Dive Brief:
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In its Q4 2013 earnings report, eBay Inc. said its marketplaces sold non-vehicle merchandise valued at $21.518 billion, a 13% increase over Q4 2012’s $19.105 billion. The company also announced a $5 billion stock buyback, and reported $4.5 billion in revenues (up 13%) and an annual profit increase of 9%.
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The company also disclosed that activist corporate investor Carl C. Icahn had acquired .82% of eBay stock and wants to choose two directors.
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Stocks surged after the announcements, with some attributing the rise to Icahn’s proposal to split eBay and PayPal into two companies — a notion roundly rejected by CEO John Donohoe.
Dive Insight:
Things at eBay got interesting when observers discovered some juicy tidbits in its Q4 2013 earnings report. Healthy increases in sales and revenue were obvious good news, but perhaps more interesting was the disclosure of investor-raider Carl C. Icahn sticking his beak in the company’s plans, making two nominations to its board and advocating for the split of Paypal from eBay. The disclosure has sent CEO John Donohoe out to explain why Paypal and eBay play better together than apart.
“Payments is an essential part of commerce. Everyone loves to shop, no one loves to pay,” Donohoe said. “So, we focus on taking the friction out of paying. We strive to make it easy, safe, and secure. And we are innovating to ... drive engagement and create more value for consumers and merchants. This is what we do. And we have been successful exactly because PayPal and eBay are together.” There’s even more from Donohoe here.
