EBay 3Q Profit Beats as PayPal, Marketplace Improve

EBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) posted a bigger-than-expected 14% increase in third-quarter net income late Wednesday as PayPal growth accelerated and marketplace sales ramped up in the U.S. and Asia, however sales fell just short of views.

The San Jose, Calif.-based online marketplace and payments company posted net income of $597 million, or 45 cents a share, compared with $491 million, or 37 cents, a year ago.

Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned 55 cents, topping average analyst estimates in a Thomson Reuters poll by a penny.

Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 climbed 15% to $3.4 billion from $2.96 billion a year ago, slightly missing Street’s view of $3.41 billion.

PayPal ended the period with 117.4 million active registered accounts, a 14% increase over the same period in 2011, and total payment volume grew 20% to $35.2 billion.

Marketplace booked an 11% increase to $16 billion in gross merchandise volume, excluding vehicles, led by improvements in both the United Stations and Asia Pacific.

Active user growth in eBay’s marketplace grew at the fastest pace since 2001, reaching 10% year-over-year with 800,000 new users coming from mobile.

“We had a great third quarter across our company, with Marketplaces and PayPal accelerating customer growth," eBay CEO John Donahoe said in a statement. “Mobile continues to be a game changer for us, and we continue to be a clear leader in mobile commerce and payments.”

The company said it sees fiscal 2012 revenue in the range of $13.95 billion to $14.1 billion, bracketing the consensus of $14.03 billion, on non-GAAP earnings between $2.32 and $2.35, in line with the Street’s view of $2.34.

In the fourth quarter, eBay forecasts revenue of $3.85 billion to $4 billion and earnings of 66 cents to 69 cents. Analysts on average are calling for a current-quarter EPS of 68 cents on sales of $3.94 billion.

Shares of eBay ticked slightly lower after hours to $47.73.