EBay Profit Tops Street, But Stock Down On Weak Outlook

(RTTNews) - eBay Inc. (EBAY) Wednesday reported a third-quarter profit that trumped analysts estimates, driven largely by revenue growth. However, shares of the company slipped 6 percent in the extended hours after its holiday season outlook came at the lower end of Wall Street estimates.

eBay's third-quarter profit dropped to $413 million or $0.36 per share from $539 million or $0.45 per share last year.

Excluding one-time items, income from continuing operations were 0.45 per share, compared to $0.43 per share last year. A survey polled by Thomson Reuters showed that analysts expected earnings of $0.44 per share.

Revenues for the quarter rose to $2.22 billion from last year's revenues of $2.10 billion. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.19 billion for the quarter.

CEO Devin Wenig said, ""In Q3 we delivered good top- and bottom-line financial results, led by consistent performance across our business. We continued to transform the shopping experience on eBay, delivered more personalization capabilities and began to activate our updated brand messaging."

The company said added over 1 million active buyers to a total of 165 million active buyers on the site, up from the second quarter's 164 million and 157 million last year. Gross merchandise volume for the quarter increased 3 percent to $20.1 billion.

For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenues between $2.36 billion and $2.41 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.52 to $0.54 per share. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.54 per share on revenues of $2.40 billion.

eBay expects adjusted earnings of $1.85 to $1.90 per share and revenues between $8.95 billion and $9.0 billion for 2016. Analysts expect earnings of $1.89 per share on revenues of $8.95 billion.

Earlier, the company expected earnings of $1.85 to $1.95 per share and revenues of $8.85 billion to $8.95 billion.

EBAY closed Wednesday's trading at $32.52, up $0.88 or 2.78%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, fell $2.07 or 6.37% in the after-hours trade.