EBay beats quarterly profit estimates, forecasts current-quarter sales above expectations

(Reuters) – EBay Inc’s quarterly profit topped Wall Street expectations on Wednesday and the e-commerce company forecast fourth-quarter sales above estimates, as people staying at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic took to online shopping.

The company’s shares rose 2% in extended trade.

Ebay said it expects fourth-quarter revenue in the range of $2.64 billion and $2.71 billion, while analysts were expecting $2.54 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

E-commerce firms and retailers with a strong online presence have witnessed a spike in demand as the COVID-19 pandemic has led more people to shop online.

Revenue rose to $2.61 billion from $2.08 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $2.48 billion.

Net income from continuing operations rose to $621 million, or 88 cents per share, for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $210 million, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, eBay earned 85 cents per share, above estimates of 77 cents per share.

(Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)