Forum

>.EBay--9 $BILLION/YEAR--Sales--"ONLY" Grew 22% last Q??
 

Reuters:
NEW YORK (AP) - EBay Inc. said Wednesday that its second-quarter profit jumped 22 percent, as the online auction company enjoyed strong growth in its e-commerce sites and its PayPal payments service.

But eBay's outlook for the current quarter was softer than analysts had been forecasting, and the auction company's shares fell 6 percent in after-hours trading. The stock had gained 4.5 percent in regular trading to close at $28.10.

San Jose, Calif.-based eBay earned $460 million, or 35 cents per share, compared with $376 million, or 27 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding certain items, eBay earned 43 cents per share.

That beat Wall Street's forecast for 41 cents per share.

EBay's revenue rose 20 percent to $2.20 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had been looking for $2.17 billion in revenue.

Revenue from eBay's marketplaces segment, which includes eBay, Shopping.com, StubHub and other e-commerce Web sites, rose 13 percent to $1.46 billion.

Sharper growth came from PayPal, whose revenue rose 32 percent to $602 million. Revenue from its online telecommunications service, Skype, rose 51 percent to $130 million.

Listings on eBay's site climbed 19 percent to 667 million during the quarter, but the company's number of active users - an important measure of how well the company is attracting new buyers and sellers - rose only 1.4 percent to 84.5 million.

"This was a strong quarter and we are very pleased with the performance of the portfolio, particularly with the growth generated by PayPal," eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe said in a statement.

Donahoe also said the company is "confident" in its moves to improve customer experiences as it manages "in an uncertain economic climate."

Looking ahead, eBay expects third-quarter earnings of 30 cents to 32 cents per share, or 39 cents to 41 cents per share on an adjusted basis, and $2.10 billion to $2.15 billion in revenue.

Analysts were expecting better: adjusted earnings of 41 cents per share on $2.18 billion in revenue.

For the full year, eBay anticipates earnings of $1.72 to $1.77 per share on an adjusted basis, and $8.80 billion to $9.05 billion in revenue. Analysts had been looking for adjusted earnings of $1.74 per share on $9.01 billion in revenue.



>>>>>>>>>>>INteresting to note:
LISTINGS are UP, SALES are up, MEMBERShip is down.. (thats all of us)..LOL :)

So who's gunna buy shares hehehehe. Not me for shooooor!

No other auction right now can beat ebays traffic. Its outstanding!! Millions of users!

^^^
That's the thing, the sole reason that eBay keeps growing is because of the capital they have to invest in advertising. When's the last time you saw commercials from other auction/trading sites? Ebay could even afford to buyout it's competition, like it has done in the previous years.

i could buy out ebay easy!!

LOL.. Can u IMagine.. $9 Billion in REVENUES..not Sales..REVENUES... CA$H..!!!

>> I bet u they get FREE checking at their bank.. :)

I saw that article on my cellphone today. The reason they have alot of users is cuz of people like us making 300+ accounts each. They actually only gained 1% of users as more sellers getting suspended and others grew sick of their crap. Their revenue increased because of changes in DSR, so they don't have to give discounts etc. They in fact came low of expectations.

imagine how much they make in listing fees and commitions not mentioning paypal fees

Schaeffers research
eBay (EBAY) Falls on Gross Merchandise Value Concerns
7/16/2008 4:38 PM
Keywords: EBAY

Anyone wondering what investors think of eBay's latest quarterly performance need only look at the stock's 3% decline in after-hours trading. For the second quarter, eBay (EBAY: sentiment, chart, options) reported a profit of 43 cents per share, excluding items. Revenue rose to $2.2 billion. Analysts were looking for a profit of 42 cents per share, and $2.17 billion in revenue.

Looking forward, EBAY forecast adjusted 2008 earnings of $1.72 to $1.77 per share, on revenue of $8.8 billion to $9.05 billion. Currently, analysts are looking for earnings of $1.74 on revenue of $9.01 billion.

So, why the sell-off? EBAY's gross merchandise value - or the total value of all the goods sold - rose just 8% to $15.68 billion in the second quarter. Many analysts - Lehman Brothers' Douglas Anmuth included - were expecting growth of 10%. "We continue to believe that GMV growth is the most important metric as we look for signs of stabilization and reacceleration in core biz and evidence that buyer demand is improving, or at least not worsening," Anmuth said in a note to investors on Monday.

With gross merchandise value falling below expectations, could it be that we are finally seeing an impact from the company's recent policy changes?


-Posted by Joseph Hargett (jhargett@sir-inc.com)

divine, we sure do hope so !