EBAY eBay Inc

   By Micah Maidenberg 
 

Ebay Inc. shares fell Thursday as the company said revenue growth was poised to slow in the second quarter as many economies return to more normal conditions and because it forecast a weaker-than-expected profit for the April-through-June stretch.

Shares of the company traded down 11.3% near midday.

Ebay gained ground last year as consumers around the world spent more time at home and shifted to ecommerce as many retailers temporarily closed stores in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Revenue jumped 20% on a comparable basis for the year, and merchandise volumes, which measure the value of deals between buyers and sellers on its platforms, totaled $100 billion.

That momentum continued in the first quarter, with revenue increasing 38% on a comparable basis to $3 billion, helped along by strong demand in the U.S. for products like sneakers, luxury watches and trading cards, the company said Wednesday.

Now, however, Ebay faces the challenge of continuing to expand after several quarters of robust gains. For the second quarter, Ebay said Wednesday that it believes it will generate $2.98 billion to $3.03 billion in revenue, up 8% to 10% on a comparable basis. The forecast reflects in part weaker volumes in its marketplace, executives said on an investor call.

The biggest difference between the first quarter and the second quarter "would be the fact that the mobility is in a better place today than it was at the beginning of the first quarter," Ebay interim finance chief Andrew Cring said on an investor call Wednesday.

Ebay also said Wednesday that it believes it will earn a profit of 91 to 96 cents a share after adjustments in the second quarter, less than the $1 per share that analysts expected for that earnings measurement, according to Stifel.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2021 13:05 ET (17:05 GMT)

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