Clear Secure, Inc.

Clear Secure sells CLEAR, a biometric identity platform for trusted entry and verification across airports, retail enrollment points, sports/entertainment venues, and B2B identity workflows. The 10-K says the platform combines biometric, document, and device signals with verified data sources, and that the business is powered by network effects and a large physical enrollment footprint.

Clear Secure sells CLEAR, a biometric identity and trusted-entry platform that combines enrolled biometrics, document/device signals, and a physical enrollment footprint to speed verification across airports and adjacent B2B identity workflows. The business is best understood as a trust-and-routing layer, not as a consumer app.

Clear Secure sells CLEAR, a biometric identity and trusted-entry platform that combines enrolled biometrics, document/device signals, and a physical enrollment footprint to speed verification across airports and adjacent B2B identity workflows. The business is a point-of-movement trust rail, not a consumer app.

Clear Secure (YOU) operates CLEAR, a high-assurance biometric identity and trusted-entry platform. It runs the physical enrollment + verification rail — 62 CLEAR+ airports, 280 retail enrollment locations, 50 eGate airports, ~3,708 ambassadors/field managers — plus a growing B2B identity-verification line (CLEAR1) spanning healthcare, government benefits, and venue/event access. As a Digital Sovereignty name, the thesis is that CLEAR is the private-sector identity rail that governments and enterprises plug into for fraud-resistant, point-of-movement verification.

• monetization model: Subscription (CLEAR Plus consumer membership) + enterprise identity/SaaS contracts (CLEAR Verified). FY2023 10-K, Business; latest available to model; Acc. 0001851959-24-000009; [sec.gov
• revenue mix: CLEAR Plus ~90%; CLEAR Verified/Enterprise ~10% (FY2023 total revenue $613.6M). [10-K FY2023, Note 2 — Revenue]
• who pays: Individual travelers pay annual CLEAR Plus subscriptions; enterprise customers in travel, healthcare, financial services, and government pay for CLEAR Verified. [10-K FY2023, Business]
• margin_value_capture: FY2023 gross margin ~67%; operating margin ~5.6%. Value accrues in high-gross-margin subscriptions, partly offset by airport/venue fees, hardware, and member acquisition. [10-K FY2023, MD&A/Consolidated Statements]

• customer classes: individual consumers, enterprise customers (travel/healthcare/financial services), Government Civilian Agencies [10-K FY2023, Business]

FY2025 revenue was $900.8M (+16.9% YoY vs. FY2024), with operating income of $186.5M (20.7% operating margin) and adjusted EBITDA of $262.2M (29.1% adjusted EBITDA margin). Clear does not present a standard gross-profit line; a conservative direct-cost proxy using the two explicit direct cost lines in the 10-K (revenue share fee + direct salaries/benefits) leaves $580.3M of contribution after direct costs, or a 64.4% proxy margin. Q1 2026 revenue was $253.0M (+19.7% YoY), with operating income of $62.0M (24.5% operating margin) and a 66.4% direct-cost proxy margin.

FY2025 revenue was $900.8M (+16.9% YoY), with operating income of $186.5M (20.7% operating margin). In Q1 2026, revenue was $253.0M (+19.7% YoY), operating income was $62.0M (24.5% operating margin), bookings were $291.7M (+40.8% YoY), and free cash flow was $185.5M. Sources: FY2025 10-K / companyfacts and Q1 2026 EX-99.1 release.

Q2 2026 revenue was $277.8M, up 26.6% YoY; total bookings were $295.9M (+32.8% YoY); operating income was $83.0M (29.9% operating margin); net income was $72.3M (26.0% net margin); adjusted EBITDA was $101.1M (36.4% margin); and free cash flow was $189.0M. At quarter-end, CLEAR reported 43.5M total members and 8.329M active CLEAR+ members, implying only about 19.1% of the member graph is paid CLEAR+; annualized Q2 revenue is roughly $1.11B.

Q2 2026 (filed 2026-08-05) revenue $277.8M (+26.6% YoY); H1 2026 revenue $530.76M (SEC XBRL companyfacts, CIK 0001856314). Q2 operating income $83.0M (29.9% margin), net income $72.3M (26.0% margin), adjusted EBITDA $101.1M (36.4% margin), free cash flow $189.0M. 43.5M total members / 8.329M active CLEAR+ members. Liquid assets $959.3M ($128.2M cash + $831.0M marketable securities); deferred revenue (contract liability) $573.0M at 06-30-2026 (XBRL).

Clear's bottleneck is not a feature; it is the combination of biometric trust, airport concession access, and distribution partnerships. Once CLEAR is embedded in airport lanes, TSA PreCheck enrollment, and B2B verification flows, the buyer has to rebuild identity proofing, physical touchpoints, and partner channels to unwind the relationship.

The moat is not a single feature; it is the coupled stack of member trust, airport concessions, retail enrollment points, partner subsidies, and eGate rollout. A replacement has to rebuild the identity graph and the physical distribution footprint at the same time.

The moat is the combination of biometric trust, airport concessions, retail enrollment points, and partner distribution. A replacement has to rebuild the identity graph and the physical access footprint simultaneously, not just ship comparable software.

• YOU requires verified SEC financials and competitor filing checks before conviction changes.

CLEAR owns the scarce physical trust rail — in-person, high-assurance biometric enrollment plus airport/retail concession footprint — that pure-software mobile-DL and wallet credentials cannot replicate at the point of movement. The sovereign angle: Medicare/Medicaid benefits fraud-prevention and FIFA World Cup 2026 venue eGates extend that verified-identity rail into government and event security.

• As of Dec. 31, 2025, CLEAR had 38 million Total CLEAR Members with access to 166 CLEAR+ lanes across 60 airports, 61 airports and 340 retail locations with TSA PreCheck enrollment, 9 sports/entertainment venues, and 3,708 Ambassadors and field managers supporting the network.
• In Q1 2026, CLEAR reported 41.0 million Total CLEAR Members, 8.2 million Active CLEAR+ Members, 60 CLEAR+ airports, 277 retail locations, and eGates at 43 airports.
• CLEAR+ retails for $209/year per member and is billed upfront; the family plan adds $125/year per additional member.
• The 10-K says the in-airport channel represented 66% of CLEAR+ member acquisitions in FY2025, showing that physical footprint is still the primary acquisition engine.
• In February 2026, CLEAR executed a multi-year renewal of its American Express partnership, extending a key subsidized distribution channel.
• CLEAR says its new EnVe hardware is ~5x faster than legacy pods, and eGates verify identity in ~5 seconds, reinforcing the value of the physical install base.
• FY2026 RPO was $4.1B, or roughly 4.6x FY2025 revenue, giving the platform a large booked-value cushion.

• 38.0M Total CLEAR Members at FY2025 year-end expanded to 41.0M in Q1 2026; Active CLEAR+ Members reached 8.2M. Source: FY2025 Q4 / FY2026 Q1 EX-99.1 releases.
• The network had 60 CLEAR+ airports, 277 retail enrollment locations, and eGates at 43 airports as of Q1 2026. Source: Q1 2026 EX-99.1 release.
• CLEAR said 66% of CLEAR+ member acquisitions came through the airport channel in FY2025, and it renewed its multi-year American Express partnership to preserve a key embedded-benefit distribution channel. Source: FY2025 10-K / Q4 2025 EX-99.1 release.
• CLEAR reported 3,708 Ambassadors and field managers supporting the network in FY2025, which is the operational headcount a competitor would need to re-train or replace. Source: FY2025 10-K.
• Q1 2026 bookings of $291.7M (+40.8%) and $185.5M free cash flow show the platform can fund ongoing rollout and channel maintenance. Source: Q1 2026 EX-99.1 release.

A simple switching-cost model shows the size of the replacement problem:

• Assessment: about 41.0M members must be re-enrolled/re-verified across a 60-airport network with 277 retail enrollment locations and 43 eGate airports.
• Parallel run: FY2025 revenue of $900.8M implies a replacement must tolerate nearly a $0.9B annual run-rate while the incumbent remains live; Q1 2026 revenue alone annualizes to about $1.0B.
• Retraining: 3,708 ambassadors/field managers across 60 airports is roughly 61.8 staff per airport that a new provider would need to retrain, redeploy, or substitute.
• Revenue per member is only about $23.7 per member-year on FY2025 revenue / FY2025 year-end members, so the moat is not price power; it is the cost and friction of recreating the physical trust network.

• The Q2 2026 EX-99.1 release said CLEAR had 43.5M total members and 8.329M active CLEAR+ members as of June 30, 2026.
• The same release said CLEAR had 62 CLEAR+ airports, 280 retail locations for TSA PreCheck enrollment, 50 airports with eGates launched as of that date, and 39 airports offering CLEAR Concierge.
• CLEAR raised FY2026 free cash flow guidance from at least $465M to at least $480M, showing the network can still self-fund rollout.
• The balance sheet in the Q2 2026 release showed $128.2M cash and cash equivalents plus $831.0M marketable securities, or about $959.3M of liquid assets.
• The 8-K states the company is hosting a call for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 and furnishes the EX-99.1 press release as its earnings exhibit.

This is a platform-switching-cost model, not a physics model.

Public parameter table

Switching-cost floor model

• The paid base is only about 19.1% of total members, so the company is monetizing a much larger trust graph than the paid seat count suggests.
• Revenue per total member in Q2 was about $6.39 for the quarter, or roughly $25.5 annualized per member; revenue per active CLEAR+ member was about $33.35 for the quarter, or about $133.4 annualized.
• CLEAR’s eGates are only ~80.6% deployed versus CLEAR+ airports, so the physical moat is still expanding rather than mature.
• A competitor has to rebuild the member relationship, the airport/retail footprint, and the partner channel simultaneously; the direct subscription price is not the hard part.

• Revenue, margin, and backlog figures: needs primary source validation.

• Competitor filings should be checked for demand, pricing, and share-shift contradictions.

• sec.gov
• sec.gov

A. What the CRWD channel is worth if it works (upper-bound, not a forecast). CrowdStrike ended FY2026 at $5.25B ARR. CLEAR disclosed zero dollars on the deal, so the honest model is an attach-rate sensitivity against that installed base, not a booked number:

A 1% attach on Falcon ARR would be material optionality (~5% of YOU's run-rate) but would not replace the travel P&L. Even 2% ($105M) is still a CLEAR1 option, not a new core. Until CLEAR breaks out CLEAR1 revenue or names an ACV, this stays inferred, not measured.

B. Cost of the moat vs the moat it defends. H1 R&D $37.223M ÷ H1 revenue $530.760M = 7.0% R&D intensity to defend a ~$1.11B run-rate identity franchise. Q2 proxy GM 68.6% (above the 65% pricing-power bar the 08-22 note used against FY2025's 64.4% direct-cost proxy) — hardware/labor leverage from eGates is showing up in the P&L (direct salaries 17.3% of revenue, −450 bps YoY per the earnings call). The moat is cheap to defend in R&D dollars; the risk is not capex, it is substitution.

C. Price hike vs the government substitute (the travel-lane math got worse). CLEAR+ list $209 → $219 (+4.78%) on 2026-07-01. TSA PreCheck remains $15.60/yr. The CLEAR/PreCheck price ratio moved 13.4× → 14.0×. Consumer switching cost of the travel lane is "cancel a subscription," and CLEAR just made that subscription more expensive relative to the free-for-PreCheck-members Touchless ID substitute. This is the opposite of a moat-deepening price hike: it is a widening good-enough gap.

D. FCF timing (disconfirming on cash, not on earnings). H1 FCF $374.5M already equals 78% of the raised ≥$480M FY guide, which implies ~$105.5M for all of H2. That is consistent with CFO Hsu's call comment that an accrued partnership liability settles in Q3 and will produce negative Q3 FCF. Do not read the Q2 $189M print as a run-rate.

Toll-road (bypass / concentration / hyperscaler) = 1 / 2 / 1 = 4 → WEAK PROXY. Unchanged vs 08-22.

• Bypass 1 (FAIL): TSA Touchless ID + Google Wallet remains a live government substitute at greater airport scale; CLEAR+ now $219 vs PreCheck ~$15.60/yr (14.0×). CRWD does not fix airport bypass.
• Concentration 2 (PARTIAL): Travel still dominates disclosed revenue; CLEAR1 is "strong momentum" with no segment $. Proxy GM 68.6% clears 65% but the product is still a cancellable consumer subscription plus a fragmented B2B identity market (ID.me / Login.gov / Daon / Okta / CRWD's own FalconID MFA).
• Hyperscaler 1 (FAIL): Google Wallet still distributes the government substitute. CrowdStrike is a channel, not a hyperscaler-insulating lock; CRWD also ships FalconID phishing-resistant MFA (FY2026 PR) — a partial in-house substitute for "verify the human."

Hypothesis verdict: INTACT (travel-moat WEAKENING; B2B optionality STRENGTHENED, not yet in the P&L). The Aug 31 CRWD deal is the first named enterprise-security distribution channel for CLEAR1 and is why ttm moves 6→7. It does not reverse the 08-22 WEAK PROXY classification of the airport rail. Upgrade to STRENGTHENED only if Q3 (~2026-11-05) breaks out CLEAR1 revenue or discloses Falcon-attach economics that are material vs the $1.11B travel run-rate. Research-only; no live capital.