EBay Beats Q1 Estimates; In Line With Q2 Forecast
by Beth Callaghan
Posted on April 22, 2009 at 2:55 PM PT
EBay reported Q1 sales and earnings this afternoon that fell from the same quarter last year but beat analysts’ estimates just the same. The company’s revenue totaled $2.02 billion, down 7.8 percent from $2.19 billion in 2008. Net income was 28 cents per share, or $357.1 million, down from 34 cents and $459.7 last year. Earnings were 39 cents per share.
Analysts had been expecting worse, with estimates at $1.94 billion in revenue and earnings of 34 cents per share. There was nothing much out of line with eBay’s Q2 forecast, though–sales of $1.85 billion to $2.1 billion and 35-38 cents profit per share. Analysts’ forecasts equate to $1.98 billion and 35 cents per share.
The company attributed the of sales revenue loss to, among other things, a stronger dollar and lower sales among all of its Marketplaces businesses, which include StubHub, Shopping.com and eBay itself. Overall, the group saw a revenue drop of 18 percent to $1.22 billion year-over-year.
In contrast, Skype, one of the company’s subsidiaries, saw a revenue gain of 21 percent to $153.2 million year-over-year. EBay (EBAY) says that it plans to spin Skype off in an IPO sometime next year, though it’s widely believed to be open to an outright sale.
