EBay last night said its third-quarter net income rose 22% thanks to higher revenue at its PayPal payments service and at the marketplaces business.
The results were roughly within expectations, with revenue a little below and earnings a tad higher than what Wall Street had predicted.
Chief executive John Donahoe sounded an upbeat note about the Christmas shopping season and eBay raised slightly its full-year guidance for net income and revenue.
He said he is "cautiously optimistic" about consumer spending over Christmas.
The online commerce company said it earned $59m, or 45 cents per share, in the three months from July to September. That was up from $491m, or 37 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were 55 cents per share in the latest quarter, a cent ahead of Wall Street's expectations.
Revenue grew 15% to $3.4 billion from $2.97 billion. The company makes most of its money by charging merchants a fee to list items posted for sale. It also generates revenue from PayPal transaction fees.
Besides its namesake online marketplace, eBay owns the ticket-selling website StubHub, Shopping.com and GSI Commerce, a provider of e-commerce and online marketing services.
Revenues grew 23% to $1.37 billion at PayPal, the company's fastest-growing business. PayPal ended the quarter with 117.4 million active accounts, up 14% from 103 million a year earlier.
Donahoe said mobile continues to be a "game-changer" for eBay. The company is working to take advantage of the increasing number of people who use their smartphones to shop and pay for things.
Marketplaces revenue increased 9% to $1.81 billion, driven by growth in the US and Asia. Marketplaces' gross merchandise volume, an important metric that measures all items sold on eBay excluding vehicles, rose 11% to $16.28 billion.
EBay, which is based in San Jose in California, has predicted fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 66 cents to 69 cents per share. It is also forecasting $3.85 billion to $4 billion in revenue. Analysts expect $3.95 billion.
For the full year, eBay now expects adjusted earnings of $2.32 to $2.35 per share on revenue of $13.95 billion to $14.1 billion. Its previous outlook was for adjusted earnings of $2.28 to $2.33 per share on revenue of $13.8 to $14.1 billion. Analysts are forecasting earnings of $2.35 per share and revenue of $14.03 billion.
