CLEAR Secure, Inc. (YOU) Business Profile

What it does

CLEAR Secure is an identity company that helps people verify who they are in physical and digital settings. Its best-known service, CLEAR+, is a paid travel subscription that lets members use dedicated entry lanes at airport security checkpoints. Members verify their identity and travel credentials using biometric technology, with CLEAR employees available to assist them. Caryn Seidman Becker is its chief executive.

CLEAR also provides TSA PreCheck enrollment and renewal services, a concierge service that guides travelers from the curb to their gate, and a free mobile app with travel information and digital identity features. CLEAR does not perform physical security screening for TSA PreCheck; that remains the TSA’s responsibility.

Outside its own travel services, CLEAR sells identity verification technology to organizations through CLEAR1. Partners can incorporate the technology into their own websites or applications and choose verification layers suited to their requirements. Uses include opening accounts, checking customers in, verifying age, onboarding employees and controlling access to systems.

A person can enroll using a mobile device or at an airport. The platform can combine identity documents, biometric information, device signals and verified data sources to establish identity. Once enrolled, a member can use the platform again across participating services. CLEAR says it does not sell members’ data.

How it makes money

CLEAR earns money from both consumers and business partners. CLEAR+ members pay for an annual travel subscription, billed upfront. The standard membership price increased from $209 to $219 effective July 1, 2026. Pricing can differ through promotions, airline relationships and other channels; eligible American Express card members can receive statement credits for all or part of their membership.

The company also offers a family plan, concierge services and TSA PreCheck enrollment and renewals. CLEAR offers new TSA PreCheck customers the opportunity to enroll in CLEAR+ on an opt-in basis. Concierge is a separate premium service in which an employee meets a traveler curbside and guides them to the gate.

CLEAR1 partners pay to use CLEAR’s identity technology. Contracts vary by application but are typically multiyear agreements with an annual platform fee and transaction fees charged per use or per user. They can also include implementation, licensing or additional transaction fees. People who enroll through a CLEAR1 partner can generally use the platform outside the paid CLEAR+ service without paying CLEAR themselves.

In Q2 2026, revenue was $277.8 million. The company’s bookings measure and cash flow can differ from revenue: subscriptions are billed upfront, while the timing of partner launches and contract activity can affect results.

The free mobile app supports membership management, travel planning and digital identification. It also gives members access to other services, including concierge, rather than requiring every app user to buy a CLEAR+ subscription.

Customers and how it sells

CLEAR serves travelers who pay for CLEAR+, people who use its free platform services, and organizations that integrate CLEAR1 into their own customer or workforce processes. Its business customers include organizations in healthcare, workforce and government. Their users can become CLEAR platform members when they enroll through a partner.

At December 31, 2025, CLEAR had 38 million Total CLEAR Members and 166 CLEAR+ Lanes across 60 airports nationwide. Its TSA PreCheck enrollment service was available at 61 airports and 340 retail locations. In Q2 2026, the company reported 43.5 million total members and 8,300,000 active CLEAR+ members.

Airports are an important sales channel: in-airport enrollment represented 66% of CLEAR+ member acquisitions for the year ended December 31, 2025. CLEAR also reaches prospective members through digital channels and distribution relationships with airlines and American Express. Its business partners can bring their own customers onto the platform.

CLEAR’s travel network is centered on the United States. It has also expanded CLEAR+ and related offerings to serve international travelers from 42 countries. The company has expressed interest in expanding into Canada and Mexico but has not given a timeline.

Suppliers and costs

CLEAR operates a physical service alongside its software platform. Airport lanes and enrollment locations require hardware, technology and employees who help members use the service. The company also relies on third-party technology and information systems for critical business functions.

Labor is a material part of operating the airport network. CLEAR has deployed electronic gates that combine its hardware and software to verify members. In Q2 2026, direct salaries and benefits represented 17.3% of revenue; CLEAR said eGates had improved labor efficiency and allowed it to redeploy ambassadors toward hospitality and sales activities such as concierge.

The company also invests in its technology platform, new partners, products and locations. Some expenses vary with the timing of launches or discretionary investments, including spending to accelerate growth or acquire talent. Expected capital expenditure includes platform enhancements, equipment, leasehold improvements and corporate infrastructure.

CLEAR has commercial relationships with airports, airlines and other partners. Portions of its business and operating results depend on concessionaire agreements, and maintaining partner relationships and favorable terms is important to its business.

Competitive position

CLEAR competes for both individual members and business partners. Its primary competitors are offline alternatives, including manual security checks and screening processes. CLEAR describes its market as fragmented, with changing user preferences and new services and offerings. It also faces risks from the adoption of other identity verification and credential authentication solutions. No competing company is named in the supplied business description or risk discussion.

CLEAR’s airport footprint puts its service in front of travelers at the point of use. In-airport enrollment was its largest CLEAR+ acquisition channel in 2025. The company also says that adding locations and partners makes the platform more useful to members, while a larger member base makes it more useful to partners.

Our reading: The airport network and on-site acquisition channel are meaningful advantages because they connect the product to travelers where identity checks already occur. The network effect is less certain outside travel, where CLEAR must add partners and uses to make its existing member base valuable.

CLEAR has experience operating hardware, biometric technology and staff in regulated environments. It also protects its technology through patents and other intellectual property rights, and its information security program has a FISMA High Rating from the Department of Homeland Security.

Our reading: Operating experience and security credentials can help CLEAR serve regulated customers, but neither removes the need to maintain approvals and compete as identity technologies change.

Growth opportunities

CLEAR plans to grow its travel business by adding airports and lanes, increasing membership in existing markets, developing new services and working with distribution partners. It also sees opportunities to increase revenue per CLEAR+ member through pricing and ancillary services. CLEAR expects to expand its TSA PreCheck enrollment and renewal offering to additional locations, subject to TSA approval, and offers a combined product to customers new to both services.

The company is investing in technology and services intended to change the travel experience. In Q2 2026, eGates covered more than 70% of its network, while CLEAR Concierge was available at 39 airports. CLEAR’s mobile business was averaging 1 million monthly users. The company has also launched an airport concessions partnership and is developing a pilot with Starbucks at LaGuardia.

For CLEAR1, the company plans to add partners and extend identity verification into additional uses and industries. Its focus areas include healthcare, workforce and government. CLEAR launched Vertex, Apex and Helix as identity products with different verification approaches, and it is building a government technology vertical.

The company also sees opportunities beyond the United States. It has identified Canada and Mexico as markets of interest without committing to a timetable. CLEAR may pursue acquisitions or other corporate development opportunities that complement its platform.

Structural risks

• Member acquisition and retention: CLEAR’s results depend on adding and retaining members and partners. Trial conversions, the value members place on benefits and the experience at airport checkpoints can affect growth and retention. Increased TSA reverification or other checkpoint changes could negatively affect the lane experience.

• Travel and partner dependence: A decline or disruption in travel, lower discretionary consumer spending, or unfavorable changes in commercial relationships could affect the business. Portions of CLEAR’s operations depend on concessionaire agreements, and airport operations must meet government standards.

• Privacy and security: CLEAR handles personal and biometric information. Security breaches, failures of its own or third-party systems, or actual or perceived noncompliance with privacy and biometric laws could lead to liability, negative publicity and lost trust or commercial opportunities.

• Competition and adoption: CLEAR competes against existing and future alternatives, including other identity verification technologies. Public confidence in biometric identity platforms and CLEAR’s ability to expand into new uses and industries can affect adoption.

• Execution and costs: New partner, product and location launches can be delayed, while investment spending can vary between periods. As market penetration grows, acquisition costs could increase or the member experience could deteriorate, affecting retention.

Leadership

CLEAR is controlled by the Founder Post-IPO Members, whose interests may differ from those of other shareholders.

Bottom line

Our reading

Our reading: CLEAR combines a recurring airport subscription with a business identity platform, using its physical network to acquire members and its technology to serve partners in other settings. Its airport footprint and operating experience provide a base for expansion, but growth depends on retaining members, maintaining airport and government relationships, and winning new uses for CLEAR1. Privacy, security and changing checkpoint rules remain central exposures.