eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) saw its earnings and revenue surge in the fourth quarter of 2020 as the volume of merchandise sold on its platform jumped over the holiday season.
In its results for the three months to December 31, 2020, released after the close on Wednesday, the online marketplace reported income of US$781mln, or US$1.12 per share, up from US$469mln, or US$0.58 per share, a year earlier, while revenues climbed to US$2.9bn from US$2.2bn. The quarterly dividend was also lifted to US$0.18 per share.
The results blew past analyst expectations, which were forecasting earnings of US$0.83 per share on revenues of US$2.7bn.
Over the quarter, the company highlighted 21% growth in its gross merchandise volumes to US$26.6bn, noting that the launch of its authenticity guarantee for luxury watches and trainers had helped boost growth in both categories by double and triple digits respectively.
eBay also delivered a strong full-year performance, with net income rising to US$2.5bn in the 12 month period from US$1.5bn while revenues surged to US$10.3bn from US$8.6bn.
Looking ahead, the company forecast earnings per share for the first quarter of 2021 of between US$0.81-0.86 alongside revenue growth of 35%-37% year-on-year to between US$2.94bn-US$2.99bn.