The Carl Icahn-instigated “eBay Breakup” officially took place at the end of a Friday afternoon last summer, with PayPal going public the following Monday on July 20, 2015. One year later, the companies are faring much as expected.
For sellers, not much has changed thanks to eBay’s 5-year operating agreements with PayPal in which it is penalized if the percent of GMV paid for through PayPal falls under its 2015 levels. eBay continues to favor PayPal in its Accepted Payments policy that restricts which payment methods sellers can advertise in their listings.
On Wednesday, eBay will announce its second quarter earnings, giving investors and analysts access to its first full-year results after the breakup (shy just 2 weeks). In a report published Monday, SunTrust’s Bob Peck said he expects low-single digit US GMV growth for eBay for the quarter.
While sellers no longer hear about former eBay CEO John Donahoe’s much trumpeted and oft-extended 3-year turnaround plans, the company continues to outline its three-pronged plan crafted by its new CEO.
Peck reminded investors of eBay’s “critical structured data initiative” and wrote in Monday’s report, “eBay is in the middle of an 18+ month platform transformation, with wide-ranging initiatives meant to enhance the consumer experience via better price, selection, convenience, and trust.”
While last summer’s breakup was about splitting eBay and PayPal, eBay also jettisoned a number of business units including eBay Enterprise (GSI Commerce and Magento) as well as its investment in Craigslist.
Luckily eBay kept its StubHub ticket business, as its growth rate is much healthier than that of the eBay marketplace, as Peck notes, even though it’s a smaller percentage of eBay revenue.
eBay will be celebrating its anniversary later this month at an event in Las Vegas where it promised to provide attendees with insights into its long term strategy along with updates on seller tools and information about programs to grow their businesses.
So, are eBay sellers better off than they were a year ago?
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