Clear Secure, the company known for its biometric kiosks in airport security lines—and reps that try to annoyingly sell folks on a monthly membership, saw shares crash on Thursday morning in premarket trading after it reported a slowdown in new users.
Clear Secure published a shareholder letter this morning showing 7.15 million active Clear Plus members in the quarter—up from 7.095 million the prior quarter—indicating that membership growth has stalled. This was the weakest quarterly gain in at least two years.
Shares of Clear Secure crashed more than 18% in premarket trading, setting a record for the largest daily decline if losses hold.
As of Wednesday’s close, shares have jumped 89% on the year. The move higher has brought on a bear position that now tops 20 million shares or about 22% of the float.
Bloomberg noted, “User retention and growth is critical for Clear, which offers a subscription service that speeds travelers through security lines at many of the largest US airports,” adding, “The company is trying to convince flyers that its offering is superior to TSA PreCheck, a similar-but-cheaper service run by the Transportation Security Administration.”
Looking at seasonal TSA checkpoint throughput data, the figures for early November align with the 2019-23 average, which is set to jump a few weeks ahead of the Thanksgiving traveling holiday.
Cash-strapped consumers will likely endure long lines at airports instead of purchasing monthly $16 Clear Plus memberships amid challenging macroeconomic headwinds.
The slowdown in user growth at Clear will only mean their reps will be even more annoying this holiday season.
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