eBay’s (EBAY) Worst Day, Earnings, Stock Down To $14

October 15, 2008 by Douglas A. McIntyre

AngrybeareBay (EBAY) was dead before it got started. The stock fell 13.6% during the regular session and came with a penny of its 52-week low at $15.01. Investors kept up their pessimism after hours, taking the stock down to under $14 before the company spoke a word about earnings

Analysts expected EPS to be flat at $.41. Estimates were for sales to hit $2.13 billion.

As it turned out, there was something to be excited about. eBay had third quarter revenue of $2.12 billion, up $228 million from the same quarter last year. Net income was $492 million, or $.38 per diluted share, and non-GAAP net income was $592 million, or $.46 per diluted share.

All that Wall St. cared about was the $.38 number

After earnings came out, the stock struggled to hold $14.

In the US, the company is not growing at all. The Marketplaces business unit, which consists of eBay, Shopping.com, StubHub, Kijiji and other ecommerce sites, had a solid third quarter, generating $1.38 billion in revenue, representing 4% year-over-year growth, 53% of which was generated outside the U.S.

PayPal continued to be the firm’s strongest division. PayPal with $597 million in net revenue, an increase of 27% year-over-year. It is a wonder that eBay does not spin it out to shareholders.

No one was excited by guidance. eBay said expects net revenues in the range of $2.020 to $2.170 billion with GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $.25 to $.27.

If the market keep slipping, this could be a $12 stock.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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