket demand.

Morgan Stanley analysts called the earnings report a "solid first step."

The company has had string of quarterly losses. However, StubHub reported profit and revenue growth in the first quarter, driven by gross merchandise sales rising 7% to $2.2 billion.

Overall, the company reported adjusted earnings of six cents a share for the first quarter late Wednesday, compared with a loss of 12 cents a share a year ago and above Wall Street's call for per-share earnings of one cent. Revenue grew 12% to $446 million, topping the analyst consensus expectation of $425 million in sales, according to FactSet.

StubHub's main business is based around collecting fees on reselling tickets to live events -- including concerts and sporting events.

Its stock soared 20% to $9.06 on Thursday, on pace for its largest daily percent increase on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Shares remain down 33% so far this year and 59% below their record closing high of $22.00 from Sept. 17, 2025.

StubHub also reiterated its 2026 guidance for gross merchandise sales of $9.9 billion to $10.1 billion. The company expects full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda, between $400 million and $420 million, with Wall Street forecasting $409.6 million, according to FactSet.

Morgan Stanley analysts, led by Cameron Mansson-Perrone, raised their StubHub price target to $8.75 from $8.25, maintaining an Equal Weight rating on the stock.

The analysts wrote that StubHub's first-quarter results "represented progress toward" delivering on the company's 2026 targets. Overall, Morgan Stanley's Equal Weight rating on StubHub is based on the "strength of demand and overall growth outlook for live experiences, weighed against caution around the competitive nature of secondary ticketing."

The FIFA World Cup starting next month could also lift StubHub's business, according to the analysts.

"Our World Cup work suggests that the event could prove a meaningful tailwind for the secondary ticketing industry," Mansson-Perrone wrote.

Morgan Stanley forecasts StubHub could see gross merchandise sales rise between 1.3% to 9.1% based solely on the global soccer tournament.

However, Mansson-Perrone is less confident about earnings growing in 2027 and beyond, adding that the stock "valuation appears largely appropriate."

J.P. Morgan on Thursday also raised its StubHub price target to $11 from $10, keeping its Neutral rating on the stock.

Overall, Wall Street appears optimistic when it comes to StubHub. Of the 14 analysts polled by FactSet, StubHub has an average Overweight rating with a $12.85 price target. That average price target currently implies 44% upside.

Write to Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 14, 2026 11:48 ET (15:48 GMT)

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