eBay Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY  ) reported earnings on April 18. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), eBay beat expectations on both revenue and earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
eBay reported revenue of $3.28 billion. The 27 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $3.15 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 29% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.55 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.55. The 31 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.52 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.44 for Q1 were 22% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.36 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 70%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.9%, 230 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 17.4%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.36 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.54.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $13.87 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.29.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 3,581 members rating the stock outperform and 556 members rating it underperform. Among 1,183 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,095 give eBay a green thumbs-up, and 88 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on eBay is outperform, with an average price target of $38.61.

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