14 DAY TRIAL // eBay has seen a very solid first quarter, with both revenue and income increasing. PayPal has proven one of the company’s strong points, as always, but the Marketplaces division is also seeing a solid growth. The results were slightly above market expectations, but lowered estimates for the second quarter brought down the share price after the announcement.
“Our first quarter results reflect another strong step toward achieving our three-year growth and profitability goals,” eBay President and CEO John Donahoe said.
“We are becoming a more customer-focused and technology-driven company, delivering more innovative products and experiences and driving operating efficiencies to reinvest in growth. We are improving the fundamentals of our business, strengthening eBay Marketplaces and aggressively growing PayPal to become the leader in global online payments,” he added.
Revenue for the first quarter was at $2.2 billion, a nine-percent increase over the same period in 2009. Excluding Skype revenue, the VoIP provider was sold late last year, the company would have seen an 18-percent rise in revenue. Net income was of $397.7 million, $0.30 per diluted share, while non-GAAP income was of $554.2 million, or $0.42 per diluted share.
PayPal, the main driver of the company’s Payments division, saw a big growth in Q1 2010. Total payment volume, the sum of money transacted through PayPal, rose 35 percent year-over-year to $21.3 billion. Revenue from that was of $809.3 million, a 26-percent increase over 2009. eBay has big plans for PayPal, as it wants it to become the preferred way in which people spend money online.
Its increased market penetration would seem to support that. The company is highlighting a deal with China UnionPay (CUP), which will allow holders of a CUP card to pay on sites that support PayPal. eBay also signed a deal with Facebook to become a payment option for its virtual currency, Facebook credits.
The Markets division, basically the eBay auctions site, handled $13.4 billion in transactions, a 24-percent increase year-over-year. Revenue was at $1.4 billion, also a 13-percent increase over the same period in 2009.