Thanks To PayPal And Marketplace Growth, eBay’s Q1 2013 Revenue Up 14 Percent To $3.7B, Net Income Up 19 Percent

After posting strong Q4 2012 results in January, eBay once again saw better-than-expected financial results in Q1 2013. Revenue was up 14 percent to $3.7 billion, compared to the same period of 2012. The company reported first quarter net income on a GAAP basis of $677 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, and non-GAAP net income of $829 million, or $0.63 per diluted share. Analysts expected eBay to post earnings of $0.62 with revenue of $3.77 billion (eBay missed on revenue but beat earnings).

“We had a strong first quarter, with accelerating user growth across both Marketplaces and PayPal, and with GSI enabling their retail clients to grow faster than ecommerce,” said John Donahoe, eBay’s president and CEO, in a release. “Technology is creating a commerce revolution, and we are in the forefront with strong mobile leadership and a focus on helping retailers and brands engage consumers anytime, anywhere.”

The company said that eBay gained approximately 2.8 million new customers in the period through mobile, driving double-digit growth in active users at both PayPal and Marketplaces.

PayPal’s revenue was up 18 percent to $1.5 billion, and the payments giant gained 5 million active registered accounts in the period and ended the quarter with 128 million, a 16 percent increase. PayPal’s net total payment volume (TPV) grew 21 percent to $41 billion, driven by consumer and merchant use of PayPal both on and off eBay.

Marketplaces revenue increased 13 percent to $2 billion with marketplaces gaining 3.9 million active users in the period, ending the quarter with 116 million, a 13 percent increase. Gross merchandise volume (GMV), excluding vehicles, increased 13 percent to $18 billion, reflecting the continued improvements to eBay’s core technology designed to make it easier and faster for consumers to shop and buy. Sold items increased 12 percent. Fixed price GMV grew 17 percent globally and represented 68 percent of total GMV. U.S. GMV, excluding vehicles, increased 16 percent as mobile engagement and momentum in fashion and tickets were key drivers of growth. International GMV, excluding vehicles, increased 11 percent to $11 billion. Marketplaces continues to invest in innovation and expanding its addressable market both locally and globally.

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eBay expects earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.46 – $0.48 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.61 – $0.63 for Q2.

Because the company has seen strong growth in PayPal, mobile sales and marketplace, investors have been bullish on eBay and its stock. During the first quarter, the company reorganized its mobile group and released a number of new apps and expanded its same-day delivery service.

During its analyst day a few weeks ago, eBay revealed that it plans to enable at least $300 billion in global commerce across its businesses, up from $175 billion in 2012.

PayPal also had an eventful quarter, adding new retailers to its in-store payments product, and releasing its mobile payments card reader in the U.K. (ahead of competitor Square). The payments giant also released an iPad app, acquired mobile app development startup Duff Research, and released new mobile SDKs.