CLEAR Secure Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Strong Q2 performance: Total bookings rose 32.8% to $295.9 million and revenue increased 26.6% to $277.8 million. CLEAR reached a 36.4% adjusted EBITDA margin and generated record quarterly free cash flow of $189 million.
• Travel business continued expanding: Total members grew 30% year over year to 43.5 million, while CLEAR+ members reached 8.3 million. The company added airport locations, expanded Concierge to 39 airports, deployed eGates across more than 70% of its network and raised standard membership pricing to $219.
• CLEAR1 gained momentum, while near-term cash flow faces a payment: New customer signings and the pipeline each increased more than 50% sequentially as demand grew across government, healthcare, workforce and consumer markets. CLEAR expects third-quarter negative free cash flow due to a roughly $315 million partnership-liability payment, but raised full-year 2026 free-cash-flow guidance to at least $480 million.

CLEAR Secure NYSE: YOU reported fiscal second-quarter 2026 results marked by double-digit bookings and revenue growth, expanding profitability and record quarterly free cash flow, while management highlighted continued investment in airport services and its CLEAR1 identity platform.

The company ended the quarter with 43.5 million total members, up 30% year over year, and 8.3 million active CLEAR+ members, up 15.2%. Total bookings rose 32.8% to $295.9 million, while revenue increased 26.6% to $277.8 million.

Founder, Chair and Chief Executive Officer Caryn Seidman Becker said the company generated $189 million in free cash flow during the quarter, a 60% increase from a year earlier. She also said CLEAR surpassed the 35% adjusted EBITDA margin target established at the time of its IPO five years ago, reporting a 36.4% adjusted EBITDA margin.

Travel products drive member growth

Management attributed travel-business momentum to its “home-to-gate” strategy, which combines airport security access with mobile travel tools, concierge services and other airport offerings. Becker said the company’s mobile app, which includes calendar synchronization, travel guidance, airport wayfinding and live updates, is averaging 1 million monthly users.

CLEAR continued expanding its airport footprint during the quarter. Chief Financial Officer Jen Hsu said Indianapolis and Bentonville became the company’s two newest CLEAR+ airport locations. CLEAR Concierge, its service offering airport assistance, expanded to seven additional locations and is now available in 39 airports.

The company also cited continued rollout of its eGates, which covered more than 70% of its network at quarter-end. According to Becker, the gates enable member verification in under five seconds. Hsu said eGates improved labor efficiency, with direct salaries and benefits declining to 17.3% of revenue from the prior-year period, an improvement of approximately 450 basis points.

“That efficiency has turned what was once a pure cost center into a driver of top-line growth,” Hsu said, adding that the company has redeployed ambassadors from lane operations toward hospitality and sales-related initiatives such as concierge services.

CLEAR also began testing new airport commerce initiatives. Becker said the company launched its first concessions partnership at Newark and is beginning a Starbucks pilot at LaGuardia, where members can order coffee in advance for pickup on their way to a gate.

Effective July 1, CLEAR increased standard membership pricing by $10 to $219, with changes also made across many airline pricing tiers. Family-member pricing remained at $125. Hsu said early retention rates have remained healthy following the increases and management sees additional long-term pricing opportunities.

CLEAR1 identity platform expands

Beyond travel, management emphasized opportunities for CLEAR1, the company’s business-to-business identity platform. Becker said rising concerns around synthetic identities, deepfakes and fraud are increasing demand for stronger identity-verification systems across workforce, healthcare, consumer and government applications.

During the quarter, CLEAR introduced an identity framework featuring three proprietary products: Vertex, Apex and Helix. Becker said Vertex is intended to provide a stronger identity foundation beyond document-only verification; Apex adds multilayer validation for higher-risk uses such as Medicare; and Helix is designed for high-stakes settings and uses witness verification.

The company said it is developing a GovTech vertical, citing opportunities to address fraud, waste and abuse across federal and state programs. Becker pointed to CLEAR’s longstanding work with the Department of Homeland Security and said the company is working with agency leaders around secure and customer-focused identity experiences.

Hsu said CLEAR1 signed a significant number of new partners in the quarter, with average deal sizes increasing. Net-new customer signings increased more than 50% sequentially from the first quarter, while the pipeline grew more than 50% quarter over quarter, she said. The company is seeing demand from channel partnerships, government, healthcare, workforce and consumer verticals.

Management noted that larger CLEAR1 contracts could create variability in the timing of bookings. Becker said the company intends to pursue large contracts as it expands the platform.

Margins, cash flow and outlook

CLEAR reported operating income of $83 million and adjusted EBITDA of $101.1 million, representing approximately 900 basis points of adjusted EBITDA margin expansion year over year. Hsu said the company delivered about 70% adjusted EBITDA flow-through during the quarter.

Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $201.2 million, and free cash flow reached $189 million. The company ended the quarter with $959 million, or more than $7 per share, in cash and marketable securities. During the third quarter to date, CLEAR repurchased approximately $22 million of shares at an average price of $52.73.

Hsu noted that the company expects negative free cash flow in the third quarter because it will settle an accrued partnership liability with its credit-card partner. The company disclosed an approximately $315 million accrued partnership liability that is scheduled to be paid in the third quarter, though management said the payment is already reflected in full-year guidance.

• Third-quarter revenue guidance: $284 million to $287 million.
• Third-quarter total bookings guidance: $311 million to $316 million.
• Full-year 2026 free-cash-flow guidance: at least $480 million, raised from at least $465 million.

At the midpoint, the third-quarter outlook implies year-over-year revenue growth of 24.6% and bookings growth of 20.5%, according to the company.

Management also discussed future network expansion, including potential opportunities in Canada and Mexico, while Becker said the company remains focused on building more comprehensive U.S. airport coverage before pursuing international markets more broadly. President Michael Barkin added that CLEAR has approval through its TSA partnership to enroll international members from 42 visa-waiver countries and is seeing organic growth from those members using the U.S. network.

About CLEAR Secure (NYSE:YOU)

CLEAR Secure, Inc operates a biometric identity platform designed to expedite identity verification for air travelers and venue guests. The company’s core offering is the CLEAR membership service, which uses fingerprint and iris scans to confirm a member’s identity and provide access to dedicated security lanes at participating airports. Members link government-issued IDs and personal biometric data via the CLEAR app, enabling faster processing through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints and select event entrances.

Founded in 2010 by Caryn Seidman‐Becker and Ken Cornick, CLEAR is headquartered in New York City.

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