eBay Q3 Profit Tops Views, Shares Jump

Shares of eBay Inc EBAY jumped more than 7 percent in after-hours trading after the company reported upbeat earnings for the third quarter. The San Jose, California-based company reported quarterly earnings of $539 million, or $0.45 per share, compared to $673 million, or $0.54 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding non-recurring items, eBay's adjusted earnings came in at $0.43 per share. Its total revenue dropped 2 percent to $2.1 billion in the quarter, while revenue climbed 5 percent on an FX-neutral basis. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.40 per share on revenue of $2.09 billion. The average estimate among 156 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.45 per share and revenue of $2.27 billion. Gross merchandise volume slipped 2 percent to $19.6 billion in the quarter, while GMV surged 6 percent on an FX-neutral basis. Its operating margin shrank to 27.6 percent for the third quarter, versus 27.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. During the quarter, eBay repurchased $599 million of its common stock. "We drove solid results in the quarter in which we completed a complex separation," said eBay Inc. President and CEO Devin Wenig. "We also marked eBay's 20th anniversary and made progress on executing our strategy to reposition the company to deliver stable and profitable long-term growth." For the fourth quarter, the company projects adjusted earnings from continuing operations of $0.47 to $0.49 per share on net revenue of $2,275 million to $2,325 million. The company expects full-year adjusted earnings of $1.80 to $1.82 per share. eBay shares jumped 7.39 percent to $26.00 in the after-hours trading session.