> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bullished.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Clear Secure Net Income Climbs To $75.3 Million, Yet Cash Flow Turns Negative On A $315 Million Settlement
- URL: https://www.bullished.co/clear-secure-net-income-climbs-to-75-3-million-yet-cash-flow-turns-negative-on-a-315-4e693aba/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:22:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:22:21.000Z
- Description: The airport-identity company lifted its full-year free cash flow floor to $490 million and added $175 million to its buyback.
- Author: Matteo Parrino
- Tags: Earnings, YOU, Industry: Technology

[Clear Secure](https://www.bullished.co/tag/you/), the identity company behind CLEAR airport lanes, [reported third-quarter net income of $75.3 million](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001856314/000185631426000053/clearq32026pressreleaseear.htm?ref=bullished.co) on revenue of $292.9 million, up 27.8% from a year earlier, in an [8-K](https://www.bullished.co/learn/8-k-items-explained/) filed Wednesday. A roughly $315 million settlement of accrued partnership liabilities pushed operating cash flow to negative $98.6 million for the quarter.

## Profit up, cash out the door

Total Bookings, which are revenue plus the change in deferred revenue, rose 24.4% to $323.5 million. Operating income was $82.9 million, a 28.3% margin. Adjusted EBITDA reached $103.9 million, a 35.5% margin, with margin up 490 basis points (4.9 percentage points) from a year earlier.

Free cash flow was negative $103.8 million, and the company said both cash figures reflect the roughly $315 million settlement. Earnings were $0.53 per basic share and $0.52 diluted. For the first nine months, operating cash flow was still positive at $292.96 million and free cash flow was $270.6 million.

The company raised its full-year free cash flow guidance to at least $490 million, from at least $480 million. For the fourth quarter it guides to revenue of $299 million to $302 million and bookings of $335 million to $340 million.

## Members and the airport network

Clear Secure sells CLEAR+, an annual airport subscription, and CLEAR1, which lets partners verify customers and employees. As of December 31, 2025, it reported 38 million total members.

Total CLEAR Members reached 46.7 million as of September 30, up 30.7%, while Active CLEAR+ Members, the paying subscribers, rose 14.5% to 8.5 million. The network had 62 CLEAR+ airports at quarter's end, and a Tampa International Airport launch in early November brought it to 63.

eGates are live at 53 airports, and the company expects them to cover the vast majority of its network by the end of 2026\. CLEAR Concierge is offered at 42 airports, and CLEAR1 announced a pilot with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in October.

CEO Caryn Seidman Becker said: "Identity is security and in today’s environment, that is more important than ever."

## $191.4 million back to shareholders

The company returned about $191.4 million to shareholders in the quarter: $170.9 million of share repurchases and $20.5 million tied to its dividend and distributions. The board added $175.0 million to the buyback authorization, leaving about $254.4 million remaining.

A quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share is payable December 24 to Class A holders of record on December 10.

The next test is the fourth quarter, when the company's own guidance calls for revenue of $299 million to $302 million.

Learn

- [Item 2.02: results of operations →](https://www.bullished.co/learn/8-k-items-explained/#item-202-results-of-operations)  
From 8-K Items Explained: What Every Item Code From 1.01 To 9.01 Tells You, With Examples

### Sources

- [8-K Filing — Clear Secure, Inc. (YOU)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001856314/000185631426000053/you-20261104.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Exhibit clearq32026pressreleaseear.htm — Clear Secure, Inc. 8-K exhibit](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001856314/000185631426000053/clearq32026pressreleaseear.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR

### More on Clear Secure

- [Clear Secure Adds Disclosure Demands For Shareholders Who Want To Nominate Directors](https://www.bullished.co/clear-secure-adds-disclosure-demands-for-shareholders-who-want-to-nominate-directors-739ac1ad/)

[All Clear Secure (YOU) coverage →](https://www.bullished.co/tag/you/)