From the New York Times April 19th business section. Be forewarned, it's a fairly long article and I only highlighted two sentences that I think are critical to us, but it's worth reading the whole thing.
Ebay has become a juggernaut and we are such small pieces in the machinery, we won't be missed. Reading the handwriting on this wall, I'd say our complaints are no more than mosquitos against an elephant.
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"Ebay, the web site where people once auctioned off the detritus of attics and garages, is quietly positioning itself to become a force in mobile retailing, as evidenced by a sustained turnaround of its Internet marketplace and the soaring popularity of the PayPal online payment system.
Ebay reported Wednesday that net income in the first quarter rose 20% to $570 million, or 44 cents a share, from the same quarter a year earlier.
The company said revenue climbed 29% to $3.3 billion.
The company's CEO, John J. Donahoe, who has been trying to effect a turnaround in the company for several years, described the numbers as a 'strong start of the year' and hinted at the need to do more with mobile devices to compete with rivals like Amazon and Google. (I bolded that sentence)
'We are enabling commerce in this new retail environment, supporting and partnering with sellers of all sizes and giving consumers worldwide the ability to shop any time, anywhere for whatever they want' he said in a company statement.
Ebay has sought to transform itself from an online auction site to a ubiquitous retailer that can compete with the likes of Amazon.
Wall Street cheered the visible evidence of the turnaround. The company's shares were flat on Wed. during regular trading and closed at about $35.86. Results were announced after the market closed and the stock rose as much as 7.5% in after-hours trading.
Net income was 55 cents a share, no including special items, above the expectations of Wall Street analysts of 51 cents a share and revenue of $3.1 billion, according to a survey of analysts cited by Inside Futures.
The earnings report also highlighted the continuing importance of PayPal to overall profits. THe company said PayPal had 109.8 million active registered accounts, 12 % more than the first quarter a year ago. PayPal revenues increased 32%.
Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners, said that PayPal is the fastest growing part of the business, accounting for 32% growth year over year. The company also said that half of PayPal's revenue came from overseas for the first time.
In a bid to move into offline retail, PayPal has quietly installed a ssytem in 2000 Home Depot stores nationwide where customers can pay by either swiping their PayPal cards or simply typing in their mobile numbers, along with a PIN. PayPal is expected to introduce a similar service in other stores later this year.
The good news for investors, Mr. Gillis added, is that the once-lagging online marketplace, where things are bought and sold, is also posting double digit growth - 11% year over year.
'PayPal is the growth driver of this company,' he said, 'PayPal continues to be a star. Marketplaces is showing clear signs of turning around. Business is growing. And they're positioned for the future.'
PayPal, which posted an estimated $31 billion in total transactions in 2011, accounted for nearly a third of the company's annual revenue, according to BGC Partners.
Most recently, PayPal has sought to appeal to small businesses with a credit card processing device called PayPal Here. It plugs into a business owners smartphone, allows customers to use their credit cards or PayPal accounts, and competes directly with the original smartphone credit card processor called Square.
EBay's future depends in large part on how well it enables consumers to buy and sell on their mobile devices, some analysts say. On this score, said Mr. Gillis, eBay has become the 'quiet leader', enabling $15 billion in mobile transactions last year, split roughly between the sale of goods on its internet marketplace and PayPal transactions." by Somini Sengupta.
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when you do this please let me know I know a few sellers that would follow.