cbs.marketwatch.com
eBay 1Q soars
Online auctioneer beats Street by 3
cents a share as user base climbs 75%
April 26, 1999: 6:46 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - eBay Inc. Monday reported
first-quarter earnings of $5.9 million, well ahead of
Wall Street estimates as the virtual auctioneer saw its
revenue jump 469 percent from the previous year.
For the quarter ended March 31, the Palo Alto,
Calif.-based company posted a net income of 5 cents
per share on $34 million in revenue. Analysts polled by
First Call expected eBay (EBAY) to report a profit of
2 cents per share.
Those results exclude $1.1 million in non-cash
charges related to stock-based compensation and
acquisition expenses. Including those items, eBay's
first-quarter income was $7 million, or 5 cents per
share.
eBay shares jumped 8-7/8 to close at 209 in
Monday trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange prior to
the announcement. Its shares then shot up to 215 in
after-hours trade on the Instinet trading system.
eBay's stock has been on a steady climb
Simply put, increased activity on eBay's site fueled the
company's growth. eBay reported 3.8 million
registered users at the end of the quarter, a 75-percent
jump from the 2.1 million registered users at the end of
1998.
First-quarter gross merchandise sales -- the value
of goods traded on the site -- were $541 million, up
76 percent from the $307 million reported in the fourth
quarter of 1998.
"We are excited to start 1999 with strong
first-quarter results and positive growth across all
metrics," said Meg Whitman, eBay's president and
chief executive officer.
"This past quarter, we continued our efforts to bring
a wider audience to eBay through a variety of
marketing endeavors including online and traditional
advertising, grassroots marketing, public relations and
strong word of mouth referrals."
eBay's sales and marketing expenses increased
nearly sixfold to $12.1 million from $2.1 million a year
ago.
The company's gross margins, however, fell to 85
percent from 89 percent a year ago. Gary Bengier,
eBay chief financial officer, said the company
increased spending on customer service and computer
equipment, adding that the company expects long-term
gross margins to remain in the 80-percent range.
Earlier Monday, eBay announced a $260 million
acquisition of the Butterfield & Butterfield auction
house, a move designed to increase eBay's offerings of
fine art and collectibles.
"We will continue to invest prudently but
aggressively," Bengier said.
Bengier also noted that eBay expects to incur
one-time charges for the Butterfield & Butterfield deal.
In last year's first quarter, eBay reported a net
income of $148,000, less than a penny a share, on $6
million in revenue.
eBay Profits Rise Tenfold
(04/26/99, 7:14 p.m. ET)
By Reuters
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Internet auction site eBay
Monday reported that earnings in the first
quarter rose tenfold amid sharp increases in
two key benchmarks: registered users and the
value of goods traded.
San Jose, Calif.-based eBay (EBAY.O) said net
income rose to $5.9 million, or 5 cents a share, from
$569,000, or 1 cent, a year earlier. Wall Street analysts
had expected earnings of 2 cents, according to First
Call, which tracks the data.
Revenues rose more than fivefold to $34 million from
$6 million a year earlier.
Shares of the hotly traded eBay shot up 8 7/8 to 209
on the Nasdaq on Monday.
Earlier Monday, eBay said it would buy fine-arts
auction house Butterfield & Butterfield for $260 million
in stock.
eBay had about 128 million shares outstanding in the
latest quarter, compared to about 97.6 million a year
earlier.
The value of goods traded via its site for the current
quarter rose 76 percent to $541 million from $307
million in the fourth quarter of 1998, said eBay.
The number of registered users rose about 75 percent
to more than 3.8 million from more than 2.1 million at
the end of the fourth quarter.
The company said it hosted more than 22.9 million
auctions during the first quarter, up from 13.6 million in
the fourth quarter of last year.
"This past quarter, we continued our efforts to bring a
wider audience to eBay through a variety of marketing
endeavors, including online and traditional advertising,
grass-roots marketing, public relations, and strong
word-of-mouth referrals," eBay president Meg
Whitman said in a statement.
"We also brought eBay to the international market with
the launches of the U.K. and Canadian sites," Whitman
said.
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