Vivid Seats appoints Chelsea Grayson to board of directors

Vivid Seats Inc. (NASDAQ:SEAT) announced Monday that Chelsea Grayson has been elected to its board of directors, increasing the board’s size from eight to nine members. The appointment is effective immediately, following the completion of a director search process.

According to a statement from the company’s SEC filing, Grayson will serve as a Class II director until the company’s 2029 annual meeting of stockholders or until a successor is elected and qualified. The board does not expect Grayson to serve on any of its standing committees.

The board determined that Grayson qualifies as an independent director under the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. After her election, six of the board’s nine directors are classified as independent.

There are no arrangements or understandings between Grayson and any person related to her selection as a director, and there are no transactions involving her and Vivid Seats that require disclosure under SEC regulations.

Grayson will receive a monthly cash fee of $40,000 for her board service, as compensation instead of the company’s standard non-employee director compensation. She is also entitled to indemnification by Vivid Seats on the same terms as executive officers and other directors.

This information is based on a press release statement included in the company’s recent SEC filing.

In other recent news, Vivid Seats reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $130 million, surpassing the analyst forecast of $122.08 million. This increase was largely attributed to heightened ticket sales driven by the FIFA World Cup, which also helped boost adjusted EBITDA to $12.6 million from the previous quarter’s $9.5 million. Benchmark responded to these results by raising its price target for Vivid Seats to $16 from $10, maintaining a Buy rating, noting the significant revenue and EBITDA beats. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank adjusted its price target to $7.50 from $7.00, maintaining a Hold rating, citing the company’s in-line performance when excluding World Cup impacts.

Moody’s recently downgraded Vivid Seats’ corporate family rating to Caa3 from Caa1, highlighting concerns over high financial leverage and limited free cash flow. The downgrade reflects a perceived increased likelihood of a balance sheet restructuring or distressed exchange. Moody’s also noted that the company’s EBITDA fell to near-zero for the 12 months ending June 2026, down from about $100 million at the end of 2024. Despite these challenges, Moody’s anticipates some stabilization, although leverage is expected to remain high.