eBay Inc. announced financial results for its first quarter ending March 31, 2010. First-quarter revenue was $2.2 billion, up 9% year over year (or up 18% excluding Skype). The increase was attributed to a growth in the Payments and Marketplaces businesses, as well as a positive impact from foreign currency movements against the U.S. dollar. eBay recorded net income on a GAAP basis of $397.7 million or $0.30 per diluted share, and non-GAAP net income of $554.2 million or $0.42 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2010.

GAAP operating margin increased to 22.2% for the quarter, compared to 20.9% for the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating margin decreased slightly to 30.6% for the quarter, compared to 30.7% for the same period last year, as productivity gains were offset by faster growth in the company’s lower-margin PayPal business and lower take rates.

“Our first quarter results reflect another strong step toward achieving our three-year growth and profitability goals,” said eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe. “We are becoming a more customer-focused and technology-driven company, delivering more innovative products and experiences and driving operating efficiencies to reinvest in growth. We are improving the fundamentals of our business, strengthening eBay Marketplaces and aggressively growing PayPal to become the leader in global online payments.”

eBay Inc. generated $418.3 million of operating cash flow and $266.0 million of free cash flow during the first quarter. Operating cash flow and free cash flow were reduced by a one-time tax payment of $207.4 million related to a legal entity restructuring, as a result of which the company moved approximately $1.1 billion in cash to the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2009.

If you are unable to listen along to the live earnings call by clicking here, you can follow along with my tweets in real-time, beginning at 2pm PT. I will be live-blogging here on the homepage of eBay Ink. Also, you can get up-to-the-minute information here and access the full press release HERE.

For folks interested in following the entire conversation on Twitter, the hashtag is #eBayQ110.

Cheers,
RBH