Online Auctioneer eBay "provided a modest boost to depressed shares," the
San Francisco Chronicle says, when it announced earnings in line with analysts' expectations. The company grew its
second-quarter revenue 30 percent to $1.41 billion and added 10 million new users to its sites, bringing its global total to 203 million. In an attempt to boost its share price--down 40 percent for
the year--eBay announced it would repurchase $2 billion in stock, marking the first buy-back in the company's 11-year history. The announcement had the intended effect of boosting demand for its stock
5.6 percent in after-hours trading. CEO Meg Whitman acknowledged the company's slowdown, particularly in the U.S., due to the market's maturity. As a result, eBay said it will raise fees for sellers
who operate online stores by around 6 percent, a move that isn't going to sit well with them. At any given time, around 83 percent of eBay's listings in the U.S. come from eBay's stores, which number
255,000. This way, eBay will encourage more sellers to use the auction format, which the
Chronicle says sells 14 times faster than items available in stores. eBay users are notoriously vocal
about such increases, and have vowed to boycott the site in the past.
Read the whole story at The San Francisco Chronicle »
