The big news for eBay came late last month with the announcement that eBay and its payment business PayPal will split into separate companies next year. The split was at least partially the work of activist investor Carl Icahn who had pushed for the deal since January. eBay CEO John Donahoe will not serve as CEO of either company. The “new” eBay will be run by Devin Wenig, currently president of eBay Marketplaces. PayPal will get its new CEO, Dan Schulman, from American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), where he is currently president of that company’s enterprise growth group.
And speaking of PayPal, revenue in the first quarter totaled $2 billion and the service ended the quarter with 157 million active registered accounts, a jump of 14%. eBay’s marketplaces revenues totaled $2.2 billion and added 3.4 million active buyers, up 13% to 152 million.
The CEO said:
Rapidly changing competitive environments in commerce and payments underscore the opportunities for eBay and PayPal, and highlight how each business will benefit from the focus and agility of being an independent company. … As we prepare to separate eBay and PayPal in 2015, our teams are focused on strong execution to ensure each business is set up for long-term success.
The company’s fourth quarter outlook calls for revenues of $4.85 to $4.95 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.88 to $0.91. The revenue outlook is considerably short of the current consensus estimate of $5.16 billion. The consensus EPS estimate is $0.91, the top of eBay’s new range.
For the full year, eBay cut its revenue guidance from a range of $18 to $18.5 billion to a new range of $17.85 to $17.5 billion. The company did not offer EPS guidance for the full year, but the consensus estimate calls for $2.97. The consensus estimate on full-year revenues is $18.15 billion, and the lowered guidance is hacking away at the share price in after-hours trading.
eBay’s shares closed at $50.24 today in a 52-week trading range of $48.06 to $59.70. Shares were down about 3% in after-hours trading at $48.75. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $60.80 before the report.
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