eBay stock rallies after Q3 earnings beat; revenues meet street view

Riding on robust merchandise volume, eBay’s (EBAY) earnings increased and beat market estimates in the third quarter. Investors responded positively to the impressive results and the company’s stock gained 4% during the extended trading hours Tuesday. Though the report was expected to be out soon after the closing bell, it was delayed by about an hour.

Adjusted earnings of the online marketplace jumped 19% to $0.56 per share in the third quarter and came in above analysts’ forecast. Reported profit was $720 million or $0.73 per share, sharply higher than $520 million or $0.48 per share recorded in the third quarter of 2017.

Revenues increased 6% to $2.65 billion and came in line with the Wall Street forecast. At $22.7 billion, gross merchandise volume was up 5% compared to last year.

“This quarter we continued to make foundational investments to improve the long-term competitiveness of our marketplace while setting the stage for significant growth opportunities,” said CEO Devin Wenig.

Investors responded positively to the impressive results and the company’s stock gained 4% during the extended trading hours Tuesday

Looking ahead, the management estimates revenues to be between $2.85 billion and $2.89 billion in the fourth quarter when earnings are expected to come in the range of $0.87 per share to $0.92 per share. Adjusted earnings are forecast in the $0.67-$0.69 per share range.

For the whole of 2018, the company is looking for revenues in the range of $10.72 billion to $10.76 billion and adjusted earnings between $2.29 per share and $2.31 per share.

eBay stock plunges to yearly low on competition worries

eBay has remained a laggard in the highly competitive e-commerce space for long, struggling to keep pace with its mightier rivals like Amazon (AMZN) and Walmart (WMT).

Amazon last week reported strong earnings growth for the third quarter, while its impressive sales performance and guidance were not well received by investors. Walmart will be releasing results for its most recent quarter on November 15 before the opening bell.

eBay fell 28% over the past one year and 32% since the beginning of the year.  The shares slipped to a fresh yearly low of $26.36 on Monday. They traded higher throughout Tuesday’s regular session and gained about 4% in the after-hours.

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