The global commerce and auction site eBay reported another quarter of higher-than-expected revenue and earnings, saying its growth is robust and broad-based, partially because of artificial-intelligence-powered "Magical Listing technology."
Gross merchandise volume grew 15% to $23.2 billion, well above the $22.3 billion Wall Street expected and beating its own projections of $22.0 billion to $22.4 billion.
What's more, eBay expects that to increase by 12% to 14% in the fourth quarter and by 14% for the full calendar year.
EBay's offerings now range from pre-owned fashion to luxury watches, to collectible coins to trading cards, to cars and one-of-a-kind auction finds, like a rare 1776 Exeter Broadside copy of the Declaration of Independence sold for $3.65 million.
Highlights during the quarter include: record triple-digit growth year over year at eBay Live, by enabling multistreaming capabilities that let sellers broadcast simultaneously across eBay Live and social platforms, with expansion across all seven markets; expansion of its AI-powered Magical Listing technology to all new and reactivated listers in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Australia, France and Italy; and enhancing AI-assisted technology to help buyers and sellers more quickly and easily buy and sell items, including via Depop, its consumer-to-consumer resale site popular with Gen Z and Millennials.
Focus categories, consumer-to-consumer marketplace, and recommerce leadership are "driving strong, sustained growth, while innovations across eBay Live, Shipping, and our portfolio are making the platform more trusted, seamless, and compelling for buyers and sellers around the world," CEO Jamie Iannone said.
While other retailers are navigating higher fuel and shipping costs, eBay expanded its shipping options to enable sellers to reach buyers in more than 190 markets, by shipping to a domestic eBay hub like Chicago before sending the product along with other items to buyers overseas, said John Egbert, vice president of investor relations.
EBay shares were up 4.3%, to $123.10, in late trading, after closing up 0.2% at $118.02 in regular trading.
For the current fourth quarter, eBay expects revenue to grow 7% to 9%, to between $3.19 billion and $3.24 billion. It projects adjusted earnings per share of $1.48 to $1.53.
It projects full-year adjusted earnings per share of $6.25 to $6.30. It expects revenue to increase 12% to 13%, to between $12.62 billion and $12.67 billion.
Analysts were expecting adjusted earnings of $4.51 per share on revenue of $12.55 billion. They anticipate gross merchandise volume of $90 billion. In 2025, eBay posted adjusted earnings of $5.52 a share on revenue of $11.1 billion, and gross merchandise value of $79.6 billion.
EBay earlier this month confirmed plans to cut its workforce by about 9%, affecting about 1,000 people, saying the move was taken to "ensure we continue to operate from a position of strength by aligning our teams and resources with our top strategic priorities."
The stock notched a new closing high on Oct. 15, days after Morgan Stanley analyst Nathan Feather named it a top stock pick. The stock is up 35.5% through Wednesday's close and up 18.6% over the past 12 months.
