eBay Inc. (EBAY) Earnings

Management highlights

• The company had a strong start in 2026 with Q1 results exceeding guidance and consensus estimates. Gross merchandise volume grew 14% to $22.2 billion, revenue grew 17% to $3.09 billion, and non-GAAP operating income grew 18% to $907 million. • Focus categories, C2C, and recommerce collectively make up approximately 70% of total GMV, each achieving double-digit growth. • The collectibles category was a major driver of GMV growth, with the 30th anniversary of Pokémon and strong sports trading card performance. TCGplayer and Goldin showed growth. • The Motors P&A business was robust, benefited by the Guaranteed Fit program and the acquisition of Aladine Systems. The vehicles business was scaling. • The fashion business experienced growth through the expansion of the Authenticity Guarantee and the use of AI tools like the Magical Listing. • eBay Live was rapidly scaling, operating in 7 markets, and the 48 Hours of Drops event in the U.S. set new GMV records. • AI-powered tools such as the Magical Listing and the agentic search beta contributed to increased engagement.

Guidance

• Q2 guidance: GMV is expected to be between $21.3 billion and $21.7 billion, representing a total FX-neutral year-over-year growth of 8% to 10%. Revenue is forecasted to be between $2.97 billion and $3.03 billion, implying a total FX-neutral growth of 8% to 10% year over year. Non-GAAP operating income is expected to grow between 6% and 10% year over year, and non-GAAP earnings per share is between $1.46 and $1.51, with year-over-year growth of 7% to 11%. • For the full year 2026, excluding the impact of the pending Depop acquisition, the company is planning for year-over-year GMV growth of 7% to 7.5% on an FX-neutral basis. Revenue growth is expected to be in line to slightly ahead of GMV. Non-GAAP operating income is anticipated to grow between 9% and 11%. The pending acquisition of Depop is expected to close by the end of 2026 and is projected to contribute approximately one percentage point to total FX-neutral GMV growth for the year.

Segment performance

Gross merchandise volume rose by 14% to $22.2 billion in Q1. Revenue grew 17% to $3.09 billion. Non-GAAP operating income increased 18% year over year to $907 million. Focus categories, consumer-to-consumer (C2C), and recommerce account for approximately 70% of total GMV. Focus categories GMV grew 24% in Q1. The Motors Parts & Accessories (P&A) business delivered its strongest quarter of year-over-year GMV growth since 2021. TCGplayer growth remained strong, and Goldin's growth accelerated with a new quarterly GMV record. C2C business saw double-digit GMV growth in the U.S., U.K., and Germany. eBay Live had an annual GMV run rate more than 8 times higher year over year compared to previous periods.

Risks & headwinds

• There are dynamic macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties in many of the company's major markets. • The demand for gold and silver bullion, which had a transitory benefit to GMV growth in Q1, is expected to revert to historical levels in Q2. • Competition in the C2C and fashion recommerce markets poses challenges. • Uncertainties exist regarding the impact of regulatory changes and trade policies on shipping and cross-border operations.

Analyst Q&A

• Q: Hey there. Thank you for taking my question. Jamie, I was hoping you could help bridge the gap between that 6% U.S. buyer growth number and GMV number, which was much higher than that. What have you seen on order frequency trends relative to ASP growth? And I guess bigger picture, is the funnel for new buyers that are coming to eBay Inc. expanding again?

  A: Yes. We are encouraged by what we are seeing with our buyers, and we see even more positive signals when you look at the underlying trend. So, while global active buyers increased by 1% year over year and enthusiasts grew by 2% year over year, that really does not tell the whole story. Our U.S. growth has been much stronger at 6% year over year, and U.S. enthusiast buyers grew even faster at 8%. We have also talked about our mid-value buyers, Nikhil, and what we have seen is they have also grown year over year every quarter since the beginning of 2024, consistently outpacing our total active buyer growth, which really suggests strong trends beneath the surface. That is somewhat counterbalanced by some of the trends that we are seeing internationally, mitigated by the macro pressure. So overall, what I would say is I am very pleased with the strength we are seeing across the board: the improvements in buyer count, the cohort mix, the engagement, and the spend. And it is really balanced. When you look at U.S. GMV, Nikhil, it is balanced between active buyers, sold items, and ASP, which I think is a healthy place to be.

• Q: And maybe if I could follow up with a question around gross margin and COGS for Peggy. As we think about initiatives like Live and all the AI product investment you are making now, how do we think about the puts and takes on COGS over the long term for the business? And any offsets that you might have elsewhere—productivity gains or otherwise—to counter that? Thank you.

  A: Thanks for the question. When we look at our Q1 gross margin, we saw it was driven primarily by cost of payments and operational efficiencies. We said it was up one point year over year. It benefited from the U.K. managed shipping program switching from gross to net accounting at the beginning of the year. And as we look further into the year, we do see that there are going to be some similar puts and takes to the gross margin drivers. But what we are really excited about is that we are continuing to see a lot of strength on the top line. And because of the diverse nature of our growth areas—if you look at Live and some of the AI efficiencies that we are seeing—you are going to see different drivers to gross margin, but all of this is going to benefit both the top line as well as our operating profit dollars as we scale.