After some stumbles in its last several earnings reports, eBay managed to stage something of a surprise for watchers last night as sales went up for the first time in five quarters and earnings beat The Street’s expectations.
The result clocked in despite FX pressures going in the wrong direction and an increasingly competitive online sales landscape. EBay’s success has been in moving away from being the Web’s favorite platform for buying and selling used goods, antiques and other assorted curiosities and moving toward being an online marketplace with a variety of consumer experiences on offer.
“We are executing our plan and making progress on our strategic priorities,” Chief Executive Devin Wenig said on Tuesday (April 26).
EBay’s profits in Q1 hit $482 million ($0.41 per share), down from $626 million ($0.51 per share), which the firm clocked this time last year.
Revenue, on the other hand, was up 3.7 percent to $2.14 billion, and with FX pressures subtracted from the equation, sales saw a 6 percent increase in the last year. That is somewhat better than Wall Street analysts were looking for out of eBay; general predictions were for $2.08 billion in sales, according to Reuters.
Gross merchandise volume rose 1 percent, or 5 percent on a currency-adjusted basis, to $20.5 billion.
The relative strength is expected to carry on through Q3. Sales are forecasted to go up to between $2.14 billion and $2.19 billion, from $2.11 billion a year earlier, the company said.
EBay expects to post adjusted earnings per share of $0.40 to $0.42 for the June quarter — a bit off the $0.44 that analysts had been looking for.
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