• Forbes, Friday, January 20, 2006 10:34 AM

According to Goldman Sachs, online auctioneer eBay has the "best business model" on the Web, despite its projection of lower than expected second quarter earnings. In a research note, analyst Anthony Noto maintained eBay's "outperform" rating due to a business model that "remains relatively insulated from the heightened competition within e-commerce." He believes eBay still has ample room for growth in the U.S., its most mature market, estimating that some 20 to 30 percent of online shoppers still don't use the service. Soto also said the company's recent acquisitions, the VoIP service Skype, Shopping.com , and Verisign--which could have advertising implications--"are ramping better than expected."

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