eBay
eBay Inc. is an American multinational e-commerce corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, founded in September 1995 by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as AuctionWeb, an online platform initially designed to facilitate peer-to-peer trading of collectibles and other goods through auction and fixed-price formats.[1][2] Over its three decades of operation, eBay has expanded into a global marketplace connecting millions of buyers and sellers across categories including electronics, apparel, vehicles, and rare items, generating a gross merchandise volume (GMV) of $74.7 billion in 2024 while reporting annual revenue of $10.3 billion.[3][4] The company pioneered scalable online auctions, achieving rapid growth during the late 1990s internet boom, and has pursued strategic acquisitions—totaling over 70 entities—to enhance payment processing, logistics, and advertising capabilities, notably acquiring PayPal in 2002 before spinning it off in 2015 to focus on its core marketplace.[5] eBay's defining characteristics include its emphasis on user-generated listings, where individual sellers set prices and terms, fostering economic opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs but also exposing the platform to risks such as counterfeit merchandise proliferation despite rigorous intellectual property enforcement policies that prohibit replicas and unauthorized copies.[6] The platform has weathered controversies, including persistent seller complaints about account restrictions for alleged counterfeits and evolving fee structures that have sparked disputes over profitability, yet it maintains policies aimed at removing infringing items and cooperating with brand owners via programs like VeRO.[7] Financially resilient, eBay reported second-quarter 2025 revenue of $2.7 billion, reflecting 6% year-over-year growth amid investments in AI-driven personalization and international expansion to sustain competitiveness against rivals like Amazon and Alibaba.[8]Founding and Early History
Inception and Initial Launch (1995–1997)
Pierre Omidyar, a French-born Iranian-American computer programmer, founded eBay on September 3, 1995, initially as AuctionWeb, an online auction service hosted on his personal website eBay.com.[1][9] The platform emerged from Omidyar's interest in facilitating peer-to-peer transactions for collectibles and other goods, coded single-handedly over Labor Day weekend from his San Jose, California, living room.[10][11] AuctionWeb allowed users to list items for auction, marking an early innovation in electronic commerce by enabling direct buyer-seller interactions without intermediaries.[12] The site's inaugural listing was a broken laser pointer, which sold immediately to Canadian buyer Mark Fraser for $14.83, demonstrating unexpected demand even for flawed items among collectors.[1][13] Contrary to a widely circulated narrative, AuctionWeb was not created to aid Omidyar's fiancée in trading Pez dispensers; eBay later clarified this as a fabricated story intended to humanize the company's origins.[1][14] In its first year, the platform operated without fees, with Omidyar manually managing payments via checks or money orders, which strained resources as listings grew.[15] By February 1996, AuctionWeb introduced insertion fees and a percentage of final sale values to sustain operations, transitioning from a hobby project to a viable business.[15][16] User growth accelerated, with daily auctions reaching thousands by mid-1996, fueled by word-of-mouth among niche communities like stamp and coin enthusiasts.[16] In September 1997, the service rebranded to eBay, reflecting its broader scope beyond auctions and aligning with the domain name's nod to the San Francisco Bay Area.[17] This period laid the foundation for eBay's marketplace model, emphasizing trust through user feedback mechanisms introduced early on to mitigate fraud risks in decentralized trading.[16]Dot-Com Boom and Expansion (1998–2001)
In September 1998, eBay completed its initial public offering on September 24, raising $63 million through the sale of 3.5 million shares at $18 each, with proceeds allocated to operational expansion and marketing to enhance brand recognition amid surging online auction demand.[18] The IPO reflected investor enthusiasm for internet-based commerce during the dot-com boom, as eBay's shares closed at $30.50 on the debut day, valuing the company at over $1 billion in market capitalization.[19] Prior to the IPO, eBay had hosted over 15 million auctions since inception through June 30, 1998, generating gross merchandise sales exceeding $340 million, with registered users expanding rapidly from approximately 340,000 at the start of the year to more than 1 million by mid-year.[20] Post-IPO, eBay accelerated domestic growth, reaching 2.1 million registered users by December 31, 1998, across over 1,000 product categories, while hosting 13.6 million auctions in the fourth quarter alone—a 580% increase from 2.0 million in the same period of 1997.[21] Revenue for the first half of 1998 totaled $14.9 million, yielding net income of $348,000, underscoring the platform's scalability through fee-based commissions on successful auctions.[22] To bolster its ecosystem, eBay acquired Jump Inc. (operator of Up4Sale.com) effective June 30, 1998, integrating person-to-person trading capabilities and expanding category offerings.[21] In 1999, eBay pursued strategic acquisitions to diversify beyond pure online auctions, purchasing auction house Butterfield & Butterfield on April 27 for $300 million in stock, which introduced live and traditional auction formats and added collectibles expertise.[23] It also acquired Billpoint on May 18, establishing an in-house payment processing service to reduce reliance on third-party gateways and improve transaction efficiency.[23] These moves supported continued user and volume expansion, with gross merchandise sales climbing amid the dot-com peak, as network effects—wherein more buyers attracted more sellers and vice versa—drove platform liquidity. International efforts gained traction in 1999 with a launch in the United Kingdom and the acquisition of Alando in Germany on June 22, 1999, followed by the 2001 acquisition of iBazar S.A. for European expansion, building on iBazar's 1998 French launch and subsequent regional growth.[23][24] Despite the dot-com bubble's burst in March 2000, eBay sustained momentum through 2001, reporting record revenues, profits, and gross merchandise sales in 2000 driven by user acquisition, while adapting to post-bubble scrutiny by emphasizing operational efficiencies over speculative valuation.[25] This period solidified eBay's position as a resilient e-commerce leader, contrasting with many dot-com failures attributable to unsustainable burn rates rather than flawed business models.[26]Business Model and Platform Operations
Core Auction and Sales Mechanisms
eBay's foundational auction mechanism, established upon the platform's launch as AuctionWeb in September 1995, employs a timed, ascending-bid format where sellers set a starting price and select a duration of 1, 3, 5, 7, or 10 days.[1][27] Buyers compete by submitting maximum bids via the proxy system, with the highest maximum bid determining the winner, who pays the second-highest bid plus one bid increment (or their maximum if the sole bidder) plus shipping.[28][29] This structure draws from traditional English auctions as a variant but operates asynchronously online with second-price payment mechanics, allowing global participation without real-time oversight.[30] Central to the bidding process is eBay's proxy bidding system, also known as automatic bidding, where participants enter a maximum bid amount confidentially.[29] The platform then incrementally outbids rivals on the bidder's behalf using predefined bid increments (e.g., $0.25 for items under $5), up to the specified maximum, ensuring the bidder wins only if necessary and at the lowest possible price above competing bids.[31][32] This automation mitigates sniping—last-second bids—by prioritizing the earliest maximum commitment, though late bids can still extend auctions in certain pilots by resetting timers (e.g., 2 minutes).[33] Sellers may optionally set a reserve price, requiring bids to meet a hidden threshold for the auction to conclude successfully, or enable immediate purchase via an add-on feature.[34] Complementing auctions, eBay introduced fixed-price sales through the Buy It Now option in November 2000, permitting instant purchases at a predetermined price without competition.[1] Standalone fixed-price listings, akin to classified ads but with immediate fulfillment, support unlimited duration (renewing monthly until canceled) and multi-quantity sales, where buyers select from available stock.[35] Many include Best Offer functionality, enabling negotiated pricing through buyer proposals and seller responses, which fosters haggling while maintaining listing visibility.[36] Auctions with Buy It Now allow early termination if the fixed price is met, blending urgency with flexibility.[37] These mechanisms balance discovery-driven pricing in auctions—ideal for unique or undervalued items—with predictable transactions in fixed-price formats, which dominate volume sales for standardized goods.[38] Empirical patterns show auctions yielding higher prices for rarities due to bidder competition, while fixed-price listings accelerate turnover, with over 80% of eBay transactions historically favoring the latter by the mid-2000s as inventory scaled.[37] Platform rules enforce bid retraction limits and seller non-interference to preserve integrity, though disputes arise from shill bidding or non-payment, addressed via buyer/seller protections.[28]Revenue Generation and Economic Incentives
eBay generates the majority of its revenue through seller fees tied directly to listing and transaction activities. Insertion fees are applied when sellers create listings, with non-store subscribers receiving up to 250 free listings per month, beyond which a $0.35 fee per additional listing is charged.[39] [40] Final value fees, eBay's largest revenue source, are deducted from successful sales as a percentage of the total amount—including item price, shipping, and taxes—typically 13.6% on sales up to $7,500 plus 2.35% on amounts exceeding that threshold, plus a $0.30 fixed per-order fee, with rates varying by category from around 2% to 15%.[41] [42] In 2023, these transaction fees comprised nearly 45% of eBay's total $9.5 billion revenue.[43] A secondary but growing revenue stream comes from advertising services, primarily Promoted Listings, where sellers opt to pay an ad fee—structured as a percentage of the sale price (often 2% to 20%) or cost-per-click—only if the promotion leads to a sale.[44] This generated $207 million in the third quarter of 2021 alone, representing a 9% year-over-year increase, and supports broader marketing services that accounted for about $650 million in 2022.[44] [45] Additional income includes subscriptions for eBay Stores, which offer unlimited or higher free listings and reduced final value fees in exchange for monthly payments starting at $4.95, and other features like classified ads or partner network commissions.[46] [47] These mechanisms establish economic incentives that tie eBay's profitability to platform liquidity and sales volume: revenue accrues primarily from completed transactions rather than mere listings, compelling eBay to enhance buyer-seller matching via search optimization, trust tools, and anti-fraud measures to maximize gross merchandise value (GMV).[48] Sellers face incentives to list competitively priced items and invest in promotions for visibility, as low-barrier entry (via free initial listings) encourages volume while success-based fees reward high-conversion strategies without upfront risk for unsold inventory.[49] Buyers, in turn, are drawn by the auction format's competitive bidding—which elicits valuations through iterative offers, often yielding prices reflective of demand—and fixed-price options that foster price comparisons across millions of listings, though seller fees can marginally elevate asking prices to maintain margins.[50] This alignment fosters network effects, where increased seller participation attracts more buyers, amplifying overall transaction efficiency and eBay's take rate on GMV.[48]User Tools and Protections
eBay provides buyers with the Money Back Guarantee, which covers the full purchase price plus original shipping costs for items that do not arrive, arrive damaged or faulty, or fail to match the listing description.[51] This policy applies to most transactions completed via eBay checkout and extends for 30 days from the estimated or actual delivery date.[51] Buyers must initiate claims through the Resolution Center, providing evidence such as tracking information or photos, with eBay stepping in if the seller does not resolve the issue within specified timelines.[52] For vehicle purchases, an enhanced Vehicle Purchase Protection covers up to $100,000 against non-delivery, missing titles, or major undisclosed defects.[53] Sellers benefit from protections against abusive buyer behavior and uncontrollable events, including safeguards in Money Back Guarantee cases where buyers falsely claim non-delivery or damage despite proof of fulfillment, such as valid tracking showing delivery to the buyer's address.[54] In return scenarios, sellers may deduct up to 50% of the refund amount to account for diminished item value if the returned item differs in condition from when shipped, provided they upload evidence like photos.[55] eBay automatically removes related negative or neutral feedback in qualifying disputes and may apply protections without seller intervention in payment disputes.[56] These measures aim to shield compliant sellers from unwarranted claims, though eligibility requires adherence to platform policies like accurate listings and timely shipping.[54] Both buyers and sellers access the Resolution Center for dispute resolution, where issues like Item Not Received or significantly not as described are filed and tracked.[57] Parties can communicate, upload evidence, and escalate for eBay review if unresolved; appeals of eBay's decisions are permitted within 30 days with new information.[58] Payment disputes may extend up to 90 days or longer, during which eBay may withhold payouts pending resolution.[59] User tools include the Seller Hub dashboard, a free centralized platform for managing listings, orders, sales analytics, and bulk actions to streamline operations.[60] It integrates research features like Product Research for identifying sellable items and Sourcing Insights for market trends and top categories.[61] Recent additions encompass AI-assisted response generation for buyer inquiries and automated feedback tools to enhance efficiency and trust-building.[62] Buyers utilize integrated search filters, watchlists, and bidding interfaces, supported by these protections to facilitate secure transactions.[63]Corporate Evolution and Strategic Moves
Major Acquisitions
eBay's acquisition strategy has historically focused on enhancing its core marketplace through payments, communications, and commerce services, with significant deals in the early 2000s emphasizing expansion into adjacent technologies. One of the earliest notable purchases was Half.com in June 2000 for $312 million in stock, which introduced fixed-price selling options to complement eBay's auction model and addressed competitive threats from sites offering non-auction formats.[64] In October 2002, eBay acquired PayPal, an online payment processor, for approximately $1.5 billion in stock, integrating secure transaction capabilities that boosted buyer-seller trust and transaction volumes on the platform.[65] This move addressed eBay's prior reliance on third-party payments like Billpoint, which had limited adoption, and PayPal's growth via eBay referrals made it a natural fit despite initial antitrust scrutiny.[10] eBay expanded into communications with the 2005 purchase of Skype, a VoIP service, for $2.6 billion, aiming to facilitate buyer-seller interactions beyond email; however, the high price exceeded Skype's $7 million annual revenue at the time, reflecting dot-com era premiums.[66] eBay later sold Skype in 2009 to private investors for $2.75 billion, retaining a minority stake.[65] Subsequent deals targeted ticketing and deferred payments: In 2007, eBay bought StubHub, a secondary ticket marketplace, for $310 million to diversify into live events resale.[65] In 2008, it acquired Bill Me Later, a buy-now-pay-later service, for about $820 million in cash plus $125 million in stock, enhancing financing options for higher-value purchases.[67] A pivotal 2011 acquisition was GSI Commerce, an e-commerce platform provider, for $2.4 billion, enabling eBay to support enterprise clients like major retailers with full-service digital storefronts and logistics, marking a shift toward B2C and branded commerce beyond its C2C roots.[68] This deal, completed in June 2011, positioned eBay against rivals like Amazon by acquiring GSI's client base and technology stack.[69]| Acquisition | Date | Value | Strategic Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half.com | June 2000 | $312 million | Fixed-price sales integration[64] |
| PayPal | October 2002 | $1.5 billion | Payment processing[65] |
| Skype | 2005 | $2.6 billion | Communications tools[66] |
| StubHub | 2007 | $310 million | Ticketing marketplace[65] |
| Bill Me Later | 2008 | ~$945 million | Deferred payments[67] |
| GSI Commerce | June 2011 | $2.4 billion | Enterprise e-commerce services[68] |
PayPal Integration and Spin-off (2002–2015)
In July 2002, eBay announced its acquisition of PayPal, an online payment processor, in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $1.5 billion based on eBay's share price at the time.[70] The deal involved eBay exchanging 0.39 of its shares for each PayPal share, aiming to integrate secure payment processing directly into its auction platform and phase out eBay's competing Billpoint service.[71] The acquisition was completed on October 3, 2002, making PayPal a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay and establishing it as the default payment method for eBay transactions worldwide.[72] Post-acquisition, PayPal's integration enhanced eBay's ecosystem by streamlining buyer-seller payments, reducing fraud risks through advanced verification tools, and boosting transaction volumes.[1] PayPal processed a growing share of eBay's gross merchandise volume (GMV), contributing significantly to eBay's revenue; by 2014, it handled $235 billion in total payment volume and generated over $8 billion in revenues, with eBay transactions comprising about 22% of its activity, down from higher reliance earlier in the decade.[73] [74] This synergy initially drove eBay's expansion, as PayPal's user base of over 100 million active accounts by the mid-2000s facilitated seamless cross-border payments and supported eBay's international growth. However, as PayPal diversified beyond eBay—expanding into merchant services and mobile payments—strategic tensions emerged, with PayPal's faster growth rates outpacing eBay's core marketplace, which saw revenue growth dip to 6.4% by 2015.[75] By 2014, eBay faced pressure from activist investors, including Carl Icahn, advocating for separation to unlock shareholder value, arguing that the combined entity undervalued PayPal's independent potential amid regulatory scrutiny on bundled services and competition from rivals like Stripe and Apple Pay. On September 30, 2014, eBay announced plans to spin off PayPal into an independent publicly traded company, citing the need for each to pursue distinct strategies in a maturing digital payments landscape.[76] The separation was structured as a tax-free distribution, with eBay shareholders receiving one PayPal share for every eBay share held as of July 8, 2015.[77] The spin-off was approved by eBay's board and completed on July 17, 2015, with PayPal beginning independent trading on Nasdaq under the ticker PYPL on July 20, 2015, immediately surpassing eBay's market value.[73] A five-year transition services agreement ensured continued operational support, though it marked the end of PayPal's mandatory role as eBay's primary payment option.[78]International Growth and Adaptation
Expansion into Key Markets
eBay initiated its international expansion in 1999 with the launch of localized platforms in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia, marking a strategic shift from its U.S.-centric operations to capture global auction demand.[79][80][81] In Germany, entry occurred through the acquisition of Alando.de AG, a competing auction site, for $43 million on June 22, 1999, which provided immediate access to an established user base of over 100,000 registered members and accelerated market penetration in Europe's largest economy.[80][82] The UK site, operational by late 1999, quickly gained traction with the first item sold being a CD, reflecting early adoption in English-speaking markets outside the U.S.[79] Australia's platform, also launched in 1999, targeted the Asia-Pacific region and evolved into a key hub, supporting over 40,000 small businesses by the late 2010s.[81] Further European consolidation followed in 2000 and 2001. eBay launched its French site on October 5, 2000, entering the market with localized features to compete in fixed-price and auction formats amid growing continental e-commerce interest.[83] In February 2001, eBay acquired iBazar S.A., a pan-European auction operator with operations in France, Italy, Spain, and Brazil, for approximately $100 million in stock, enhancing its footprint across multiple countries and integrating iBazar's 1.5 million users to bolster non-U.S. revenue streams.[24][84] In Asia, eBay targeted China as a high-growth market, acquiring a 33% stake in EachNet, the dominant local auction platform, for $30 million in 2002 before completing full ownership in July 2003 for a total of $180 million.[85] This move granted eBay an initial 85% share of China's online auction sector, with EachNet boasting over 2 million users at the time, though it required adaptations to local preferences for fixed-price sales over auctions. By the early 2000s, these expansions diversified eBay's revenue, with international markets contributing significantly to its gross merchandise volume as it operated in over a dozen countries.[86]Setbacks and Strategic Withdrawals
eBay's expansion into China, initiated through the 2003 acquisition of EachNet for $180 million, encountered insurmountable competition from Alibaba's Taobao, which captured over 70% market share by 2006 by offering free listings and integrated instant messaging features tailored to Chinese buyer-seller relationships (guanxi). eBay's insistence on a fee-based model, slower adaptation to local preferences, and relocation of its technology infrastructure to the United States alienated users, leading to a market share drop to under 30%. In December 2006, eBay announced the closure of its primary Chinese auction platform, eBay EachNet, transitioning to a minority stake partnership with Tom Online for localized operations while effectively withdrawing from direct competition in consumer-to-consumer auctions.[87][88] Similarly, eBay's 2000 entry into Japan via a joint venture failed to displace Yahoo! Japan Auctions, which held dominant position through established user trust and localized features. Despite investments, eBay Japan achieved negligible market penetration, prompting a full withdrawal announced in February 2002, with the site shuttering on March 31, 2002, and the layoff of 17 employees. The retreat allowed eBay to redirect resources to more viable markets like Taiwan, highlighting challenges in competing against entrenched domestic platforms with superior cultural alignment.[89][90][91] In other regions, eBay faced localized pressures leading to scaled-back operations, such as in South Korea where intense rivalry from auction sites like Gmarket (later acquired by eBay in 2009) necessitated strategic adjustments rather than outright exit. More recently, in June 2025, eBay disclosed plans to cease all operations in Israel by the first quarter of 2026, ending a two-decade presence amid unspecified market dynamics, including potential geopolitical factors and shifting e-commerce priorities toward core geographies. These withdrawals underscore eBay's pattern of retreating from high-competition, low-margin international markets to preserve resources for established strongholds in Europe and North America.[92]Technological Development and Innovations
Platform Evolution from Web to Mobile
eBay launched as a web-exclusive auction platform in September 1995, initially under the name AuctionWeb, with users accessing listings, bidding, and transactions solely through desktop browsers on personal computers.[16] The site's core functionality relied on HTML-based interfaces for search, item posting, and payment processing via integrated services like PayPal, limiting accessibility to wired internet connections and excluding on-the-go usage until the proliferation of smartphones in the mid-2000s.[16] The transition to mobile began in 2008 amid the iPhone's rise and Apple's App Store debut on July 10, when eBay released its inaugural iOS application, positioning it among the earliest e-commerce apps for smartphones.[93] This app enabled core web features such as item searching, auction bidding, "Buy It Now" purchases, and seller listings directly from mobile devices, initially developed by a single engineer to capitalize on emerging touch-screen capabilities.[93] By adapting the web platform's auction mechanics to mobile, eBay addressed limitations like static desktop access, allowing users to participate in time-sensitive bidding from anywhere with cellular data.[94] Expansion continued with an Android app launch around 2010, incorporating features like voice search and photo uploads for listings to leverage mobile hardware advantages over web versions.[95] Mobile gross merchandise volume (GMV) surged from over $600 million in 2009 to $2 billion in 2010, reflecting tripling transaction volumes as users shifted behaviors toward app-based shopping.[96][95] To support this, eBay acquired Zong in 2011, a mobile carrier billing platform, enhancing seamless payments without desktop verification.[1] By 2013, eBay's mobile apps had reached 100 million downloads since 2008, with users listing billions of items and generating $13 billion in annual mobile GMV, more than doubling from prior years and underscoring the platform's pivot from web dominance.[97] Subsequent updates, including a 2015 Apple Watch app for wrist-based bidding, further embedded mobile-first experiences, reducing reliance on traditional web traffic as smartphone penetration grew globally.[98] This evolution prioritized app-native tools like camera integration for quick listings and location-based search refinements, which web interfaces could not replicate efficiently, driving sustained mobile GMV growth to exceed $20 billion in payments by the mid-2010s.[99]Recent AI Integrations and Updates (2010s–2025)
eBay began integrating machine learning algorithms in the early 2010s, leveraging vast datasets from its marketplace to train models for core functions such as search optimization and recommendation systems. By 2019, these efforts had evolved into applications driving over $1 billion in incremental quarterly sales through enhanced personalization and contextual search capabilities.[100] The company established the eBay Machine Intelligence (ebMI) group to centralize AI development, focusing on natural language processing for query understanding and machine translation to facilitate cross-border transactions, which accounted for 59% of international revenue.[101] In 2018, eBay appointed Jan Pedersen as Chief Scientist for Artificial Intelligence, accelerating advancements in computer vision for image-based shopping, allowing users to upload photos via the mobile app to match visually similar items from over 1.4 billion listings. The launch of the Krylov platform around 2019 marked a pivotal shift to a scalable, cloud-based AI infrastructure supporting deep learning frameworks like TensorFlow and PyTorch, enabling rapid model training and deployment—from months to days—for use cases including seller price guidance, fraud detection, and shipping estimates. This infrastructure powered features like augmented reality for box-sizing in shipping and AI-driven promoted listings to improve item discovery.[100][101] The 2020s saw expanded AI adoption amid competitive pressures, with eBay appointing its first Chief AI Officer in 2023 to oversee a "paradigm shift" in shopping experiences. Key updates included the "Magical Listings" tool, which automates item descriptions, pricing suggestions, and background removal from photos, fully rolling out in 2025 after initial delays and enabling over 10 million sellers to generate more than 200 million AI-assisted listings. In 2024, platform enhancements supported large language models up to 100 times larger than prior capabilities, improving personalization and internal operations. By mid-2025, eBay introduced Agentic AI for select U.S. users, providing real-time, hyper-personalized recommendations and guidance integrated into the shopping journey, developed with safeguards for fairness and transparency. At eBay Open 2025, announcements highlighted AI-powered tools like assisted replies and automated feedback to streamline seller workflows, alongside the unveiling of the proprietary LiLiuM AI model tailored for e-commerce tasks.[102][2][103][104][105]Financial Trajectory and Market Dynamics
Revenue, GMV, and Profit Trends
eBay's gross merchandise volume (GMV), representing the total value of goods sold on its platform, experienced a surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking above $85 billion in 2021 due to increased online shopping and resale activity, before declining as economic conditions normalized and competition intensified from platforms like Amazon and emerging low-cost marketplaces. By 2023, annual GMV stood at $73.2 billion, reflecting a contraction from pandemic highs, and rose modestly to $74.7 billion in 2024, a 2% increase on an as-reported basis driven by strength in categories like collectibles and refurbished goods.[106] [107] [3] Quarterly GMV in Q2 2025 reached $19.5 billion, up 6% year-over-year, indicating short-term stabilization amid strategic emphases on high-margin segments.[108] Revenue, derived primarily from transaction fees, advertising, and promoted listings, decoupled somewhat from GMV trends post-2015 PayPal spin-off, as eBay prioritized monetization improvements like higher take rates (fees as percentage of GMV). Following the spin-off, which excluded PayPal's contribution (previously over 40% of total revenue), eBay's marketplace-focused revenue dipped initially from combined 2014 levels of approximately $17.9 billion but stabilized and grew modestly, reaching $9.7 billion in 2019 before climbing to $10.2 billion in 2020 amid pandemic demand. Subsequent years showed resilience: $10.1 billion in 2023 (up 3%) and $10.3 billion in 2024 (up 2%), supported by advertising revenue growth exceeding 10% annually in recent quarters despite flat or declining GMV in some periods.[109] [110] [3] Net income trends reflect operational efficiencies, share buybacks, and occasional one-time charges or tax benefits, with volatility tied to impairments and restructuring costs. Post-spin-off, profitability normalized after initial adjustments, with 2023 net income at $2.767 billion bolstered by favorable tax items, followed by a decline to $1.975 billion in 2024 amid higher expenses and normalized gains. Earlier, 2022 saw lower income around $664 million due to goodwill impairments from prior acquisitions. Overall, margins improved through cost controls and a shift toward profitable categories, though sustained GMV softness poses risks to long-term earnings growth.[111] [109]| Year | Revenue ($B) | GMV ($B) | Net Income ($B) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10.4 | ~85 | 2.5 |
| 2022 | 9.8 | ~80 | 0.7 |
| 2023 | 10.1 | 73.2 | 2.8 |
| 2024 | 10.3 | 74.7 | 2.0 |
Stock Performance and Investor Relations
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) commenced trading on September 24, 1998, following its initial public offering priced at $18 per share. The stock experienced rapid appreciation during the late 1990s dot-com boom, but subsequently declined sharply amid the 2000-2002 market crash, with adjusted lows reaching approximately $0.45 per share in October 1998 before broader recovery. Over the subsequent decades, EBAY shares reflected the company's growth in e-commerce gross merchandise volume (GMV) and revenue, interspersed with volatility from competitive pressures, the 2008 financial crisis, and the 2015 PayPal spin-off, which initially pressured valuation but allowed eBay to refocus on its marketplace core. Long-term total returns, including dividends reinvested, have yielded positive outcomes for holders from inception, though underperforming broader indices like the S&P 500 in certain periods due to slower growth relative to pure-play retail peers.[112][113][114] In recent years, EBAY stock has shown resilience and upward momentum, achieving an all-time closing high of $100.45 on August 13, 2025, driven by improved profitability, share repurchases, and favorable market conditions for value-oriented tech stocks. As of October 24, 2025, shares closed at $97.20, reflecting a year-to-date total return of approximately 56% and a 12-month gain of 67%, outperforming the S&P 500's trailing returns in the same timeframe. Five-year cumulative returns stand at 80.70%, with the stock trading at a forward P/E ratio below 17 as of late 2025, indicating perceived undervaluation relative to earnings growth projections. These trends correlate moderately with revenue expansion, as eBay's TTM revenue reached $10.47 billion by October 2025, supported by higher take rates and cost efficiencies, though stock price movements have also been influenced by macroeconomic factors like interest rates and consumer spending shifts rather than revenue alone.[112][115][113][116][117]| Key Stock Milestones | Date | Adjusted Closing Price |
|---|---|---|
| IPO Opening | Sep 24, 1998 | ~$18 (unadjusted) |
| Post-Dot-Com Low | Oct 8, 1998 | $0.45 |
| All-Time High | Aug 13, 2025 | $100.45 |
| 52-Week High (2025) | Recent | $101.15 |