Online marketplace eBay Inc. on Wednesday posted a quarterly profit that more than doubled on international growth, but it offered a full-year financial forecast below bullish Wall Street expectations.
EBay forecast full-year 2004 earnings, excluding certain items, could be as high as $1.17 per share, 4 cents higher than its most recent forecast, but just below the average per-share analyst forecast of $1.18. The company -- which tends to be conservative in its estimates -- also raised its 2004 revenue outlook by $35 million to $3.19 billion, shy of the Reuters Estimates view of $3.21 billion.
Mark Mahaney, an analyst with American Technology Research, said it was no surprise that the company’s stock traded down on the results given the lofty growth expectations that investors have for the Internet bellwether.
“We thought the shares would trade down on an in-line quarter,” said Mahaney, who owns no eBay shares. “The aftermarket action doesn’t surprise us.
The San Jose, California-based company posted second-quarter net income of $190.4 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with $91.9 million, or 14 cents a year earlier. Revenue rose to $773.4 million from $509.3 million.
Excluding items, eBay posted a profit of $197.7 million, or 29 cents per share. On that basis, Wall Street analysts had been expecting the company to post net income of 27 cents per share, on average, on revenue of $769.4 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Ebay said transaction revenue increased 76 percent to $273.4 million internationally and 32 percent to $319.1 million in the United States. The total value of sold goods rose to $8 billion, Ebay said.
Shares in Ebay have fallen steadily since late June but are still up about 50 percent from the low of just under $51 in November last year.
EBay is an online bazaar where sellers -- ranging from hobbyists to large retailers like Sears, Roebuck and Co. --offer their wares via auctions or newer fixed-price sales.
Such fixed-price sales, in which eBay has emerged as a rival to other Web retailers, accounted for 27 percent of gross merchandise volume in the second quarter, the company said.
EBay shares dropped 5 percent to $72.80 in after-hours trading on INET from a close of $76.60.
