eBay reported its results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2011 today. The company has seen a strong revenue increase at $2.8 billion, or 25 percent more than in the same period last year. eBay’s marketplace unit, which includes eBay.com and a number of other sites, has seen revenues rise to $1.66 billion from $1.4 billion, and has grown its gross merchandise volume (excluding vehicles) by 17 percent year-over-year to $14.7 billion.
eBay’s second main money maker after its marketplace business is PayPal, and it too has seen a fair amount of growth.
“Second quarter revenue and earnings were strong, with PayPal surpassing 100 million active registered accounts and reporting its first billion-dollar revenue quarter, and eBay growth in the U.S. accelerating,” said eBay President and CEO John Donahoe.
PayPal is up 15 percent from last year, but while eBay’s total revenue is improving, its profit is not. The company reported net income of $283 million, or 22 cents a share, compared to last year’s $412 million, at 31 cents per share. This is attributed to transactions involved with eBay’s $2.4 billion acquisition of GSI Commerce, and other companies, including rival Amazon have reported lower profits due to increased investment in their portfolio expansion as well.
eBay’s forecast for the third quarter is revenue of $2.85 billion and $2.95 billion, with earnings of between 46 and 47 cents a share. Analysts however are a bit less optimistic – a survey by FastSet reports that the average estimate for the next quarter is $2.65 billion, and earnings of 47 cents a share.
eBay has completed the acquisition of GSI, which will operate as a stand-alone unit, and has accounted for $23.8 million in revenue during the second quarter.
[...] on scantily created websites, evolving into highly organized auction sites and open markets like eBay and Amazon, and now the fanaticism of daily deals. Innovation is being injected into [...]