EBay Reports Strong Holiday Quarter, Expands Buyback Plan

EBay Inc. posted a robust vacation quarter, giving buyers contemporary hope that the corporate can increase income following steep job cuts.

The corporate additionally added $2 billion to an present inventory buyback programme, rising the entire repurchase authorisation to $3.4 billion.

Fourth-quarter revenue was $1.07 a share on gross sales of $2.56 billion, the corporate mentioned Tuesday in an announcement. Analysts estimated $1.03 on gross sales of $2.51 billion.

As soon as an business pioneer, the San Jose, California-based firm has been dropping US market share for years to the likes of Amazon and Walmart. In an effort to be “extra nimble,” eBay introduced final month that it was slicing 1,000 jobs, or about 9 % of its full-time workforce. That adopted layoffs that affected about 500 staff in 2023.

Chief government officer Jamie Iannone is looking for niches by which the corporate can thrive. It sells watches, sneakers and different luxurious objects to enchantment to collectors, and gives authentication companies designed to root out counterfeits. EBay additionally sells refurbished home equipment and automotive elements to enchantment to cost-conscious customers and do-it-yourselfers.

“Our outcomes show the power of our technique, and I’m happy with our accelerated tempo of innovation as we work to basically improve the client expertise on eBay,” Iannone mentioned within the assertion.

Gross merchandise quantity, the worth of all items bought on eBay, elevated 2 % to $18.6 billion within the vacation quarter, topping analysts’ common estimates of $18.2 billion. The corporate mentioned it had 132 million lively consumers within the quarter, down 2 % from a yr earlier.

Iannone is also providing extra promoting and funds merchandise for eBay retailers in an effort to offset slowing progress on the platform. Promoting income of $393 million topped analysts’ estimates of $375 million and helped eBay increase income even because it misplaced prospects.

The shares rose about 4 % in prolonged buying and selling after closing at $44.39 in New York. The inventory has elevated 1.8 % this yr.

The corporate projected earnings of $1.19 to $1.23 a share on income of as a lot as $2.54 billion within the present interval ending in March. Analysts, on common, estimated revenue of $1.10 per share on gross sales of $2.54 billion.

By Spencer Soper

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