EBay beats estimates on profit, sees sales rise

Online marketplace eBay on Wednesday reported better-than-expected profit and a year-on-year increase in revenue, while boosting its full-year earnings per share forecast as it continues to build on its recent partnership with Indian e-commerce company Flipkart.

The company said that revenue for the quarter ending March 31 was $2.2bn, a 4 per cent year-over-year improvement. Net income for the period was $1bn, or 94 cents a share — excluding special items, net income from continuing operations clocked in at $538m, or 49 cents a share, a shade above Wall Street’s expectations for $530.7m in income, or 47.8 cents a share.

Nevertheless, the adjusted net income figure represented a 2 per cent fall from the same period last year.

eBay said that it added 2m active buyers across its platforms during the first quarter, bringing its total global active buyers to 169m. It has also recently announced a strategic partnership with India’s Flipkart, taking an equity stake in exchange for a $500m cash investment and selling its eBay.in business to the Indian company. The two will also collaborate on cross-border trade opportunities, they said.

eBay largely reaffirmed its previous full-year guidance, while boosting its predictions for Gaap earnings per share from continuing operations from the previous range of $1.20-$1.40 to $1.85-$2.10.

The company — whose shares touched an all-time high of $34.44 on Monday — saw shares fall several percentage points in after-hours trading immediately following the results, only to claw back some of those gains to trade just off of its closing price of $33.86. For the past 12 months, eBay shares have risen more than 40 per cent.

eBay president and chief executive Devin Wenig said in a statement:

“The first quarter was a strong start to the year with accelerating growth in active buyers, revenue and our core U.S. business. We are on the right path as we continue to evolve our shopping platform for consumers, leverage our technology advantages and market a sharpened eBay brand globally.”