EBay Rides Luxury, Collectibles and AI to 15% Growth in Q2

Despite its status as a founder of the category, eBay has traditionally been viewed by the rest of eCommerce’s tech platforms as the industry’s red-headed stepchild. It was profitable but often viewed as a mature marketplace overshadowed by Amazon’s logistics network, Shopify’s merchant ecosystem and newer resale platforms appealing to younger consumers.

But the company’s second quarter results, released Wednesday (Aug. 5) offered new evidence that eBay’s effort to reposition its marketplace around specialized categories, seller tools and higher-margin services is beginning to produce broader growth.

EBay reported revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter ended June 30, up 15% from a year earlier and above Wall Street expectations of roughly $3.02 billion. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) also increased 15% to $22.4 billion. The performance prompted eBay to raise its full-year outlook. The company now expects GMV growth of 11.5% to 12.5%, compared with its prior forecast of 7% to 7.5%. Third-quarter revenue is projected to range from $3.07 billion to $3.12 billion.

The results suggest eBay is generating growth by concentrating on areas where inventory scarcity, trust and seller expertise matter more than delivery speed alone.

“Our second quarter results and continued GMV growth reflect our leadership in the categories that matter most to our buyers and sellers while building an even stronger, more resilient eBay,” said Peggy Alford, chief financial officer at eBay, on Wednesday’s earnings call.

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Focused Categories Drive EBay’s Growth

EBay has concentrated investment in luxury goods, collectibles, refurbished products, and automotive parts. These are all categories where buyers often need authentication, detailed product data, or expert pricing before making a purchase. The company is not trying to beat Amazon on shipping speed. It is trying to make hard-to-price, hard-to-verify goods easier to buy and sell.

To meet that need, during the quarter, eBay expanded its Authenticity Guarantee program to more than 100 fashion brands in the United States and United Kingdom. It also integrated Enquirus, a database of registered luxury watches, across the U.S., U.K. and Germany.

In collectibles, eBay expanded authentication and grading services for trading cards. Goldin, the premium collectibles marketplace it owns, recorded several high-profile transactions, including a Michael Jordan card that sold for $4.3 million and a Wayne Gretzky jersey that fetched $2.8 million.

The broader strategy is straightforward: reduce the risk that often prevents high-value resale transactions from happening.

EBay Live also posted another record quarter, with GMV increasing roughly eightfold year over year across seven markets. The company has focused the format on collectibles, memorabilia and cultural events, areas where live selling can deepen engagement rather than simply promote discounts.

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AI Goes After the Supply Problem and the Younger Audience Opportunity

EBay is also applying artificial intelligence (AI) to one of the most persistent problems in marketplace economics: getting sellers to list more inventory. Its Magical Listing tool, which helps create listings from images and limited product information, expanded to more sellers in the U.K. and Germany. The company’s AI-powered trading-card scanner surpassed 80 million cumulative scans, helping users identify cards, assess market value and create listings faster.

In automotive, eBay used AI and automation to improve parts data and reduce the time between a vehicle sale and pickup. These are less visible applications of AI than a consumer-facing chatbot, but they may be more commercially useful. Every reduction in listing friction can increase supply, improve selection, and create more transactions without requiring eBay to own inventory.

The company’s $1.4 billion acquisition of Depop, completed July 30, gives eBay a stronger position in fashion resale and access to a younger audience. Depop has built a loyal base among Generation Z and millennial consumers, many of whom use the platform as much for discovery and self-expression as for bargain hunting. That makes it strategically valuable to eBay, whose core marketplace has historically skewed older.

The acquisition also expands eBay’s exposure to reCommerce, a market supported by affordability, sustainability and demand for distinctive inventory.

Still, the deal introduces execution risk. Depop’s appeal is closely tied to its brand and community. eBay will need to preserve that identity while determining how aggressively to apply its payments, advertising and authentication infrastructure.

The strategic logic is clear. The solution to the integration challenge is less so.