eBay Inc. Reports Strong Second Quarter 2012 Results

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eBay Inc., a global commerce platform and payments company (Nasdaq: EBAY), today reported that revenue for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012 increased 23% to $3.4 billion, compared to the same period of 2011. The company reported second quarter net income on a non-GAAP basis of $730 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, up 16% year over year primarily due to strong top-line growth partially offset by increased investment in the shopping experience and the impact of acquisitions. GAAP net income of $692 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, reflected a gain on the divestiture of a business in 2012 and increased significantly year over year due to a loss from the divestiture of certain GSI businesses and GSI transaction-related expenses in the second quarter of 2011.

“Reconciliation of GAAP Effective Tax Rate to Non-GAAP Effective Tax Rate”

"We delivered a great second quarter, driven by eBay Marketplaces' best performance in years, strong growth at PayPal and strong same-store-sales growth for GSI's large retail customers," said John Donahoe, eBay Inc. President and CEO. "Our entire company is strong, but we're particularly pleased with eBay Marketplaces, which delivered its strongest organic growth in gross merchandise volume, excluding vehicles, since 2006. And mobile continues to be a game changer. We now expect eBay and PayPal mobile to each transact $10 billion in volume in 2012 -- that's more than double 2011, a staggering surge in mobile shopping and payments on devices that did not exist just a few years ago. Retail is at an inflection point, and we are helping to reshape how people around the world shop and pay."

PayPal delivered a strong second quarter performance. PayPal ended the quarter with 113.2 million active registered accounts, a 13% increase over the second quarter of 2011. PayPal revenue increased 26% year over year, driven primarily by increased penetration on eBay as well as continued merchant and consumer adoption and strong growth in Bill Me Later. PayPal's net total payment volume (TPV) grew 20% year over year to $34.5 billion. PayPal continues to focus on innovation, delivering on its vision of anytime, anywhere payments and growing its business in mobile and point of sale. This quarter, the company announced a joint venture with SoftBank in Japan, extending its global expansion strategy for small business payment solution PayPal Here. Sixteen large brand-name U.S. retailers have announced their intent to work with PayPal on point of sale initiatives. The PayPal point of sale payment solution, which gives shoppers the opportunity to pay using just their mobile phone number or PayPal payment card and PIN, was rolled out in Abercrombie & Fitch and Jos. A. Bank stores in the U.S. beginning in the quarter.

eBay's Marketplaces business delivered its strongest organic growth rate in gross merchandise volume (GMV), excluding vehicles, since 2006, at 15% on a year-over-year basis, excluding the effects of foreign currency (FX). Also excluding FX, international GMV, excluding vehicles, increased 16% and fixed price GMV, excluding vehicles, increased 20% year over year.

Marketplaces GMV, excluding vehicles, increased 10% year over year to $16 billion in the second quarter of 2012. Marketplaces revenue increased 9% year over year, driven by strong growth across all regions. Sold items increased 20% compared to the second quarter of 2011, a 2.5 percentage point acceleration, reflecting a better customer experience and improved selection. U.S. GMV, excluding vehicles, in the second quarter increased 14% year over year, driven by growth in active users, mobile engagement and strong performance in key verticals, including fashion, tickets and parts & accessories. International GMV, excluding vehicles, increased 8% year over year to $10 billion, driven by strong growth in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Fixed price GMV, which represented 65% of total GMV in the second quarter, grew 13% globally year over year. Downloads of eBay's suite of mobile apps have surpassed 90 million globally since the launch of mobile in the third quarter of 2008.

The company's GSI business, which was acquired in the second quarter of 2011, contributed $221 million in revenue for the second quarter. GSI generated $674 million in global ecommerce (GeC) merchandise sales during the second quarter. Same store sales grew 21% year over year, reflecting strong ecommerce sales from retail clients.

Other Selected Financial Results

• Operating margin — GAAP operating margin increased to 20.5% for the second quarter of 2012, compared to 18.8% for the same period last year. The increase in GAAP operating margin was due primarily to the impact of GSI transaction-related expenses incurred in the second quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP operating margin decreased to 27.3% in the second quarter, compared to 27.6% for the same period last year.
• Taxes — The GAAP effective tax rate for the second quarter of 2012 was 19%, compared to 3% for the second quarter of 2011. The increase was due primarily to the tax benefit received in 2011 for the loss on the divestiture of certain GSI businesses immediately following the acquisition of GSI. For the second quarter of 2012 and 2011, the non-GAAP effective tax rate was 24% and 19%, respectively.
• Cash flow — The company generated $768 million of operating cash flow and $411 million of free cash flow during the second quarter of 2012.
• Stock repurchase programs — The company repurchased approximately $355 million of its common stock in the second quarter of 2012. In addition, the company's board of directors authorized an additional $2 billion stock repurchase program, continuing to offset dilution from the company's equity compensation programs.
• Cash and cash equivalents and non-equity investments — The company's cash and cash equivalents and non-equity investments portfolio totaled $7.6 billion at June 30, 2012, up from $7.5 billion at December 31, 2011.
• Capital allocation — The company believes that it has a strong balance sheet and free cash flow that will allow it to finance its organic needs and stock repurchase programs over the near to medium term, and the company does not anticipate meaningful mergers and acquisitions activity in the near term. However, most of the company's cash is generated and resides offshore. The company intends to remain opportunistic when assessing sources of additional liquidity, and to the extent it increases liquidity above current levels, the company expects that its net income and earnings per share will be negatively affected.

Business Outlook

• Third quarter 2012 — eBay expects net revenues in the range of $3,300 - $3,400 million with GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.42 - $0.44 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.53 - $0.55.
• Full year 2012 — eBay expects net revenues in the range of $13,800 - $14,100 million with GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.91 - $1.96 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $2.30 - $2.35.

Quarterly Conference Call

eBay will host a conference call to discuss second quarter 2012 results at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time today. A live webcast of the conference call, together with a slide presentation that includes supplemental financial information and reconciliations of certain non-GAAP measures to their nearest comparable GAAP measures, can be accessed through the company's Investor Relations website at http://investor.ebayinc.com. In addition, an archive of the webcast will be accessible for 90 days through the same link.

About eBay Inc.

Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) is a global commerce platform and payments leader connecting millions of buyers and sellers. We do so through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, which allows users to buy and sell in nearly every country on earth; through PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive digital payments; and through GSI, which facilitates ecommerce, multichannel retailing and digital marketing for global enterprises. X.commerce brings together the technology assets and developer communities of eBay, PayPal and Magento, an ecommerce platform, to support eBay Inc.'s mission of enabling commerce. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes the following financial measures defined as “non-GAAP financial measures” by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP effective tax rate and free cash flow. These measures may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The presentation of this financial information, which is not prepared under any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles, is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures, see “Business Outlook,” “Non-GAAP Measures of Financial Performance,” “Reconciliation of GAAP Operating Margin to Non-GAAP Operating Margin,” “Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income to Non-GAAP Net Income,” “Reconciliation of GAAP Effective Tax Rate to Non-GAAP Effective Tax Rate” and “Reconciliation of Operating Cash Flow to Free Cash Flow” included in this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, the future performance of eBay and its consolidated subsidiaries that are based on the company's current expectations, forecasts and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expected financial results for the third quarter and full year 2012, and the future growth in the Payments, Marketplaces and GSI businesses, mobile payments and mobile commerce. The company's actual results could differ materially from those predicted or implied and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: changes in political, business and economic conditions, including any European or general economic downturn or crisis and any conditions that affect ecommerce growth; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; changes to our capital allocation, including increasing liquidity above current levels; the company's ability to profitably integrate, manage and grow businesses that have been acquired recently or may be acquired in the future; the company's need to successfully react to the increasing importance of mobile payments and mobile commerce and the increasing social aspect of commerce; the company's ability to deal with the increasingly competitive ecommerce environment, including competition for its sellers from other trading sites and other means of selling, and competition for its buyers from other merchants, online and offline; the company's need to manage an increasingly large enterprise with a broad range of businesses of varying degrees of maturity and in many different geographies; the effect of management changes and business initiatives; the company's need and ability to manage other regulatory, tax and litigation risks as its services are offered in more jurisdictions and applicable laws become more restrictive; any changes the company may make to its product offerings; the competitive, regulatory, credit card association-related and other risks specific to PayPal and Bill Me Later, especially as PayPal continues to expand geographically and introduce new products and as new laws and regulations related to financial services companies come into effect; the company's ability to timely upgrade and develop its systems, infrastructure and customer service capabilities, including GSI's v.11 initiative, at reasonable cost; and the company's ability to maintain site stability and performance on all of its sites while adding new products and features in a timely fashion. The forward-looking statements in this release do not include the potential impact of any acquisitions or divestitures that may be announced and/or completed after the date hereof.

More information about factors that could affect the company's operating results is included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by visiting the company's Investor Relations website at http://investor.ebayinc.com or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are based on information available to the company on the date hereof. eBay assumes no obligation to update such statements.

eBay Inc.
Business Outlook
(In Millions, Except Per Share Amounts)

The guidance figures provided below and elsewhere in this press release are forward-looking statements, reflect a number of estimates, assumptions and other uncertainties, and are approximate in nature because eBay's future performance is difficult to predict. Such guidance is based on information available on the date of this press release, and eBay assumes no obligation to update it.

eBay's future performance involves risks and uncertainties, and the company's actual results could differ materially from the information below and elsewhere in this press release. Some of the factors that could affect the company's operating results are set forth under the caption “Forward-Looking Statements” above in this press release. More information about factors that could affect eBay's operating results is included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by visiting the company's investor relations website at http://investor.ebayinc.com or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

eBay Inc.
Non-GAAP Measures of Financial Performance

To supplement the company's condensed consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), eBay uses non-GAAP measures of certain components of financial performance. These non-GAAP measures include non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP effective tax rate, and free cash flow.

These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. In addition, these non-GAAP measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. Non-GAAP measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the amounts associated with eBay's results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP. These measures should only be used to evaluate eBay's results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP measures.

Reconciliation to the nearest GAAP measure of all non-GAAP measures included in this press release can be found in the tables included in this press release.

These non-GAAP measures are provided to enhance investors' overall understanding of the company's current financial performance and the company's prospects for the future. Specifically, the company believes the non-GAAP measures provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain expenses, gains and losses or net purchases of property and equipment, as the case may be, that may not be indicative of its core operating results and business outlook. In addition, because eBay has historically reported certain non-GAAP results to investors, the company believes that the inclusion of non-GAAP measures provides consistency in the company's financial reporting.

For its internal budgeting process, and as discussed further below, eBay's management uses financial measures that do not include stock-based compensation expense, employer payroll taxes on stock-based compensation, amortization or impairment of acquired intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, significant gains or losses from the disposal/acquisition of a business, restructuring-related charges and the income taxes associated with the foregoing. In addition to the corresponding GAAP measures, eBay's management also uses the foregoing non-GAAP measures in reviewing the financial results of eBay.

eBay excludes the following items from non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP effective tax rate:

Stock-based compensation expense. This expense consists of expenses for stock options, restricted stock and employee stock purchases. eBay excludes stock-based compensation expenses from its non-GAAP measures primarily because they are non-cash expenses that management does not believe are reflective of ongoing operating results. eBay also excludes its proportionate share of Skype's stock-based compensation expense.

Employer payroll taxes on stock-based compensation. This amount is dependent on eBay's stock price and the timing and size of exercises by employees of their stock options and the vesting of their restricted stock, over which management has limited to no control, and as such management does not believe it correlates to eBay's operation of the business.

Amortization or impairment of acquired intangible assets, impairment of goodwill and significant gains or losses and transaction expenses from the acquisition or disposal of a business. eBay incurs amortization or impairment of acquired intangible assets and goodwill in connection with acquisitions and may incur significant gains or losses from the acquisition or disposal of a business and therefore excludes these amounts from its non-GAAP measures. eBay also excludes its proportionate share of Skype's amortization of acquired intangibles expense. eBay also settled a legal exposure in conjunction with the acquisition of a business and excludes this settlement payment. In addition, eBay's results are also impacted by hedge transactions related to unique movements of cash from significant business acquisitions or dispositions. eBay excludes the impact of the accretion of a note receivable associated with the disposal of certain businesses. eBay excludes these items because management does not believe they correlate to the ongoing operating results of eBay's business.

Restructuring. These charges consist of expenses for employee severance and other exit and disposal costs. eBay excludes restructuring charges primarily because management does not believe they are reflective of ongoing operating results.

Income taxes associated with certain non-GAAP entries. This amount is used to present stock-based compensation and the other amounts described above on an after-tax basis consistent with the presentation of non-GAAP net income.

In addition to the non-GAAP measures discussed above, eBay also uses free cash flow. Free cash flow represents operating cash flows less net purchases of property and equipment. eBay considers free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business after the purchases of property, buildings, and equipment, which can then be used to, among other things, invest in eBay's business, make strategic acquisitions, and repurchase stock. A limitation of the utility of free cash flow as a measure of financial performance is that it does not represent the total increase or decrease in the company's cash balance for the period.