Services

For eBay, Slim Earnings Beat Is Good Enough

Chris Lange

Published: October 31, 2018 8:40 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 3:36 pm

When eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) released its third-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Tuesday, the online auctioneer said that it had $0.56 in earnings per share (EPS) and $2.65 billion in revenue. That compares with consensus estimates of $0.55 in EPS and $2.65 billion in revenue, as well as the $0.47 per share and $2.50 billion posted in the same period of last year.

During the third quarter, eBay grew active buyers by 4% across its platforms, for a total of 177 million global active buyers.

The Marketplace platforms delivered $2.1 billion of revenue and $21.5 billion of gross merchandise value (GMV). Marketplace revenue growth was 6% on an as-reported basis and 5% on an FX-neutral basis, and GMV was up 5% on both an as-reported and FX-neutral basis.

StubHub drove revenue of $291 million, up 7% on both an as-reported and FX-neutral basis, and GMV of $1.2 billion, up 7% on both an as-reported and FX-neutral basis. Separately, Classifieds platforms delivered revenue of $254 million, up 8% on an as-reported basis and 11% on an FX-neutral basis.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $0.67 to $0.69 and revenue between $2.85 billion and $2.89 billion. Consensus estimates call for $0.67 in EPS and $2.9 billion in revenue.

Devin Wenig, president and CEO of eBay, commented:

This quarter we continued to make foundational investments to improve the long-term competitiveness of our marketplace while setting the stage for significant growth opportunities. We will continue to innovate the customer experience while executing our growth initiatives in Payments and Advertising to position eBay for future success.

Shares of eBay closed Tuesday at $27.42, in a 52-week range of $26.36 to $46.99. The consensus analyst price target is $40.26. Following the announcement, the stock was up about 6% at $29.15 in early trading indications Wednesday.

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