EBay Inc. reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as it sold much more merchandise on its marketplaces and its PayPal payment system was used by more merchants.
EBay said revenue rose 15.9% to $2.55 billion U.S., fueled by a 23% rise at PayPal and a 12% increase at its main marketplaces unit. That beat Wall Street forecasts of $2.48 billion U.S.
Net income for the first quarter, which ended on March 31, was $476 million U.S., or 36 cents U.S. per share, compared with $398 million U.S., or 30 cents U.S. per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, eBay earned 47 cents U.S. per share, beating analysts' forecasts by a penny, according to Thomson Reuters.
Gross merchandise volume excluding vehicles rose 8% to $14.5 billion U.S.
For the current quarter, eBay is expecting adjusted earnings of 45 to 46 cents U.S. per share on revenue between $2.55 billion and $2.65 billion U.S.
