Shares of the popular internet auction site eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) are moving strongly higher today following its first quarter earnings numbers that came in well above analyst estimates. As we discussed in our earnings preview, we knew that it was going to be a tough quarter for the company, which had sales drop in the face of declining consumer sales. Despite this, the company was able to post first quarter earnings of 39 cents per share, which is handily above the 32 cents per share that analysts were expecting to see. It earned 42 cents per share during the same period last year.
After hours traders have pushed the stock up over 6% on the earnings news this afternoon. While earnings did come in above expectations, there are still plenty of signs that the company is dealing with a tough marketplace. Revenues, for example, were down by 8% in the quarter. Total revenue for the quarter was $2.02 billion, which once again topped analyst estimates for $1.94 billion.
According to the company's CEO, John Donahoe, eBay "delivered solid results in the first quarter" and that it has been able to "strengthen our portfolio for longer-term growth". Sounds great, but he did go on to caution investors that the company is still dealing with an "environment that remains challenging".
Shares of the company have been pretty beaten up over the past years, but for now, traders are focusing on the positives, and rewarding the company for beating out analyst estimates. What do you think the future holds in store for eBay stock?
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