eBay Says Live Sellers Move Twice As Much On The Core Site As They Sell On Camera
CEO Jamie Iannone pitched eBay Live as a feeder for the main marketplace, while the CFO said take rate is not the goal.
eBay Live sellers generated "roughly twice as much GMB on the core marketplace as they sold in live events" over the past 12 months, CEO Jamie Iannone told analysts on the company's third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. His pitch for Live as a feeder to the main marketplace came as analysts pressed management on lower-take-rate businesses.
Live as a feeder to the core
Iannone, answering a Moffett Nathanson analyst's question about Live's addressable categories, said the business reaches well beyond trading cards into fashion, handbags, watches, and home and garden. He called Live and the core marketplace "highly synergistic."
Answering a Morgan Stanley analyst, he said Live had another record quarter and is at a multi-billion-dollar annualized GMV run rate, with growth "well into the triple digits." He described a halo effect and repeated a figure from last quarter: buyers spend 70% more once they get involved with Live than comparable buyers do.
EBay, which runs an online marketplace for new and pre-owned goods, said Live and vehicles each grew well into the triple digits in the quarter.
Take rate is not the target
The same Moffett Nathanson analyst noted that Live, Depop and vehicles grow faster than the core but carry lower take rates, and asked whether the restructuring leaves enough room to fund them without hurting margins. CFO Peggy Alford said eBay chases opportunities that add GMV and operating-income dollars even at a lower percentage take rate, and is not "optimizing for take rate." Vehicles, with high-value transactions growing at triple-digit rates, were her example.
Take rate fell 20 basis points year over year, Alford said, citing faster growth in Live and consumer-to-consumer sales, category and price mix, and the inclusion of Depop. Last week eBay announced it would cut its workforce by about 9%.
Fourth-quarter guide and 2027
For the fourth quarter, Alford guided to GMV of $23.7 billion to $24.1 billion, up 12% to 14% on a total FX-neutral basis including Depop. Revenue is forecast at $3.19 billion to $3.24 billion, up 7% to 9% on the same basis. She tied the gap to Depop's lower take rate, the UK shipping shift from gross to net revenue accounting, and mix, some of it temporary.
She also guided to adjusted earnings per share of $1.48 to $1.53. Management's early 2027 planning assumes trading-card growth moderates after the extraordinary levels of 2026.
The company's board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share for the fourth quarter, payable in December, and eBay still targets roughly $2 billion of repurchases for the full year.
Sources
- EBay Posts Another Earnings Beat. It Projects Double-Digit Growth for Merchandise Volume. — Barron's
- eBay (EBAY) Q3 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates — Yahoo Finance
- EBay Stock Jumps After Strong Q3 Results | Investor's Business Daily — investors.com
- eBay rallies after posting strong GMV growth in Q3 (EBAY:NASDAQ) | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
- ExxonMobil, Leidos, eBay and More: CNBC’s ‘Final Trades’ — benzinga.com
