eBay’s Fourth Quarter Earnings Call: The Five Most Important Analyst Questions

eBay Q4 2025: Broad Growth and Strategic Progress

eBay delivered strong results in the fourth quarter, achieving growth across its key focus areas, the consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace, and initiatives centered on recommerce. Leadership credited improvements to ongoing investments aimed at streamlining transactions and enhancing the platform’s AI-driven features, including an upgraded listing experience. These efforts led to greater user engagement and a larger inventory of pre-owned items. CEO Jamie Iannone noted that, “In 2025, recommerce accounted for more than 40% of eBay’s gross merchandise volume,” attributing this to the company’s strategy, which has fueled momentum in both established and emerging segments like collectibles and fashion.

Should You Consider Buying eBay Stock?

Key Highlights from eBay’s Q4 2025 Earnings

• Revenue: $2.97 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.88 billion (15% year-over-year increase, 3% above estimates)
• Adjusted EPS: $1.41, exceeding analyst projections of $1.35 (4.4% above estimates)
• Adjusted EBITDA: $890 million, compared to analyst forecasts of $850 million (30% margin, 4.7% above estimates)
• Q1 2026 Revenue Guidance: $3.03 billion at the midpoint, ahead of the $2.79 billion consensus
• Q1 2026 Adjusted EPS Guidance: $1.56 at the midpoint, above the $1.48 analyst estimate
• Operating Margin: 20.3%, consistent with the same period last year
• Active Buyers: 135 million, unchanged year-over-year
• Market Cap: $38.21 billion

Analyst Q&A: Insights from the Earnings Call

While management’s prepared remarks are informative, the real insights often come from analysts’ questions, which can surface challenging or nuanced topics. Here are the top five questions that stood out:

• Nikhil Devnani (Bernstein Research): Asked about the drivers behind broad-based U.S. growth. CEO Jamie Iannone pointed to years of investment in priority categories, C2C, recommerce, and recent marketing and product improvements.
• Colin Sebastian (Baird): Inquired about the impact of AI tools and focus category expansion internationally. Iannone responded that while these efforts are yielding positive results, economic headwinds in Europe are limiting overall growth.
• Ross Sandler (Barclays): Queried the mix of durable versus non-durable growth drivers, such as bullion and collectibles, through 2026. CFO Peggy Alford explained that some early 2026 growth is due to bullion and coins, which may normalize, but most growth is expected to be sustainable.
• Nathaniel Feather (Morgan Stanley): Asked about revenue synergies from the Depop acquisition and cross-listing opportunities. Iannone discussed integrating value-added services and drew parallels to successful strategies used with Goldin Auctions in collectibles.
• Thomas Champion (Piper Sandler): Probed the objectives and benefits of eBay Live. Iannone shared that eBay Live is driving double-digit growth in core categories, increasing seller engagement, attracting new buyers, and expanding geographically with notable activations.

What to Watch in Upcoming Quarters

Looking ahead, key areas to monitor include:

• How effectively eBay integrates Depop and leverages cross-listing and additional services
• The adoption and scaling of AI-powered features like the magical listing experience and agentic search for both buyers and sellers
• The continued traction of eBay Live and vehicle transaction solutions in new markets
• The pace of recommerce growth and the recovery of international markets, which will be crucial for overall momentum

eBay’s stock is currently trading at $85.13, up from $82.18 before the earnings release. Is this a pivotal moment for the company?

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