Problems at CLEAR Secure Inc (NYSE: YOU)
Problems at CLEAR Secure Inc (NYSE: YOU)
Problems at CLEAR Secure Inc (NYSE: YOU)
CLEAR Secure Inc (NYSE: YOU — $6.51 billion) calls itself “a secure identity platform” and went public through an IPO in June. For $179/year CLEAR helps frequent fliers cut domestic airport ID check lines by using biometric data: fingerprints and eye scans. CLEAR has sold investors on its hopes for massive growth post-COVID and revenue streams from other venues like stadiums and restaurants. In reality, CLEAR is a consistently unprofitable saturated airport concession with poor economics, worse customer reviews, and limited potential for growth.
Started in 2003, the original company running CLEAR went bankrupt in 2009, in part because of bad publicity from losing a laptop with the personal information of ~30,000 customers, and was purchased out of bankruptcy by the current management team in 2010.
CLEAR has since grown to over five million cumulative enrollments and over fifty U.S. airports, including nine of the top ten most trafficked. The …