By Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- EBay Inc. swung to a loss in the third quarter due to a large write-off of its investment into Internet telephony carrier Skype, but results excluding the charge came in well above Wall Street's estimates.
The online auction giant (EBAY:40.60, +2.00, +5.2%) also saw an uptick in its
core business as listings improved. In addition, EBay issued a better-than-expected forecast for the current period.
Shares of eBay fell in premarket trading, down more than 3% to $39.25. On Wednesday, the stock jumped more than 5% to close at $40.60 before the report was issued. EBay has gained about 20% in the past six weeks.
During a conference call with analysts, eBay executives outlined plans to step up spending in the next year. The company said it will "continue to invest in significant enhancements to the buyer experience" in the hopes of drawing more customers to the site.
"It's important to note that these investments will all go right to our users in the form of a better experience, better support, and better pricing strategies designed to maximize value for our sellers," CEO Meg Whitman said on the call.
Earnings beat estimates
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, eBay reported a net loss of $935.6 million, or 69 cents a share, compared with earnings of $280.9 million, or 20 cents a share, for the same period last year.
The results include a previously disclosed charge of $1.39 billion related to the company's acquisition of Skype, a provider of voice-over-IP, or VOIP, telephone services that was taken over by eBay in September of 2005. Also included are charges related to stock-option compensation and other items.
Excluding the charges, eBay said earnings would have been $564 million, or 41 cents per share, for the quarter. Analysts were expecting earnings of 33 cents a share, according to consensus estimates from Thomson First Call.
Revenue grew 30% to $1.89 billion for the quarter from $1.45 billion last year. Analysts had expected revenue of $1.83 billion for the period.
The company saw an uptick in gross merchandise volume (GMV), which grew 14% from last year's third quarter. This was an improvement from the second quarter, which saw the GMV-growth-rate hit a low point of 12%.
Still, the GMV figure represented a decline from last year's third quarter, when listings grew 17%.
"The second and third quarters are generally slower quarters," said eBay CFO Bob Swan in an interview. "In this quarter, we saw an acceleration primarily driven by our international markets, Germany in particular. Improvement in average selling prices is also a key indicator of health in the market."
The company's PayPal unit saw revenue of $470 million for the quarter, up 35% from last year. Revenues at Skype totaled $98 million, up 96% from last year. The service had 246 million registered users by the end of the period.
Cash and equivalents totaled $4.4 billion at the end of the third quarter.
A mixed outlook
The company's outlook was also ahead of expectations. EBay expects earnings for the fourth quarter to come in between 39 cents and 41 cents a share, with revenue between $2.1 billion and $2.15 billion.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 38 cents a share on revenue of $2.06 billion.
However, the company may see its profitability get pinched next year as it steps up investments to improve its core business. That, coupled with the fact that its faster-growing businesses at PayPal and Skype offer lower profit margins, could put pressure on the bottom line for the year.
"We'll also face some operating margin headwinds entering 2008 as the competitive environment continues to intensify and our investments in growth opportunities accelerate," Swan said on the call.
Tim Boyd of American Technology Research, who has a buy rating on the stock, called the results a "clean beat and raise quarter" and predicted the stock could hit the $50 mark by the end of the year.
"It's not an Amazonian blowout, but very impressive [results] across the board," Boyd said in an interview.
Steve Weinstein of Pacific Crest, who also rates the stock as a buy, said the fact that GMV was up is a positive for the company.
"It's a little better than we thought they would do," said Weinstein. "They're showing an improving trend there, but we need to dig into the numbers a little bit more."
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- EBay Inc. swung to a loss in the third quarter due to a large write-off of its investment into Internet telephony carrier Skype, but results excluding the charge came in well above Wall Street's estimates.
The online auction giant (EBAY:40.60, +2.00, +5.2%) also saw an uptick in its
core business as listings improved. In addition, EBay issued a better-than-expected forecast for the current period.
Shares of eBay fell in premarket trading, down more than 3% to $39.25. On Wednesday, the stock jumped more than 5% to close at $40.60 before the report was issued. EBay has gained about 20% in the past six weeks.
During a conference call with analysts, eBay executives outlined plans to step up spending in the next year. The company said it will "continue to invest in significant enhancements to the buyer experience" in the hopes of drawing more customers to the site.
"It's important to note that these investments will all go right to our users in the form of a better experience, better support, and better pricing strategies designed to maximize value for our sellers," CEO Meg Whitman said on the call.
Earnings beat estimates
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, eBay reported a net loss of $935.6 million, or 69 cents a share, compared with earnings of $280.9 million, or 20 cents a share, for the same period last year.
The results include a previously disclosed charge of $1.39 billion related to the company's acquisition of Skype, a provider of voice-over-IP, or VOIP, telephone services that was taken over by eBay in September of 2005. Also included are charges related to stock-option compensation and other items.
Excluding the charges, eBay said earnings would have been $564 million, or 41 cents per share, for the quarter. Analysts were expecting earnings of 33 cents a share, according to consensus estimates from Thomson First Call.
Revenue grew 30% to $1.89 billion for the quarter from $1.45 billion last year. Analysts had expected revenue of $1.83 billion for the period.
The company saw an uptick in gross merchandise volume (GMV), which grew 14% from last year's third quarter. This was an improvement from the second quarter, which saw the GMV-growth-rate hit a low point of 12%.
Still, the GMV figure represented a decline from last year's third quarter, when listings grew 17%.
"The second and third quarters are generally slower quarters," said eBay CFO Bob Swan in an interview. "In this quarter, we saw an acceleration primarily driven by our international markets, Germany in particular. Improvement in average selling prices is also a key indicator of health in the market."
The company's PayPal unit saw revenue of $470 million for the quarter, up 35% from last year. Revenues at Skype totaled $98 million, up 96% from last year. The service had 246 million registered users by the end of the period.
Cash and equivalents totaled $4.4 billion at the end of the third quarter.
A mixed outlook
The company's outlook was also ahead of expectations. EBay expects earnings for the fourth quarter to come in between 39 cents and 41 cents a share, with revenue between $2.1 billion and $2.15 billion.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 38 cents a share on revenue of $2.06 billion.
However, the company may see its profitability get pinched next year as it steps up investments to improve its core business. That, coupled with the fact that its faster-growing businesses at PayPal and Skype offer lower profit margins, could put pressure on the bottom line for the year.
"We'll also face some operating margin headwinds entering 2008 as the competitive environment continues to intensify and our investments in growth opportunities accelerate," Swan said on the call.
Tim Boyd of American Technology Research, who has a buy rating on the stock, called the results a "clean beat and raise quarter" and predicted the stock could hit the $50 mark by the end of the year.
"It's not an Amazonian blowout, but very impressive [results] across the board," Boyd said in an interview.
Steve Weinstein of Pacific Crest, who also rates the stock as a buy, said the fact that GMV was up is a positive for the company.
"It's a little better than we thought they would do," said Weinstein. "They're showing an improving trend there, but we need to dig into the numbers a little bit more."