Revenue will be US$2.46bil (RM10.9bil) to US$2.5bil (RM11.1bil) in the period ending in March, or about the same as a year earlier, the company said. — Reuters
San Jose: eBay Inc has projected revenue in the current quarter that didn’t convince investors the company’s efforts to revive sales are beginning to work.
The shares declined in extended trading.
Revenue will be US$2.46bil (RM10.9bil) to US$2.5bil (RM11.1bil) in the period ending in March, or about the same as a year earlier.
In the fourth quarter, sales fell 3.9% to US$2.51bil (RM11.1bil).
The eCommerce company said it had 134 million active buyers in the period ended Dec 31, a drop of 9% from a year earlier and the seventh straight quarter of declines.
“eBay is back to where it was before the pandemic, losing customers and declining sales,” said Brian Yarbrough, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co.
Investors question if managers can turn it around, he said.
“Unless you’re looking for an odd item, eBay is forgotten by most consumers. You just don’t hear a lot about it the way you do the Walmarts, Targets and Amazons of the world.”
Chief executive officer Jamie Iannone is trying to reduce expenses to align with declining sales after a pandemic-era boom petered out.
Earlier this month, eBay announced it would cut about 500 employees, or 4% of its workforce.
The company is aiming to sell more luxury items like watches to boost revenue while also offering refurbished items to appeal to price-conscious shoppers.
In an effort to lure collectors, eBay provides a service to trade and authenticate trading cards and other items and has been building climate-controlled vaults to store them.
Advertising, driven by “promoted listings,” gained 19% to US$276mil (RM1.2bil) in the quarter, the San Jose, California-based company said Wednesday in a statement.
Gross merchandise volume, the value of all goods sold by eBay, declined 12% to US$18.2bil (RM80.8bil) in the holiday quarter, but topped analysts’ average estimate.
Earlier this month, Amazon.com Inc reported that its core online retail business lost money for the fifth straight quarter amid slowing sales growth.
The world’s largest eCommerce company is cutting 18,000 employees after rapid expansion during the pandemic left it with too many personnel. — Bloomberg
