Clear Secure, Inc. Q1 FY2026 earnings call

Key Points - CLEAR met the moment in the first quarter as the global identity landscape was under stress, with 41 million total members, $292 million bookings, and $185 million free cash flow. - Home-to-gate strategy is transforming travel experience: eGates cover over 50% of network, plan to exceed 80% by end of Q2; reimagined app reached number four in travel app store, mobile app adoption doubled; Clear Concierge demand increased, scaled to major cities. - Clear One is an identity infrastructure layer, achieved significant year-over-year growth with almost two times signed deals and record multi-year enterprise contracts; FedRAMP milestone is first step towards GovTech verticals to address fraud. - Public-private partnerships played a role with CLEAR Ambassadors working with TSA, and work supports White House's executive order on fighting fraud, waste, and abuse.

Clear Travel: In Q1, delivered over 40% bookings growth, approximately 32% adjusted EBITDA margins, revenue grew 19.7% year-over-year to $253 million, total bookings increased 40.8% to $291.7 million, active Clear Plus members grew to 8.2 million, up 13% year-over-year. Clear One: Total Clear members grew 31.3% to 41 million, ClearOne bookings were approximately five times those of Q1 last year, generated $62 million of operating income and $80.6 million of adjusted EBITDA representing a 31.9% adjusted EBITDA margin and 7.2 percentage points of margin expansion year-over-year. Q1 net cash provided by operating activities was $190.4 million and free cash flow was $185.5 million representing 103.2% year-over-year growth.

For Q2, expects revenue of $268 to $271 million and total bookings of $280 to $285 million, representing 22.8% and 26.7% growth at the midpoint, respectively. Increased 2026 full-year free cash flow guidance from at least $440 million to at least $465 million, which would represent an increase of approximately $120 million year-over-year and at least 36% year-over-year growth.

Q: Josh Riley asks about the impressive momentum in ClearOne bookings and what differentiates Clear's platform.

A: Karen Seidman-Becker says identity has become more important, Clear is a trusted brand with a network of identities and total identity integrity; Michael Barkin adds pipeline growth, new partner wins, and strong net retention.

Q: Josh Riley follows up on Clear Plus members, mix of trial and full-paying members.

A: Karen Seidman-Becker says expected to sustain growth, feel good about converting trial members, and retain those acquired during shutdown.

Q: Corey Carpenter asks about travel environment and demand since TSA wait times normalized.

A: Karen Seidman-Becker says consumers love to travel, airport traffic steady, value proposition important; Jen Hsu says Q2 outlook implies growth and strong underlying demand.

Q: Eric Sheridan asks about reordering priorities based on market signals.

A: Karen Seidman-Becker says free cash flow includes accelerating investments in product, engineering, brand, marketing, and security.

Q: Mark Kelly asks about ClearOne ramp process for new partners and impact of World Cup on marketing.

A: Karen Seidman-Becker says ramp depends on partner, less customization now; Clear can use calendar sync and app to communicate about World Cup.

Q: Dana Telsey asks about CMS updates, marketing spend, pricing, and demographics.

A: Karen Seidman-Becker says CMS extends to other agencies, marketing to expand demographics, expect modest increase in marketing spend, measured approach to pricing.

Q: Wyatt Swanson asks about sustainability of top line growth and ARPU.

A: Karen Seidman-Becker says member experience drives growth, confidence in back half of year, opportunities in network growth, products, and ARPU; also talks about eGate rollout and throughput.