eBay’s first quarter results are on track, but second quarter revenue guidance is lacking. Stocks Fall By Investing.com

Investing.com — eBay reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, but consumer weakness as global economic difficulties persisted prompted the company to issue sales guidance for the year that fell slightly short of expectations.

eBay Inc (NASDAQ:) fell 2.75% in pre-market trading on Thursday following the report.

eBay reported adjusted earnings of $1.25 per diluted share and revenue of $2.6 billion. This compares to analyst estimates of EPS of $1.2 and revenue of $2.53 billion.

Total merchandise volume, a key measure of growth, rose 1% to $18.6 billion amid a recovery in user growth.

Over the past 12 months, the number of active buyers who paid for transactions on eBay’s platform reached 132 million, down 1% year-on-year.

“Our first quarter results highlight the resilience of our markets and business model amid ongoing challenges in the global economy,” said Steve Priest, eBay’s Chief Financial Officer.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, eBay guided for adjusted EPS of $1.10 to $1.15 and revenue of between $2.49 billion and $2.54 billion. This compares to consensus estimates for EPS of $1.14 and revenue of $2.56 billion.

The company also reiterated its expectation to achieve positive gross merchandise value (GMV) growth year-over-year in the third and third quarters, assuming a stable operating environment.

eBay announced a cash dividend of $0.27 per share, payable on June 14 to shareholders as of May 31.

“Based on these results, given the volatility of the consumer environment, we expect investor debate to continue over the trajectory of GMV through the second half of this year and whether EBAY can expand margins while maintaining sufficient levels of reinvestment in key growth areas. Possibly after 2024,” Goldman Sachs analysts said.

“Longer term, we continue to see multiple public discussions about the company’s competitive position in the broader e-commerce and consumer Internet landscape, which informs our framing of the stock’s more negative risk/reward,” they added. Yes.

Analysts reaffirmed a sell rating on EBAY stock and lowered their price target from $40 to $38.

Meanwhile, Mizuho Securities analysts maintained a neutral opinion but raised the target stock price from $44 to $49.

The adjustment is based on a partial sum valuation as we increased the EBITDA multiple for our e-commerce business from 4.5x to 5x in fiscal 2025 to reflect improving trends.

(Yasin Ebrahim contributed reporting)