The BusinessWeek 50 Ranking
37
eBay
DESPITE NEW COMPETITION from the likes of Google Inc. and its GoogleBase classified ad service, eBay is still humming. Sales last year jumped 39%, to $4.6 billion, thanks in part to the rapid expansion of online payment unit PayPal Inc., which eBay bought in 2002. The San Jose (Calif.) online marketplace is counting on more savvy acquisitions to make up for slow growth in its core U.S. auction market, spending $3.6 billion in a yearlong shopping spree. The biggest prize eBay won was $2.6 billion-plus Internet phone phenom Skype Technologies, which it hopes will grease communication between buyers and sellers. The challenge for Whitman & Co. this year will be to manage this batch of acquisitions. At the same time, eBay is unleashing a flurry of new initiatives aimed at drawing a wider variety of merchants and retailers to sell or advertise on eBay. EBay Express, for instance, will let merchants more easily sell new items at fixed prices. Doing all of that won’t be easy. The resulting uncertainty may be why investors have knocked eBay’s stock down 15% since the beginning of the year.
Company Info |
|
| 2005 Rank | 19 |
| GET MORE COMPANY INFO | EBAY |
| Market Value $ Million | 56,251.6 |
| Total Return $ Million | (1-yr.) -6.5
(3-yr.) 104.3 |
| 2005 Sales $ Billion | 4.6 |
| Sales Growth $ Million | (1-yr.) 39
(3-yr.) 54.9 |
| Long-Term Growth Est. % | 25.0 |
| Net income $ Million | 1,082.0 |
| Net Income Growth $ Million | (1-yr.) 39
(3-yr.) 64.1 |
| Net Margin %* | 23.8 |
| Return on Inv. Capital (%)* | 10.8 |
| Share Price 12-Mo. Hi/Lo | 48/31 |
| P/E Ratio | 51 |
| Industry | Software & Services |
| CORPORATE WEB SITE | |
