EBay forecasts Q2 revenue below estimates as consumer spending remains strained

(Reuters) – Ecommerce firm eBay forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as demand cools for its key product categories like collector’s items and auto parts, sending shares down 5% in extended trading.

The San Jose, California-based company has been under pressure as inflation-hit shoppers are becoming increasingly choosy about their online purchases, as well as competition from larger platforms like Amazon.com.

It expects revenue in the range of $2.49 billion to $2.54 billion for the quarter ending June. Analysts on average were expecting $2.56 billion, according to LSEG data.

The company forecast adjusted per share earnings of $1.10 to $1.15, the mid-point of which came in below analysts estimate of $1.14.

With bigger e-commerce platforms gaining the lion’s share of the market, eBay re-oriented itself in the recent years and scaled offerings in the so called “focus categories” such as luxury bags and watches, refurbished electronics and auto parts and accessories.

In 2022, eBay bought trading cards marketplace TCGplayer for $295 million to scale the collectible cards category. It also started services to authenticate luxury and collectible items.

Revenue in the most recent quarter ended March 31 rose 2% to $2.56 billion, slightly above analysts’ estimate of $2.53 billion. Adjusted per share earnings of $1.25 came in higher than analyst estimates of $1.20.

Gross merchandise volume, a key industry gauge that denotes the total value of goods and services sold on the marketplace, rose 1% to $18.62 billion.

Active buyers remained steady at 132 million as of March-end. The company defines active buyers as customers who paid for a transaction on eBay within the previous 12-month period.

(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)