eBay (EBAY), which competes with other e-commerce sites like Amazon.com (AMZN), Walmart (WMT), Overstock.com (OSTK), and Blue Nile (NILE), recently held an Investor Day in which the company discussed future growth areas and presented its business outlook through 2013. One notable highlight of the presentation was the company's expectation of rapid growth from its PayPal, Bill Me Later and StubHub businesses.

Here we examine eBay's growth areas in detail and the potential upside that it could add to our $32.81 stock price estimate, which stands slightly below market price.

Continue reading Gauging Future Growth Areas for eBay

Gauging Future Growth Areas for eBay originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) lowered its Q3 earnings forecast below analysts' estimates.
• Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (NYSE: EYE) lowered guidance led to an analyst's downgrade.
• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) fell well short of Q3 estimates on lower demand and falling prices.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) Q3 profits fell more than estimated, and it cut its dividend.
• Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC) forecast a full-year loss and accelerated layoffs.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) Q4 earnings just missed estimates thought revenues were up.
• Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) earnings results and growth prospects impressed one analyst.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) earnings may be diluted by its acquisition of Bill Me Later.
• Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) earnings prospects led to an analyst's downgrade.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) results were in line with low expectations, and dividends will be sustained.
• General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) earnings prospects for 2009 impress Jim Cramer.
• Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST) Q3 earnings tumbled while revenue slipped.
• IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) surprised Wall Street by offering strong Q3 preliminary results.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: GE, IBM, Bank of America, Alcoa, Yum! Brands and others

Earnings highlights: GE, IBM, Bank of America, Alcoa, Yum! Brands and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to a report from the 451 Group, the third quarter was horrible for tech M&A. With the financial crisis, it's tough to get buyers interested in deals.

But, today we got some relief; that is, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) agreed to shell out $820 million in cash for Bill Me Later. In fact, the company also paid $390 million for bilbasen.dk, which is a leading classifieds operator in Denmark.

At the same time, eBay plans to slash 10% of the workforce (amounting to about 1,000 employees). With an impending global recession, the environment is likely to be pretty bad for consumer platforms.

Thus, with the Bill Me Later transaction, there may be some traction -- especially with the PayPal business. But again, eBay will need to demonstrate skill with integration (which can be particularly tough in the tech world). Besides, eBay's M&A track record has been spotty, specially since its Skype deal.

Bill Me Later will certainly be costly. While the company is growing quickly, its revenue is only $150 million. Besides, the deal will dilute eBay's 2009 earnings by 6 cents to 13 cents per share. Also, might the credit crunch result in some problems for Bill Me Later?

More importantly, eBay announced that revenue will be at the low end of its forecast for Q3. In other words, the company realizes it needs to make some big moves to keep up the momentum.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website

eBay tries again . . . with a big acquisition originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amazon.com to use 'Bill Me Later' as payment option originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.