Bob Swan is the new chief financial officer of eBay. Only 30 days into the job he had the daunting task of presenting his first earnings release and running a gauntlet of analyst questions.
He did a great job, but his caution on the call came across as real worry. He (with some help from Meg), was happy to list all the risks to eBay's forecast one he was pressured about why he didn't raise guidance. Here's what he's worried about:
- EBay is getting more seasonal with age -- like regular retailers -- so its Q2 and Q3 could be worse than expected.
- The company allowed stores to list more stuff, which deluged customers with listings when they did searches. Customers bought less. That's why total merchandise sales grew 18% in the quarter but listings grew 33%. That move has been rolled back in Canada and the U.S., but its impact still needs monitoring.
- More emphasis on security (or trust and safety, as eBay calls it), could hurt sales. Even though Swan said, "we know it is the right thing to do."
- Korea is facing competitive pressures.
- Revenues per listing declined in the quarter, mainly due to the growth in store inventory, which has lower average selling prices than auction inventory.
- EBay Express is launching next week and it could possibly supress revenues generated per listing (it's all stores and all fixed price). eBay doesn't know if it will, but it could.
Sounds like a lot to worry about, doesn't it?
Will Rich Ross really have a positive impact on Disney's movie operations?
Consumers sick of recession, may spend extra on holidays
Corrections, seasonality and Santa Claus
