Wednesday, January 21, 2009
eBAY INC. REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2008 RESULTS
San Jose, Calif., January 21, 2009 — eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2008. The ecommerce company posted fourth quarter revenue of $2.04 billion, representing a $145 million year-over-year decrease due primarily to the impact on eBay of a stronger dollar and macroeconomic conditions globally. PayPal, Classifieds, text and graphical advertising and Skype performed well, growing revenue on a year-over-year basis. The company recorded net income on a GAAP basis of $367 million or $0.29 per diluted share, and non-GAAP net income of $524 million or $0.41 per diluted share.
For the full year, eBay Inc. posted $8.54 billion in revenue, net income on a GAAP basis of $1.78 billion or $1.36 per diluted share, and non-GAAP net income of $2.24 billion or $1.71 per diluted share.
GAAP operating margin decreased to 22.3% for the quarter, from 28.7% for the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating margin decreased to 32.8% for the quarter, from 34.6% for the same period last year. For the full year GAAP operating margin came in at 24.3%, with non-GAAP operating margin at 32.1%.
eBay Inc. generated $684 million of operating cash flow and $525 million of free cash flow during the fourth quarter. The company’s full year, operating cash flow was $2.88 billion and free cash flow was $2.32 billion.
“While the holiday season was tough and competitive, our overall results for 2008 were strong,” said eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe. “For 2008, we delivered double-digit revenue and earnings growth; made significant changes in our eBay business; and built a stronger, more diverse portfolio of leading e-commerce businesses. We will build on our strengths in 2009 while managing our business prudently in the continued challenging environment.”
Quarterly Business Highlights
- eBay Inc. completed the acquisition of Bill Me Later to further extend PayPal’s leadership position in online payments.
- eBay Inc. completed the acquisition of Den Bla Avis (dba.dk) and BilBasen (bilbasen.dk) in Denmark to further extend its global leadership position in online classifieds.
- eBay Inc. completed the acquisition of Ticket Technology to enhance the selling platform for StubHub.
- eBay Inc. completed the acquisition of Positronic, a developer of predictive search technology, to enhance eBay’s efforts to bolster search functionalities on its ecommerce sites.
- eBay Marketplace sellers in the U.S. lowered shipping costs significantly – dropping the average shipping costs to buyers by 25% compared to the fourth quarter of 2007.
- Jack Sheng of eForcity, Inc., became eBay Marketplace’s first ever 1 million feedback seller
- StubHub announced a partnership with the NHL franchise Buffalo Sabres, HSBC Arena and Tickets.com to enable an
integrated ticketing solution for the team and arena. - eBay’s Classifieds businesses averaged 91 million unique visitors per month during the quarter, representing an
increase of 41% year over year. - PayPal expanded its reach on the Web with the launch of merchant service account deals with American Airlines
(U.S.), Hoyts Cinemas (Australia), Promarkt (Germany), Aldo Shoes (Canada), Jet2 (U.K.), Laura Ashley (U.K.),
Amway (U.S.), and Zappos.com (U.S.). - PayPal continued its global expansion with the launch of new localized sites in Mexico, Hong Kong and Singapore.
- PayPal extended its mobile strategy by partnering with RIM to become the exclusive payment option on the BlackBerry Application StoreFront.
- SkypeOut minutes reached 2.6 billion globally, a 61% increase year-over-year, driven by very strong adoption in Asia.
- Skype expanded its senior leadership team with the addition of Daniel Berg as chief technology officer and Christopher S. Dean as chief strategy officer.
Financial Highlights
(presented in millions, except per share data and percentages)
| 2007 (Q4) | 2008 (Q4) | Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Revenue | $2,181 | $2,036 | ($145) | (7%) |
| GAAP | ||||
| Net income | $531 | $367 | ($164) | (31%) |
| Earnings (loss) per diluted | $0.39 | $0.29 | ($0.10) | (26%) |
| Non-GAAP | ||||
| Net income | $611 | $524 | ($87) | (14%) |
| Earnings per diluted share | $0.45 | $0.41 | ($0.04) | (9%) |
| 2007 (Year) | 2008 (Year) | Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Revenue | $7,672 | $8,541 | $869 | 11% |
| GAAP | ||||
| Net income | $348* | $1,779 | $1,443 | |
| Earnings (loss) per diluted | $0.25* | $1.36 | $1.11 | |
| Non-GAAP | ||||
| Net income | $2,106 | $2,245 | $139 | 7% |
| Earnings per diluted share | $1.53 | $1.71 | $0.18 | 12% |
* Includes goodwill impairment charge of $1.39 billion recorded during the year ended Dec. 31, 2007.
0