eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2019 earnings results on Tuesday, April 23, after the closing bell. Analysts expect the online marketplace platform to report earnings of 63 cents per share on revenues of $2.58 billion.
Though eBay has an impeccable history of surpassing street expectations, the company has recently come under fire for its underperforming units – online ticket sales platform StubHub and Classified Ads. Earlier this year, activist investor groups Elliott Management and Starboard Value had asked eBay to consider divesting both the platforms.
While the San Jose, California-based firm had last month agreed to certain other demands set by the investment groups including the appointment of two independent directors, the company is yet to respond on what it plans to do with these two units.
Investors will be looking at management discussion on the same during the earnings conference call on Tuesday.
Apart from that eBay should report another good quarter, helped by an increased number of active buyers at its Marketplace. The company’s investments into artificial intelligence and improved inventory insights are likely to lift its Gross Merchandise Value a bit further in Q1.
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Advertising, especially promoted listings, and payment units are also providing a firm footing to the company despite rising competition from Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and other major players.
eBay shares have fallen 13% in the trailing 52 weeks. The stock has recovered somewhat this year, rising 25%. The stock has a 12-month average price target of $36.63, suggesting a 7% upside from the last close.
In Q3
In the last reported quarter, the company guided earnings above the consensus view both for the first quarter and full year 2019. The stock gained 3% following this announcement.
Net revenues rose 6% to $2.9 billion helped by a 1% rise in gross merchandise volume. n the quarter, eBay grew active buyers by 4% across its platforms for a total of 179 million global active buyers.
Non-GAAP earnings from continuing operations grew by 20% to $0.71 per share.