Tag: eBay

CRM MATCHING: What Advertisers Aren’t Being Told About Scale
Given the “who’s who” list of platforms offering it, CRM matching has truly arrived. And why not? CRM matching is arguably the most advanced way for brands to connect the dots to their target audiences, and then help them deliver targeted messaging.

Among its many selling points, CRM matching can help advertisers reactivate latent customers, prospect for new customers, or exclude current customers from new advertising campaigns. CRM matching can also assist in reaching customers where they spend their daily screen time, whether on desktops, tablets, or, as studies show, increasingly in-app on smart phones. The sad truth is, when it comes to matching customers on a massive scale, advertisers are led to believe that the only way to scale affordably is to use a hybrid combination of probabilistic and deterministic CRM matching. There’s got to be a better way.

Probabilistic matching uses big data analysis to associate multiple devices to likely consumers or households. This approach, while generally viewed as delivering scale affordably, is akin to mathematical guesswork. As the name implies, deterministic refers to the ability to determine specific identities and therefore confirm a match. Deterministic methods include the use of proprietary systems, server-to-server, and/or third-party platforms. Each has its inherent pros and cons.
1. Advanced proprietary systems offer a simple, rapid and secure way to use encrypted or hashed customer data in the matching process to ensure consumers’ privacy. Proprietary systems cut out middle men, making the process more efficient. Proprietary systems are not open, however, so advertisers should evaluate the transparency of the kinds of connections the partner is willing to make with the data within those proprietary systems.
2. Server-to-server deterministic matching refers to advertisers who use a data management platform or DMP (e.g., Adobe, BlueKai, etc.). Ask the tech provider about setting up a cookie sync to target audience segments in real time. This allows for matching to occur at the cookie/device ID level, thus alleviating the need for email addresses while still identifying the desired matches. Because it’s hard to track across several platforms, server-to-server matching generally returns lower match rates.
3. Third-party platforms are popular because they connect click-throughs with on-board, point-of-sale (POS) data, closing the loop between online and offline behavior for match lists. However, beware of any hidden costs associated with them, and factor these into the budget planning stage to avoid surprises once programs are underway.
As consumers grow more comfortable with providing their email addresses to retailers–whether to eliminate an in-store paper receipt, or to track shipping status of online purchases,

this CRM data fuels successful matching programs. This enables marketers to close in on reaching advertising’s holy grail: the better understanding of purchase behavior and lifestyle interests to inform ads that consumers will welcome, versus ignore, reject or ridicule.

So, is CRM matching at scale only attainable via a hybrid approach? As sophisticated as today’s probabilistic matching algorithms have become, the combination of deterministic and probabilistic in a hybrid solution is ultimately still guesswork. On the other hand, publishers with access to millions of users logging in to their favorite apps are in a good position to determine who these users are, and secure higher CRM match rates. Why would you pay for something without knowing 100% what you’re getting? CRM matching should be thought of in the same light.

In our age of big data and technical sophistication, it’s time to cease deploying “spray and pray” methods. When it comes to CRM matching and digital advertising, brands should stop settling, and pursue models based on deterministic data. The smarter we are about our targeting and measurement, the more successful our campaigns and ultimately, brands will be.

Three key takeaways:
- Anyone who has a mailing list or any retailers with transactional data should be using CRM targeting.
- Publishers with millions of log-ins typically achieve higher match rates than those with smaller data sets and have the ability to reach consumers in mobile apps, where they are spending the bulk of their daily device time.
- Factor ways to close the loop between on-line purchases and off-line sales for the greatest returns on CRM matching program investment.
Article by Salim Tarazi, Director, US Ad Operations & Yield, eBay Advertising
September 21, 2016
What eBay’s Pricing Data Can Teach Small Businesses

“How do you price your good or service? It’s one of those questions that you have to have an answer for on day one. And you really, really want to get the right answer,” says John Henry, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and host of eBay’s Open for Business Podcast. “It all starts back in 2008 when a guy named Terry Kniess did something on The Price is Right that hadn’t been done in four decades. He did something that every business owner can learn a valuable lesson from.” What the now legendary Terry Kniess did was “guess” the exact price of $23,473 to win the Showcase prizes in 2008.

What did Terry Kniess and his wife do that entrepreneurs can learn from? Study the data. Once Kniess and his wife decided to attend a Price is Right taping they decided that it would be a good idea to study the show by recording episodes and watching the show looking for clues. “After we decided that that was where we were going to go, I said if we’re going to the Price is Right, let’s do it correctly,” Kniess told Henry. “I said, let’s study the show, and we’ll go in the fall.”

“We’d sit down every night and watch the show and look at the prizes that were up for grabs that day, and we started making a little mental list, of ‘Oh, this has been on before,” said Kniess. “And the first thing we noticed, was that the prizes repeated… and the prices never changed!” That key piece of information was the trick that Kniess used to predict the price of his showcase. “Do your homework. Do your homework. Do your homework.”

Lesson One: Do Your Homework

“Do your homework sounds really simple, but it can feel daunting when you’re first starting out,” stated John Henry, the 23-year-old Dominican-American entrepreneur and founder of the startup accelerator Cofound Harlem and the podcast host. “How do you go about taking all the work and expense, the blood, the sweat, and the tears you’ve put into your business, and distilling all of that into a single number, the price of your product?” Henry noted that picking the wrong price can be disaterous, even leading to business failure. He says, “Do your homework. That’s lesson one. Everything starts there. The thing is, doing your homework used to take a lot of time. In the past, companies had to send people to actual physical stores all over the country, in order to get information about their competitors’ prices and set a baseline number. Now there are tons of e-commerce sites that can help you find the right price. And one of those sites is eBay.”

“I like to think of eBay as sort of like the Kelley Blue Book of everything,” stated Zoher Karu, Chief Data Officer at eBay. “We have such a vast number of items for sale. I think it’s around 900 million now, and eBay, of course, has brand new inventory, but it also has, for example, last season’s model. Or it has maybe a refurbished version. The used version. So it’s that breadth and depth of inventory and sales histories that allows us to think of the Kelley Blue Book of everything.”

In essence, eBay should be used to validate all of your product price points before you add them to your ecommerce website or on eBay itself.

“If you do it right, you can bear fruit for a long time, and if you do it wrong, which is what happens in most cases, you’re digging out of a hole for a long time,” commented Mickey Goodman, who has worked for Kraft and Unilever and has taught classes on pricing strategy at NYU Stern and is now a Professor of Business & Entrepreneurship at Savannah College of Art and Design. Henry points out that most small business owners do something called “cost-based pricing,” and it’s a really bad idea. “Let’s take it back to when I was setting prices for dry cleaning at my first company, Mobile City,” explained Henry. “I called all the dry cleaners in the area, and pretended to be an interested customer. I asked how much for a shirt, how much for a blazer. Eventually, they’d get suspicious and stop giving prices to me over the phone, so I’d get my girlfriend at the time to call. And then, once I knew the price range I was working with, I decided to charge just a little bit more for the service than what it cost me to provide it. In business speak, this is called “cost-based pricing.” And in my case, and lots of other cases, it’s a mistake.”

“That’s what people intuitively do because it kind of makes common sense, which is you take your costs and you say ‘I’d like to make a 20% profit,’ you know, whatever it is,” replied Goodman. “And you add 20% to your costs and you say here’s my price.”

Henry drives the point home with a personal story that all business owners can learn from:

“If you go the cost-based route, you risk underselling yourself and leaving a lot of money on the table. It can cost you your business. It nearly cost me mine. I remember sitting in the living room with my Pops. I was crunching the numbers. I usually did it every Sunday and I realized I was gaining customers, but actually losing money. And that’s because I simply was not charging enough. I called a mentor of mine, and I’ll never forget what he told me. He said, ‘John, you’re delivering five star quality at McDonald’s prices.’ That conversation saved my company. The very next day, I immediately raised my prices. And while I lost a bunch of my customers at first, I ultimately found a new clientele that weren’t as price sensitive. They were happy to pay a premium for the service I provided. This brings us to lesson two: don’t set a price based on what it costs you to make something. Instead, set the price based on what your customers think that thing is worth. This is what Mickey calls “value-based pricing.””

Lesson Two: Use Value-Based Pricing

“It’s based around the concept of you know when people are buying a good or service it’s ‘cause it’s fulfilling some need for them,” stated Goodman. “Now at the most basic level if they’re thirsty and they buy a bottle of water the need is that they were thirsty.” Henry replied, “So lesson number two: value-based pricing. Price your product based on how much it’s worth to your potential customers.”

There is also the question of how to determine value. Jon Wirt, Head of Marketing for Pushd, tests the market for its new products by having people come in and give their feedback on the product, price and value. “How much do you think this costs to buy and what is the max you personally would pay for it,” Wirt asked a beta tester in reference to their new digital picture frame product called the Aura.

Tester: “I think something like this is probably worth $150. I would not pay more than more than $225.”

Wirt tells the beta tester the actual price is $399.

Tester: “Yeah, that’s expensive for the size. I could see if it bled all the way up to the end, I would consider paying $399, but as-is I wouldn’t pay $399.”

“It’s a weird experience to come in and do that,” Wirt said. “Like, you came into a beta test, you’re getting paid, you’re using something that’s half finished in a room where I’m videotaping you and writing down notes. It’s like an awkward experience. And then you’re like guessing this number. I don’t expect them to get it right.”

“I have to ask, you’re framing it like they’re getting the answer wrong,” stated Frances Harlow, Branded Content Producer at Gimlet Media and one of this podcasts producers. “But what if you guys are getting the answer wrong and how do you know that you’re not getting the answer wrong?” Wirt replied, “Until you launch, you don’t really know.” Harlow added, “What Pushd is facing is a problem that lots of business owners face. When we consumers are presented with a product, we naturally and immediately make mental comparisons. We ask ourselves, ‘What is this thing like?’ And then we form our opinion about what the price should be. And in the beta testers case, I got a clue about how this works when Jonathan brought up the iPad, and the tester described his mental comparisons.”

Lesson Three: Manipulate Your Comparisons

“And this challenge that Pushd is facing gets to our third lesson,” stated Henry. “As a business owner, you have to manipulate your comparisons.” Henry elaborated, “Position your product in the marketplace so when people inevitably compare it to similar products out there, they’ll feel like they’re getting a good deal.”

“What you want to do is differentiate your offering so much that there is no straightforward comparison,” added Ruth Bolton who is Professor of Marketing at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and formerly worked in R&D at Verizon for years helping them with their pricing. “You have something that’s somewhat unique.”

“There’s always, in a sense, a competitive offering in that there’s some substitute that the customer will make if they can’t buy the service or the product that you’re offering,” said Bolton. “So it really comes down to kind of benefits per dollar.”

“One other point about manipulating comparisons — or the kinder, gentler way of saying it: creating favorable comparisons,” added Harlow.” One way to position your product in the marketplace is to literally position it, in the right environment. So with Pushd, they want you to think “fancy home decor” when you see the Aura.”

“Well if they want to do that, it might just be helpful to put them in a “fancy, home decor” showroom with the Aura, not a startup’s temporary office space,” said Henry. “And there’s one more thing Ruth would do differently, she doesn’t ask open-ended questions about prices, the way that Jonathan does at Pushd. What she would do is ask each customer a single yes or no question.” Bolton responded, “Would you buy it or not and then you do it with somebody else, would you buy it or not?”

“You don’t push back and you don’t ask how they arrived at that number,” said Henry. “And that’s because it’s more realistic. With pricing, it’s almost always a yes or no question. Would you buy it or not?” Bolton added that “you start varying the price and so you can kind of sort of start to figure out, what the shape of that demand curve is.”

“The shape of the demand curve is what we’ve been talking about this whole time… how to set a price,” said Henry. “There is no guaranteed way to pick the perfect price, but there are concrete steps you can take to get close.”

John Henry’s four steps to picking the perfect price:

1. Do your homework. The good news? It’s now easier than ever with all the data we’re gathering from e-commerce sites, like eBay. That will give you a range of prices.

2. Once you’ve found that range, be bold. Pick a number that reflects the value you bring to your customers, not just your own production costs.

3. Create favorable comparisons. Position your product so that customers feel like they’re getting a fair deal, and one way to position your product is to pay close to attention to how you’re physically positioning it.

4. Be prepared to repeat steps one through three. Prices change. They’re dynamic. That’s part of why they’re so hard to set in the first place. Even on the Price Is Right. After Terry’s spectacular win,, the show’s producers switched it up. The show now features all-new prizes, and guess what? Their prices change.

Listen to the full podcast here:

July 8, 2016
eBay Adds Product Categories to Promoted Listings

Last year, eBay launched Promoted Listings, an ad format that enables sellers to get multi-quantity items in front of potential buyers in search results and only pay when the ad is clicked and the item is purchased.

The format has been available for the following categories: Health & Beauty, Musical Instruments & Gear, Toys & Hobbies, Home & Garden, Baby, Sporting Goods, Jewelry & Watches, Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Cameras & Photo, Video Games & Consoles, Computers/Tablets & Networking, Consumer Electronics, and Cell Phones & Accessories.

The company just announced the addition of seven more categories that can now take advantage of Promoted Listings to boost visibility. These include: Antiques, Collectibles, Dolls & Bears, Pottery & Glass, Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop, Stamps, and Travel.

Sellers can have up to 500 listings per campaign, and can promote up to a third of their eligible inventory in the categories listed.

Starting on May 1, eBay is giving Anchor Stores subscribers $25 per quarter in credit to use toward Promoted Listings. The credits expire at the end of each quarter.

April 26, 2016
eBay Announces Update On USPS Package Pickups

eBay made a quick announcement regarding USPS package pickups in light of recent changes made by the Postal Service. In a brief post, the company said:

Sellers can now schedule a pickup on First-Class Package Service without having to choose at least one Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Returns or International package.

This is due to a recent update made by the USPS, in which the First-Class Package Service selection was separated from the “Other” category (see screenshot below). The previously communicated workaround is no longer necessary.

In related news, eBay has fixed a major bug in its mobile apps that told consumers there was free shipping on items that didn’t actually offer it.

Images via iStock, eBay

April 26, 2016
eBay: We Fixed That ‘Free Shipping’ Glitch

Earlier this month, we reported on a glitch in eBay’s mobile apps that was telling buyers that some items had free shipping even when the seller had not indicated that they did. This, according to some, had been happening for over a year, but gained more attention in recent weeks.

In one eBay forum thread, a seller explained:

I had a customer make a Best Offer using their cell phone that showed Free Shipping at the time it was viewed, but this was not a free shipping item. I accepted the offer, but there was no mention of free shipping in the Message section of the offer.

The customer is pretty upset with me. I am aware from the message boards that this is a glitch, but how do I convince the customer of this? … and hopefully doing this without making them even more upset.

Other sellers in the forum acknowledged the issue as well. One responded, “OMG- Ebay keeps saying that this glitch is fixed, but obviously it is not!I had the same thing happen & I was very grateful that I had an understanding buyer.”

Eventually, eBay addressed the issue, saying it was working on a fix. Now, the company claims to have actually fixed it.

In the latest “Weekly chat with eBay staff,” the company says, “The Incorrectly Showing Free Shipping In Accepted Offers in Mobile issue has fixed across all mobile apps.”

Some other issues were fixed as well. These include the shipping amount not showing in sent invoices, missing item titles in billing invoices, random thumbnail images not appearing in search or categories, and USPS international tracking numbers not displaying all info.

Read eBay’s full post here.

Image via eBay

April 25, 2016
eBay ‘Free Shipping’ Glitch To Get Fix

Earlier this month, we reported on a glitch in the eBay mobile app that displays free shipping on items that don’t actually include that on their listings. Understandably, this has led to a bunch of frustrated buyers who are presented with unexpected shipping costs and frustrated sellers who have to deal with said buyers and who are worried about how it makes them look as sellers.

It’s a lose-lose for everybody involved, and some buyers are just going ahead and paying the shipping costs to keep customers happy. No seller wants to piss off buyers as things can quickly spiral out of control from there.

The issue has apparently been going on for quite some time without eBay’s acknowledgment. According to Consumerist, its’ been happening for at least a year to some degree.

The publication points to an announcement where eBay finally addresses the issue and says it’s working on a fix. It was brought up at the end of a broader post in the “Weekly Chat with eBay Staff” section of eBay’s forums. There, an eBay employee says:

The Incorrectly Showing Free Shipping In Accepted Offers in Mobile issue has been reported. The mobile team is testing the fix today. If all goes well, the fix should be released within the week.

Better late than never.

April 15, 2016
eBay Uses Structured Data For New Browsing Experiences

eBay announced new browsing modules for shoppers, leverage its structured data better and help users surface listings with savings, best-selling products, etc. The modules include “shop by brand” options and other ways to look at category pages without using keyword searches.

“Many users want to click to browse through items that they are interested in rather than rely on keyword searches,” said Dominique Bouchon, eBay’s Director of Search Front-End Product Management. “If we only surface a long list of listings, we miss the opportunity to surface the most interesting products and listings. We now have an algorithm that can instantly and intelligently surface them to our users.”

A new “save on” module is populated with best-priced listings via an algorithm that leverages the structured data to instantly identify listings where the price is lower than trending prices.

A “best selling” module surfaces relevant products rather than just listings. It can take a product category, such as digital cameras or guitars and surface the most popular models.

“Notably, the ‘Shop by’ guidance module at the top of many of our new results pages offer a ‘guided tour’ type of experience,” eBay says. “It helps navigate our very large selection of items by highlighting the key aspects we’ve learned that most people use to drill down from tens of thousands of results to the most relevant results.”

The company says one goal of the modules is to better serve users coming to eBay from Google results. The new experience will provide these visitors with better guidance on products.

The company says it has more browse module and search news in the pipeline for the coming months, so stay tuned for that.

Earlier this week, eBay made improvements for users searching for product identifiers. Last week, it revealed its big Spring Seller Update, which has a lot of changes for sellers.

April 14, 2016
eBay Improves Search For Product Identifiers

eBay announced improvements to its product identifier search experience in an effort to help sellers make it easier for buyers to find the right items.

Now, buyers can search for items by entering their GTIN, UPC, EAN, ISBN, or MPN directly in the search bar. Listings that include these identifiers will of course get better search visibility.

eBay is telling sellers to make sure and add this info to any listings that are missing them ASAP.

“Now, when buyers use a product identifier to search for an item, their results will include all the listings matching that item,” eBay says in an announcement. “To better streamline the search experience, we’re also changing the way eBay item number search works. Now, when you search for an item by its unique eBay item number, only active items that match will show up in the results.”

It adds, “To search for sold or completed items that are no longer active, you can:
Search for the item number and then click on Completed Listings in the left hand pane; Or look up your items in My eBay (or the Seller Hub when it becomes available later this summer); Or you can navigate to any eBay item by going directly to this URL by putting your eBay item number at the end of it.”

eBay discusses the changes here.

Last week, eBay announced its Spring Seller Update, which has a lot of big changes for sellers. Read all about those here.

April 11, 2016
Big Changes Coming For eBay Sellers

eBay just announced its Spring Seller Update, and there are a lot of changes this time. Some of these may not sit well with sellers though the company says the changes will drive conversion across its entire platform.

Some of the changes are specifically in relation to the mobile experience (which has already had a reported shipping display issue).

With the update, eBay will automatically generate shortened descriptions for products for display on mobile.

As Ina Steiner from eCommerceBytes says, “Sellers are already concerned that mobile shoppers are not reading descriptions carefully enough, leading to increased dissatisfaction and returns.”

eBay thinks people will like the change, however, claiming it will help users make faster and informed decisions.

In a blog post, the company says, “This simplifies the buying experience and helps to optimize for SEO – which can ultimately improve your conversion rates…with minimal work by you, since the summaries are auto-generated. However, we’re also adding the ability for you to customize exactly what shows in the mobile summary – I expect you’ll like having this level of control to help increase your chances for mobile conversion.”

eBay is also making changes to how sellers can use active content (like Javascript or Flash). As Steiner points out, many sellers use these things to personalize their stores and/or cross-merchandise items. The company says it’s been resulting in a bad mobile experience, slowing page load times and posing threats. This will go into effect early next year.

Some sellers will also face new or higher fees. Anchor Stores will see a $360 increase per quarter, while Basic Stores will go up $12 per quarter and Premium Stores will go up $30 per quarter. That’s on annual plans for Basic and Premium. Both Premium and Basic Stores will also see increases in zero insertion fee listing allotments for fixed-price and auction listings. All new fee information is available here.

eBay is expanding product reviews to make them easier to read, expanding them to more products, and including a cleaner design with “easy-to-identify ratings” and follow-up emails to those requesting reviews. eBay says supplying review info keeps people on site and increases sales by 18% on average. More on new review features here.

Seller Hub was announced in the Fall Seller Update, but now it’s coming to all sellers as the default way to manage listings beginning in the summer. According to the company, 25,000 sellers are already using it.

There are new category and item-specific updates coming in May, which you can peruse here.

There’s a new user agreement update, which goes into effect immediately for new users and on May 19 for everyone else. One update is the inclusion of indication that sellers who fail to meet minimum performance standards may have their accounts limited, suspended, or downgraded.

Another update states that for new sellers in all listings where returns are accepted, eBay will set a default rule that automates the return process. There are also “minor” changes to the dispute resolution policy. More on user agreement changes here.

If you’re a seller, be sure to take a few minutes and examine the full 2016 Spring Seller Update here.

April 5, 2016
eBay ‘Free Shipping’ Glitch Frustrates Buyers and Sellers

Based on complaints from sellers, eBay appears to be experiencing a glitch that is telling buyers that some items have free shipping when the seller has not actually indicated this. It’s not hard to believe this becomes quickly problematic for related transactions.

The glitch is reportedly occurring in eBay’s mobile app. Ina Steiner at eCommerceBytes points to an eBay forum thread in which a seller explains:

I had a customer make a Best Offer using their cell phone that showed Free Shipping at the time it was viewed, but this was not a free shipping item. I accepted the offer, but there was no mention of free shipping in the Message section of the offer.

The customer is pretty upset with me. I am aware from the message boards that this is a glitch, but how do I convince the customer of this? … and hopefully doing this without making them even more upset.

Other sellers in the forum acknowledge awareness of the issues as well. One responded, “OMG- Ebay keeps saying that this glitch is fixed, but obviously it is not!I had the same thing happen & I was very grateful that I had an understanding buyer.”

It’s unclear how long this has been going on and if eBay is actively working on a fix.

Image via eBay

April 4, 2016
New eBay Seller Standards Go Into Effect

Last Fall, eBay announced its fall seller update with what it called “simpler, more objective seller standards” and a new shipping metric as well as a new seller hub. The company said it expects the changes to help sellers grow their businesses.

The new standards too effect over the weekend (on February 20). From now on, only two key metrics will be used to measure seller performance, based on feedback the company has received from sellers.

One is a simplified defect rate that includes two basic measures: seller-cancelled transactions for out-of-stock items or those that can’t be fulfilled for any other reason, and cases closed without seller resolution.

The other is an on-time shipping metric that measures sellers’ shipping performance (based on what they can control) shipping the item on time.

“Fair and transparent standards are important to me not only as a champion for our millions of sellers, but as a seller myself,” says Jordan Sweetnam, VP of seller experience at eBay.

Sweetnam posted a letter to sellers on how the new standards were decided, and how they will create a more transparent selling experience. You can take a look at that here.

Image via eBay

February 22, 2016

eBay Earnings Released, Active Buyer Base Grows 5%

eBay just reported its earnings for the fourth quarter and full-year 2015. Highlights include gross merchandise volume of $21.9 billion, revenue of $2.3 billion, 5% growth in active buyer base (to 162 million), Non-GAAP and GAAP EPS per diluted share of $0.50 and $0.43, respectively, and a $550 million repurchase of common stock.

eBay President and CEO Devin Wenig said, “We delivered solid fourth quarter results and continued to make progress against our key priorities. The quarter also marked the end of an extraordinary year during which we completed the spin-off of PayPal. We continue to grow our business and customer base while executing our plan to reposition eBay for long-term success.”

Revenue and earnings were pretty close to Wall Street forecasts.

Here’s the release in its entirety:

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), a global commerce leader, today reported that gross merchandise volume (GMV) for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 was $21.9 billion, increasing 5% on a foreign exchange (FX) neutral basis and was flat year over year on an as-reported basis, reflecting the continued impact of a strong U.S. dollar. Revenue for the quarter was $2.3 billion, up 5% on an FX-Neutral basis and flat year over year on an as-reported basis, driving non-GAAP net income from continuing operations of $600 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, and GAAP net income from continuing operations of $523 million, or $0.43 per diluted share. During the quarter, the company generated $1.1 billion of operating cash flow from continuing operations and $1.0 billion of free cash flow from continuing operations. eBay also repurchased $550 million of its common stock and completed the divestiture of its Enterprise business on November 2, 2015.

“We delivered solid fourth quarter results and continued to make progress against our key priorities,” said Devin Wenig, President and CEO of eBay Inc. “The quarter also marked the end of an extraordinary year during which we completed the spin-off of PayPal. We continue to grow our business and customer base while executing our plan to reposition eBay for long-term success.”

Underlying total eBay Inc. performance, the Marketplace platform delivered $20.7 billion of GMV, resulting in $1.9 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter, up 1% on an FX-Neutral basis and down 3% on an as-reported basis. During the 2015 holiday shopping season, the Marketplace platform saw over 265 million transactions across 190 markets, as consumers around the world shopped for great deals and sought-after gifts. StubHub ended the year with strong momentum, driving GMV of $1.2 billion in the fourth quarter and $232 million of revenue, up 34%, aided by strength in the sports and concerts categories. Classifieds delivered another quarter of accelerating growth with revenue of $183 million, up 15% on an FX-Neutral basis and up 2% on an as-reported basis with strong performance in Germany and the United Kingdom.

For the full year 2015, eBay Inc.’s commerce platforms continued to connect buyers and sellers around the world, with an active buyer base that grew by 8 million, to 162 million total active buyers, representing 5% growth. Total GMV was $82 billion, up 5% on an FX-Neutral basis and down 1% on an as-reported basis, reflecting the impact of a strong U.S. dollar. Revenue was $8.6 billion, growing 5% on an FX-Neutral basis and down 2% on an as-reported basis. The company delivered strong operating and free cash flow on a continuing operations basis, generating $2.9 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively, during 2015.

The results of eBay Enterprise and PayPal are presented as discontinued operations, appearing net of tax in a single line in the company’s statement of income.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015 Financial Highlights (presented in millions, except per share data and percentages)

Fourth Quarter Full Year

2015 2014 Change 2015 2014 Change

eBay Inc.

Net revenues $2,322 $2,323 $(1) —% $8,592 $8,790 $(198) (2)%

GAAP – Continuing Operations

Income (loss) from continuing operations $523 $729 $(206) (28)% $1,947 $(865) $2,812 **

Earnings (loss) per diluted share from continuing operations $0.43 $0.59 $(0.16) (26)% $1.60 $(0.69) $2.29 **

Non-GAAP – Continuing Operations

Net income (loss) $600 $685 $(85) (12)% $2,232 $2,386 $(154) (6)%

Earnings (loss) per diluted share $0.50 $0.55 $(0.05) (10)% $1.83 $1.89 $(0.06) (3)%

**Not meaningful

Other Selected Financial and Operational Results

Operating margin — GAAP operating margin decreased to 28.5% for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to 31.5% for the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating margin decreased to 34.4% in the fourth quarter, compared to 36.7% for the same period last year.

Taxes — The GAAP effective tax rate for continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2015 was 19.5%, compared to 1.2% for the fourth quarter of 2014. The non-GAAP effective tax rate for continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2015 was 23.8%, compared to 20.3% for the fourth quarter of 2014.

Cash flow — The company generated $1.1 billion of operating cash flow from continuing operations and $1.0 billion of free cash flow from continuing operations during the fourth quarter of 2015.

Stock repurchase program — The company repurchased approximately $550 million of its common stock, or 19.9 million shares, in the fourth quarter of 2015. The company’s total repurchase authorization remaining as of December 31, 2015 was $1.8 billion.

Cash and cash equivalents and non-equity investments — The company’s cash and cash equivalents and non-equity investments portfolio totaled $8.5 billion as of December 31, 2015.

Business Outlook

First quarter 2016 — The company expects net revenue between $2.05 billion and $2.10 billion, representing FX-Neutral growth of 3% – 5%, with non-GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $0.43 – $0.45 and GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $0.37 – $0.39.

Full year 2016 — The company expects net revenue between $8.5 billion and $8.8 billion, representing FX-Neutral growth of 2% – 5%, with non-GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $1.82 – $1.87 and GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $1.55 – $1.60.

Quarterly Conference Call and Webcast

eBay Inc. will host a conference call to discuss fourth quarter 2015 results at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time today. A live webcast of the conference call, together with a slide presentation that includes supplemental financial information and reconciliations of certain non-GAAP measures to their nearest comparable GAAP measures, can be accessed through the company’s Investor Relations website at https://investors.ebayinc.com. In addition, an archive of the webcast will be accessible for 90 days through the same link.

eBay Inc. uses its Investor Relations website at https://investors.ebayinc.com as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor, in addition to following press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls and webcasts.

About eBay

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global commerce leader including the Marketplace, StubHub and Classifieds platforms. Collectively, we connect millions of buyers and sellers around the world, empowering people and creating opportunity through Connected Commerce. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay is one of the world’s largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection. In 2015, eBay enabled $82 billion of gross merchandise volume. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

Presentation

All growth rates represent year over year comparisons, except as otherwise noted. All amounts in tables are presented in U.S. dollars, rounded to the nearest millions, except as otherwise noted. As a result, certain amounts may not sum or recalculate using the rounded dollar amounts provided.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes the following financial measures defined as “non-GAAP financial measures” by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP effective tax rate and free cash flow. These non-GAAP financial measures are presented on a continuing operations basis. These measures may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The presentation of this financial information, which is not prepared under any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles, is not intended to be considered in isolation of, or as a substitute for, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures, see “Business Outlook,” “Non-GAAP Measures of Financial Performance,” “Reconciliation of GAAP Operating Margin to Non-GAAP Operating Margin,” “Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income to Non-GAAP Net Income and Reconciliation of GAAP Effective Tax Rate to Non-GAAP Effective Tax Rate” and “Reconciliation of Operating Cash Flow to Free Cash Flow” included in this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, the future performance of eBay Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries that are based on the company’s current expectations, forecasts and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the future performance of eBay Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, including expected financial results for the first quarter and full year 2016 and the future growth in our business. Actual results could differ materially from those predicted or implied and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Other factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: changes in political, business and economic conditions, any regional or general economic downturn or crisis and any conditions that affect ecommerce growth or cross-border trade; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the company’s need to successfully react to the increasing importance of mobile commerce and the increasing social aspect of commerce; an increasingly competitive environment for our business; changes to the company’s capital allocation or management of operating cash the company’s ability to manage its indebtedness, including managing exposure to interest rates and maintaining its credit ratings; the company’s need to manage an increasingly large enterprise with a broad range of businesses of varying degrees of maturity and in many different geographies; the company’s need and ability to manage regulatory, tax, data security and litigation risks; whether the operational, marketing and strategic benefits of the separation of the eBay and PayPal businesses can be achieved; the company’s ability to timely upgrade and develop its technology systems, infrastructure and customer service capabilities at reasonable cost while maintaining site stability and performance and adding new products and features; and the company’s ability to integrate, manage and grow businesses that have been acquired or may be acquired in the future.

The forward-looking statements in this release do not include the potential impact of any acquisitions or divestitures that may be announced and/or completed after the date hereof.

More information about factors that could affect the company’s operating results is included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the company’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by visiting the company’s Investor Relations website at https://investors.ebayinc.com or the SEC’s website atwww.sec.gov. All information in this release is as of January 27, 2016. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this press release, which are based on information available to the company on the date hereof. The company assumes no obligation to update such statements.

eBay Inc.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet

December 31,
2015 December 31,
2014

(In millions, except par value amounts)

ASSETS

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,832 $ 4,105

Short-term investments 4,299 3,730

Accounts receivable, net 619 600

Other current assets 1,154 1,048

Current assets of discontinued operations — 17,048

Total current assets 7,904 26,531

Long-term investments 3,391 5,736

Property and equipment, net 1,554 1,486

Goodwill 4,451 4,671

Intangible assets, net 90 133

Other assets 395 207

Long-term assets of discontinued operations — 6,368

Total assets $ 17,785 $ 45,132

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current liabilities:

Short-term debt $ — $ 850

Accounts payable 349 107

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 1,736 3,830

Deferred revenue 106 108

Income taxes payable 72 125

Current liabilities of discontinued operations — 12,511

Total current liabilities 2,263 17,531

Deferred and other tax liabilities, net 2,092 522

Long-term debt 6,779 6,777

Other liabilities 75 79

Long-term liabilities of discontinued operations — 317

Total liabilities 11,209 25,226

Total stockholders’ equity 6,576 19,906

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 17,785 $ 45,132

eBay Inc.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income

Three Months Ended
December 31, Year Ended
December 31,

2015 2014 2015 2014

(In millions, except per share amounts)

Net revenues $ 2,322 $ 2,323 $ 8,592 $ 8,790

Cost of net revenues ⁽¹⁾ 493 442 1,771 1,663

Gross profit 1,829 1,881 6,821 7,127

Operating expenses:

Sales and marketing ⁽¹⁾ 595 627 2,267 2,442

Product development ⁽¹⁾ 229 236 923 983

General and administrative ⁽¹⁾ 260 211 1,122 889

Provision for transaction losses 72 66 271 262

Amortization of acquired intangible assets 11 10 41 75

Total operating expenses 1,167 1,150 4,624 4,651

Income from operations 662 731 2,197 2,476

Interest and other, net (12 ) 7 209 39

Income from continuing operations before income taxes 650 738 2,406 2,515

Provision for income taxes (127 ) (9 ) (459 ) (3,380 )

Income (loss) from continuing operations $ 523 $ 729 $ 1,947 $ (865 )

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes ⁽²⁾ (46 ) 294 (222 ) 911

Net income $ 477 $ 1,023 $ 1,725 $ 46

Income (loss) per share – basic:

Continuing operations $ 0.44 $ 0.59 $ 1.61 $ (0.69 )

Discontinued operations $ (0.04 ) $ 0.24 $ (0.18 ) $ 0.73

Net income per share – basic $ 0.40 $ 0.83 $ 1.43 $ 0.04

Income (loss) per share – diluted:

Continuing operations $ 0.43 $ 0.59 $ 1.60 $ (0.69 )

Discontinued operations $ (0.04 ) $ 0.23 $ (0.18 ) $ 0.73

Net income per share – diluted $ 0.39 $ 0.82 $ 1.42 $ 0.04

Weighted average shares:

Basic 1,191 1,230 1,208 1,251

Diluted 1,204 1,241 1,220 1,251

(1) Includes stock-based compensation as follows:

Cost of net revenues $ 10 $ 10 $ 38 $ 33

Sales and marketing 19 22 94 93

Product development 25 26 108 116

General and administrative 24 35 139 102

$ 78 $ 93 $ 379 $ 344

(2) Includes PayPal financial results from October 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 for Fourth Quarter; January 1, 2015 to July 17, 2015 and January 1, 2014 toDecember 31, 2014 for Full Year; also includes the eBay Enterprise financial results from October 1, 2015 to November 2, 2015 and October 1, 2014 toDecember 31, 2014 for Fourth Quarter; January 1, 2015 to November 2, 2015 and January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 for Full Year.

eBay Inc.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

Three Months Ended
December 31, Year Ended
December 31,

2015 2014 2015 2014

(In millions)

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income $ 477 $ 1,023 $ 1,725 $ 46

(Income) loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes 46 (294 ) 222 (911 )

Adjustments:

Provision for transaction losses 72 66 271 262

Depreciation and amortization 171 164 687 682

Stock-based compensation 78 93 379 344

Gain on sale of investments 17 (9 ) (195 ) (12 )

Deferred income taxes 83 (235 ) (32 ) 2,744

Changes in assets and liabilities, net of acquisition effects 182 30 (180 ) 73

Net cash provided by continuing operating activities 1,126 838 2,877 3,228

Net cash provided by (used in) discontinued operating activities⁽¹⁾ (86 ) 803 1,156 2,449

Net cash provided by operating activities 1,040 1,641 4,033 5,677

Cash flows from investing activities:

Purchases of property and equipment (129 ) (200 ) (668 ) (622 )

Purchases of investments (2,292 ) (1,944 ) (6,744 ) (8,752 )

Maturities and sales of investments 1,202 3,910 6,781 8,115

Acquisitions, net of cash acquired — — (24 ) (55 )

Other (3 ) (6 ) (18 ) (11 )

Net cash provided by (used in) continuing investing activities (1,222 ) 1,760 (673 ) (1,325 )

Net cash provided by (used in) discontinued investing activities⁽¹⁾ 899 (688 ) (2,938 ) (1,348 )

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (323 ) 1,072 (3,611 ) (2,673 )

Cash flows from financing activities:

Proceeds from issuance of common stock 48 122 221 300

Repurchases of common stock (637 ) (1,182 ) (2,149 ) (4,658 )

Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation 2 19 74 75

Tax withholdings related to net share settlements of restricted stock units and awards (19 ) (28 ) (245 ) (252 )

Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt, net — — — 3,482

Repayment of debt (600 ) — (850 ) —

Other (21 ) (2 ) (11 ) 6

Net cash used in continuing financing activities (1,227 ) (1,071 ) (2,960 ) (1,047 )

Net cash provided by (used in) discontinued financing activities⁽¹⁾ 5 6 (1,594 ) 25

Net cash used in financing activities (1,222 ) (1,065 ) (4,554 ) (1,022 )

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (78 ) (110 ) (364 ) (148 )

Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents (583 ) 1,538 (4,496 ) 1,834

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 2,415 4,790 6,328 4,494

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period 1,832 6,328 1,832 6,328

Less: Cash and cash equivalents of discontinued operations – Enterprise — 29 — 29

Less: Cash and cash equivalents of discontinued operations – PayPal — 2,194 — 2,194

Cash and cash equivalents of continuing operations at end of period $ 1,832 $ 4,105 $ 1,832 $ 4,105

(1) Includes PayPal financial results from October 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 for Fourth Quarter; January 1, 2015 to July 17, 2015 and January 1, 2014 toDecember 31, 2014 for Full Year; also includes the eBay Enterprise financial results from October 1, 2015 to November 2, 2015 and October 1, 2014 toDecember 31, 2014 for Fourth Quarter; January 1, 2015 to November 2, 2015 and January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 for Full Year.

eBay Inc.

Unaudited Summary of Consolidated Net Revenues

Net Revenues by Type Three Months Ended

December 31,
2015 September 30,
2015 June 30,
2015 March 31,
2015 December 31,
2014

(In millions, except percentages)

Net Revenues by Type:

Net transaction revenues:

Marketplace $ 1,584 $ 1,459 $ 1,524 $ 1,536 $ 1,662

Current quarter vs prior year quarter (5 )% (5 )% (3 )% (3 )% N/A

Percent from international 63 % 62 % 62 % 60 % 63 %

StubHub 232 200 161 132 174

Current quarter vs prior year quarter 34 % 17 % 8 % (2 )% N/A

Percent from international 1 % 2 % 2 % 2 % 1 %

Total net transaction revenues 1,816 1,659 1,685 1,668 1,836

Current quarter vs prior year quarter (1 )% (3 )% (2 )% (3 )% N/A

Percent from international 55 % 54 % 56 % 55 % 57 %

Marketing services and other revenues:

Marketplace 326 266 251 235 312

Current quarter vs prior year quarter 4 % — % (5 )% (10 )% N/A

Percent from international 47 % 44 % 47 % 49 % 48 %

Classifieds 183 178 180 162 180

Current quarter vs prior year quarter 2 % (3 )% (4 )% (2 )% N/A

Percent from international 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %

Corporate and other (3 ) (4 ) (6 ) (4 ) (5 )

Total marketing services and other revenues 506 440 425 393 487

Current quarter vs prior year quarter 4 % (2 )% (5 )% (8 )% N/A

Percent from international 66 % 67 % 70 % 70 % 67 %

Total net revenues $ 2,322 $ 2,099 $ 2,110 $ 2,061 $ 2,323

Current quarter vs prior year quarter — % (2 )% (3 )% (4 )% N/A

eBay Inc.

Unaudited Supplemental Operating Data

Three Months Ended

December 31,
2015 September 30,
2015 June 30,
2015 March 31,
2015 December 31,
2014

(In millions, except percentages)

Active Buyers ⁽¹⁾ 162 159 157 156 154

Current quarter vs prior year quarter 5 % 5 % 6 % 8 % 10 %

Gross Merchandise Volume ⁽²⁾

Marketplace $20,676 $18,674 $19,273 $19,476 $20,883

Current quarter vs prior year quarter (1 )% (3 )% (2 )% (2 )% 1 %

StubHub $1,184 $927 $788 $675 $911

Current quarter vs prior year quarter 30 % 10 % 1 % 6 % 2 %

Total GMV $21,860 $19,601 $20,061 $20,151 $21,794

Current quarter vs prior year quarter — % (2 )% (2 )% (2 )% 1 %

(1) All buyers who successfully closed a transaction on our Marketplace and StubHub platforms within the previous 12-month period. Buyers may register more than once, and as a result, may have more than one account.

(2) Total value of all successfully closed transactions between users on our Marketplace and StubHub platforms during the period regardless of whether the buyer and seller actually consummated the transaction. We believe that GMV provides a useful measure of the overall volume of closed transactions that flow through our platforms in a given period, notwithstanding the inclusion in GMV of closed transactions that are not ultimately consummated.

eBay Inc.
Business Outlook
(In Millions, Except Per Share Amounts)

The guidance figures provided below and elsewhere in this press release are forward-looking statements, reflect a number of estimates, assumptions and other uncertainties, and are approximate in nature because the company’s future performance is difficult to predict. Such guidance is based on information available on the date of this press release, and the company assumes no obligation to update it.

The company’s future performance involves risks and uncertainties, and the company’s actual results could differ materially from the information below and elsewhere in this press release. Some of the factors that could affect the company’s operating results are set forth under the caption “Forward-Looking Statements” above in this press release. More information about factors that could affect the company’s operating results is included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by visiting eBay’s investor relations website at https://investors.ebayinc.com or theSEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

eBay Inc.

Three Months Ending

March 31, 2016

(In millions, except per share amounts) GAAP Non-GAAP ^(a)

Diluted EPS from continuing operations $0.37 – $0.39 $0.43 – $0.45

Twelve Months Ending

December 31, 2016

GAAP Non-GAAP ^(b)

(In millions, except per share amounts)

Diluted EPS from continuing operations $1.55 – $1.60 $1.82 – $1.87

(a) Estimated non-GAAP amounts above for the three months ending March 31, 2016, reflect adjustments that exclude the estimated amortization of acquired intangible assets of approximately $10 – $15 million and estimated stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes on stock-based compensation expense of approximately $85 – $95 million as well as the related tax impact.

(b) Estimated non-GAAP amounts above for the twelve months ending December 31, 2016, reflect adjustments that exclude the estimated amortization of acquired intangible assets of approximately $35 – $45 million and estimated stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes on stock-based compensation expense of approximately $410 – $430 million.

eBay Inc.
Non-GAAP Measures of Financial Performance

To supplement the company’s condensed consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, the company uses non-GAAP measures of certain components of financial performance. These non-GAAP measures include non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP effective tax rate, and free cash flow. These non-GAAP financial measures are presented on a continuing operations basis.

These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. In addition, these non-GAAP measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. Non-GAAP measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the amounts associated with the company’s results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP. These measures should only be used to evaluate the company’s results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP measures.

Reconciliation to the nearest GAAP measure of all non-GAAP measures included in this press release can be found in the tables included in this press release.

These non-GAAP measures are provided to enhance investors’ overall understanding of the company’s current financial performance and its prospects for the future. Specifically, the company believes the non-GAAP measures provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain expenses, gains and losses, or net purchases of property and equipment, as the case may be, that may not be indicative of its core operating results and business outlook. In addition, because the company has historically reported certain non-GAAP results to investors, the company believes that the inclusion of non-GAAP measures provides consistency in the company’s financial reporting.

For its internal budgeting process, and as discussed further below, the company’s management uses financial measures that do not include stock-based compensation expense, employer payroll taxes on stock-based compensation, amortization or impairment of acquired intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, significant gains or losses from the disposal/acquisition of a business, certain effects of the planned separation of our eBay and PayPal business, certain gains and losses on investments, restructuring-related charges and the income taxes associated with the foregoing. In addition to the corresponding GAAP measures, the company’s management also uses the foregoing non-GAAP measures in reviewing the financial results of the company.

The company excludes the following items from non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP effective tax rate:

Stock-based compensation expense and related employer payroll taxes. This expense consists of expenses for stock options, restricted stock and employee stock purchases. The company excludes stock-based compensation expense from its non-GAAP measures primarily because they are non-cash expenses that management does not believe are reflective of ongoing operating results. The related employer payroll taxes is dependent on the company’s stock price and the timing and size of exercises by employees of their stock options and the vesting of their restricted stock, over which management has limited to no control, and as such management does not believe it correlates to the company’s operation of the business.

Amortization or impairment of acquired intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, significant gains or losses and transaction expenses from the acquisition or disposal of a business and certain gains or losses on investments. The company incurs amortization or impairment of acquired intangible assets and goodwill in connection with acquisitions and may incur significant gains or losses from the acquisition or disposal of a business and therefore excludes these amounts from its non-GAAP measures. The company also excludes certain gains and losses on investments. The company excludes the impact of the accretion of a note receivable associated with the disposal of certain businesses. The company excludes these items because management does not believe they correlate to the ongoing operating results of the company’s business.

Restructuring. These charges consist of expenses for employee severance and other exit and disposal costs. The company excludes significant restructuring charges primarily because management does not believe they are reflective of ongoing operating results.

Other certain significant gains, losses, or charges that are not indicative of the Company’s core operating results. These are significant gains, losses, or charges during a period that are the result of isolated events or transactions which have not occurred frequently in the past and are not expected to occur regularly or be repeated in the future. The company excludes these amounts from its results primarily because management does not believe they are indicative of its current or ongoing operating results.

Separation. These are significant expenses that are related to the separation of our eBay and PayPal businesses into separate publicly traded companies. These consist primarily of third-party consulting fees, legal fees, employee retention payments, tax indemnifications and other expenses related to the separation.

Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments. This amount is used to present stock-based compensation and the other amounts described above on an after-tax basis consistent with the presentation of non-GAAP net income.

In addition to the non-GAAP measures discussed above, the company also uses free cash flow. Free cash flow represents operating cash flows less purchases of property and equipment. The company considers free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business after the purchases of property, buildings, and equipment, which can then be used to, among other things, invest in the company’s business, make strategic acquisitions, and repurchase stock. A limitation of the utility of free cash flow as a measure of financial performance is that it does not represent the total increase or decrease in the company’s cash balance for the period.

eBay Inc.

Reconciliation of GAAP Operating Margin to Non-GAAP Operating Margin

Three Months Ended Year Ended

December 31,
2015 December 31,
2014 December 31,
2015 December 31,
2014

(In millions, except percentages)

GAAP operating income $ 662 $ 731 $ 2,197 $ 2,476

Stock-based compensation expense and related employer payroll taxes 78 96 396 373

Amortization of acquired intangible assets within cost of net revenues 5 8 25 34

Amortization of acquired intangible assets within operating expenses 11 10 41 75

Separation 43 7 160 7

Restructuring and acquisition related — — 62 —

Total non-GAAP operating income adjustments 137 121 684 489

Non-GAAP operating income $ 799 $ 852 $ 2,881 $ 2,965

Non-GAAP operating margin 34.4 % 36.7 % 33.5 % 33.7 %

Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income to Non-GAAP Net Income and

GAAP Effective Tax Rate to Non-GAAP Effective Tax Rate*

Three Months Ended Year Ended

December 31,
2015 December 31,
2014 December 31,
2015 December 31,
2014

(In millions, except percentages)

GAAP income from continuing operations before income taxes $ 650 $ 738 $ 2,406 $ 2,515

GAAP provision for income taxes (127 ) (9 ) (459 ) (3,380 )

GAAP net income from continuing operations $ 523 $ 729 $ 1,947 $ (865 )

Non-GAAP adjustments to net income from continuing operations:

Non-GAAP operating income from continuing operations adjustments (see table above) 137 121 684 489

Gains or losses on investments — — (264 ) —

Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments (60 ) (165 ) (135 ) 2,762

Non-GAAP net income from continuing operations $ 600 $ 685 $ 2,232 $ 2,386

Diluted net income from continuing operations per share:

GAAP $ 0.43 $ 0.59 $ 1.60 $ (0.69 )

Non-GAAP $ 0.50 $ 0.55 $ 1.83 $ 1.89

Shares used in GAAP diluted net income (loss) per-share calculation 1,204 1,241 1,220 1,251

Shares used in non-GAAP diluted net income per-share calculation 1,204 1,241 1,220 1,262

GAAP effective tax rate – Continuing operations 20 % 1 % 19 % 134 %

Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments to net income (loss) from continuing operations 4 % 19 % 2 % (113 )%

Non-GAAP effective tax rate – Continuing Operations 24 % 20 % 21 % 21 %

*Presented on a continuing operations basis

Reconciliation of Operating Cash Flow to Free Cash Flow*

Three Months Ended Year Ended

December 31,
2015 December 31,
2014 December 31,
2015 December 31,
2014

(In millions) (In millions)

Net cash provided by continuing operating activities $ 1,126 $ 838 $ 2,877 $ 3,228

Less: Purchases of property and equipment (129 ) (200 ) (668 ) (622 )

Free cash flow from continuing operations $ 997 $ 638 $ 2,209 $ 2,606

*Presented on a continuing operations basis

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160127006267/en/

eBay Inc.

Image via eBay

January 27, 2016

eBay Launches New Mobile Experience As ‘eBay 4.0’

eBay announced he launch of eBay 4.0, a major overhaul of its mobile experience on Android and iOS. It includes what the company refers to as a “more browsable” design and provides users with improved access to top deals, promotions, and events. It’s also more personalized than previous versions.

The app builds on eBay’s recently redesigned iPad experience, but adds adds more tools for sellers to manage listings and buyers to find the items they’re looking for.

Introducing eBay 4.0 from eBay Newsroom on Vimeo.

“Focused on creating more vibrancy in our marketplace, we’ve elevated selling within eBay 4.0, and have designed a more personalized experience based on a seller’s level and activity,” says Chief Product Officer RJ Pittman. “The new app offers more information to help first-time and new sellers be successful, and a new dashboard for more regular sellers with at-a-glance activity updates. We are passionate about creating a great experience for our buyers and enabling the continued success for our sellers.”

“And we continue to engage our community for input,” Pittman adds. “Last month we introduced the largest public beta program for the new apps on both iOS and Android. The feedback from early testers has been quite positive, honest, and invaluable. We greatly appreciate our customers’ insights about key features and functionality, and their input on the design and overall experience.”

eBay 4.0 is currently available in the App Store and Google Play.

Image via eBay

September 8, 2015
Marketing Tools Get Instagram Ads API Integration

In June, Instagram announced it would make advertising available through an Ads API and Facebook ad buying interfaces in the ensuing months, in an effort to open up ads to businesses of all sizes. It said it would open API access to a select group of Facebook Marketing Partners and agencies first, and would expand it globally throughout the year.

On Tuesday, the API Partner program launched. Whereas in the past, advertisers would have to work directly with Instagram sales people. Now, they don’t. They can start advertising on Instagram as they’ve been able to do on Facebook and Twitter.

Make no mistake. This is big. In fact, it’s even been referred to as “one of the most anticipated moments in the evolution of advertising.”

Business Insider shares a statement from Instagram: “”The Instagram Ads API will help us make ads more relevant to the community, serve more diverse business objectives, and make buying on the platform easier for advertisers. We started working with a group of Facebook Marketing Partners a few weeks ago and they’ve brought great experience and technological savvy onto the platform. We’ll continue to build upon the Instagram Ads API in the coming weeks and months.”

Third-party API partners already on board include Salesforce, Hootsuite, Kenshoo, Ampush, Nanigans, SocialCode, Brand Networks, Unified, and 4C.

“The integration allows marketers to use Social.com for managing advertising campaigns at scale, Active Audiences to unlock and sync CRM data in Salesforce to optimize advertising and Social Studio for publishing, engagement, customer service, and analytics,” a spokesperson for Salesforce tells us about its us of the API.

“Instagram is the mobile marketer’s platform of choice for a highly engaged and growing audience,” says Jesse Pujji, CEO and co-founder of Ampush. “It presents a great opportunity to deliver in-feed, mobile advertising at true scale with its user base of over 300 million monthly active users. AMP’s integration with Instagram will allow our customers to advertise across a visually dynamic environment for consumers with a highly active community. Our strategic and in-house creative expertise, paired with our marketing solutions, delivers a unique ability to bridge audience engagement with revenue.”

Instagram has over 300 million monthly active users. Beyond the API, Instagram has been doing more to improve its ad offerings including direct response that enable users to buy products or download apps, and expanding targeting options. More on all of that here.

Image via Instagram

August 4, 2015
Is eBay Still Having Trouble With Google Traffic?

eBay may still be suffering from Google algorithm troubles. Back in May of 2014, Google eBay got hit hard in Google. It came around the same time as one of Google’s Panda updates, but reports indicated it was actually a manual penalty.

When eBay reported its quarterly earnings the following July, it was revealed that the penalty cost the company big time.

eBay CFO Bob Swan said during the company’s earnings call:

Marketplaces delivered $2.2 billion in revenue, which grew 6%, GMV grew 8%, and operating margin declined 340 basis points. It was a challenging quarter. As John indicated, we got off to a good start, but we had significant obstacles late May.

The combination of the cyberattack and the Google SEO had an immediate and dramatic impact on GMV growth. June GMV growth was 7% driven by slower active buyer growth and lower conversion. In light of these events, we have made significant investments to get eBay users reengaged, including couponing, seller incentives and increased marketing spend…

He later indicated the “SEO changes” could take a while and “cost more” to recover from. The company reduced its full year revenue guidance by $200 million.

Now, TameBay is reporting (citing data from Searchmerics) that eBay is still underperforming on Google a year later. Here’s the graph they show:

“From the picture below it doesn’t look like a pretty story for eBay,” writes Kelvin Newman for TameBay. “A large dramatic drop in visibility followed by some small rebounds. This tool doesn’t capture all the keywords eBay might be ranking for. But does suggest they’re not getting the natural search traffic they once did, though.”

“That might not be a big issue,” he adds. “Perhaps they’re getting more traffic from social or other channels. But it looks like natural search isn’t delivering the returns it used to. That’s still influenced by the manual downgrade last year. Google Panda likely also played a part.”

Reduced visibility in Google isn’t good for anyone trying to sell products, and that certainly applies to eBay sellers. Sellers are also facing reported issues with eBay’s own search.

Images via eBay, TameBay/Searchmetrics

August 3, 2015
Significant eBay Search Issue Uncovered, Could Be Hurting Sellers

There’s yet another issue happening on eBay that likely isn’t going to sit too well with sellers that many probably aren’t aware is even happening.

The finding comes from eCommerce news blog and eBay watchdog eCommerceBytes, which reports that eBay’s search engine is having issues specifically with its Item Specifics and filters. Ina Steiner writes:

I worked with a seller today to try to understand what she discovered with her listings, and the results are disturbing. For some of the examples she supplied me (clothing), if I filtered search results using all the item specifics she had set in a particular listing, eBay search excluded her listing from search results – even though some other sellers’ listings appeared.

This is exactly the opposite of how it’s supposed to work – the seller is being penalized for using Item Specifics when listing her products. And in these cases, she wasn’t alone.

All in all, she says there are two major problems that are happening. Items in listings are reportedly being excluded from searches using when using Item Specific attributes and specific attributes that are being used may be excluded from filters. Either way, it means reduced visibility in cases where users are actually looking for specific things.

Some readers have commented on Stein’s blog that this has been an issue for years or suggested that this is by design.

To eBay’s credit, it did recently announce a new seller requirement for product identifiers aimed at making it easier for sellers to find specific items they’re looking for. This won’t necessarily apply to all types of items, however.

Earlier this week, we reported on another controversial feature eBay has begun to roll out globally, which sellers have also taken issue with. This one lets customers say whether or not they received the item they purchased on or before a specific estimated delivery date.

Image via eBay

July 31, 2015
Controversial eBay Feature That Was In Testing Gets Global Roll-Out

Last week, we reported on a feature that eBay has been testing. It lets customers say whether or not they received the item they purchased on or before a specific estimated delivery date. Yes and no are the only options. There is no field for additional details or comment.

While eBay has let buyers leave more detailed comments on a seller’s shipping time in “detailed seller ratings” in the past, this narrows the scope of the question, and some sellers are concerned that eBay could misrepresent their efforts.

It was looking like the company was starting to roll it out to all users, but since our article on the subject, the company has formally announced it. eBay said in an announcement:

Since March, a growing number of buyers have begun seeing a test question (shown below) as they leave feedback, asking whether their item arrived in its estimated delivery period. Starting this month, this question will be presented globally to all buyers leaving feedback. There is no additional action required of sellers with the addition of this question.

This new question is designed to give eBay additional insight into the on-time item delivery experience—especially on transactions where tracking is limited. Answering this question is optional for buyers.

The company tells sellers they don’t need to take any additional action at this time, but that they should continue to deliver on the shipping methods and handling times stated in their listings.

Based on what we’ve seen in the forums and internet comments, sellers aren’t happy with the change, and generally think it gives buyers more reason to have a negative perception of their buying experience, which in some cases could be out of the sellers’ hands. You can peruse some examples of what people have been saying about the feature here.

eBay has tips for uploading tracking info, setting handling times, and scheduling for USPS pickups here.

July 27, 2015
eBay Delivery Feedback Feature Draws Ire From Sellers

eBay has been testing a new feedback feature that reportedly may be rolling out to all users. It enables customers to say whether or not they received the item they purchased on or before a specific estimated delivery date. Yes and no are the only options. There is no field for additional details or comment.

While eBay has let buyers leave more detailed comments on a seller’s shipping time in “detailed seller ratings” in the past, this narrows the scope of the question, and some sellers are concerned that eBay could misrepresent their efforts.

Ina Steiner at EcommerceBytes points to some comments on her own site as well as in the official eBay forum where sellers are airing their grievances. Here are some samples from the forum:

“Just great, not only does ebay provide aggresive estimated delivery dates, they remind the buyer of them during feedback”

“Just by asking it in that way, at that time, it makes it seem even more like a promise instead of an estimate.”

“It SHOULD say, seller promised to ship by X, actual shipment date Y. This company seriously could care less about it’s customers – the silver lining of watching our sales dwindle is knowing ebay is on it’s way out too.”

“Oh, for cryin’ in the rain! Just one more thing to rate sellers on……Isn’t there enough already? Wonder how this will play out with holiday estimated delivery times, the winter months etc. I think I’ll just have a glass of wine now.”

“Looks like another way to put seller[s] out of business.”

“This is absolutely ridiculous! USPS is now about to fully close the Toledo Ohio sort facility and everything will have to go to Detroit , MI sort facility! What a mess this is going to cause for northern Ohio sellers! Already cases on the news where two day deliveries are taking TWO WEEKS! Once it leaves our hands it is completely out of our control but yet EBAY finds another standard by which they give give the buyer to leave us low ratings and a potential defect! WHAT ON EARTH IS EBAY DOING TO PROMOTE POSITIVE RESULTS ON THIS SITE?”

Are these overreactions? Even if they are, it’s clear that sellers aren’t happy about the change. There are pages of these types of comments in the forum. There isn’t much in the way of people defending the feature.

The overall theme throughout most of the comments on the feature seems to be that it is unnecessary at best with few seeing it as a positive for anyone involved. Many think eBay already has the data it needs when it comes to deliveries.

Image via eBay Forum

July 20, 2015
eBay Cracks Down On Duplicate Listings

Back in May, we reported that eBay sellers using duplicate listings were about to learn a hard lesson if they continued the practice. eBay had announced a new search penalty for sellers who violated its policy on this. Those who continued to use duplicate listings would see reduced search visibility on the site, which is of course terrible for sales.

It appears that the company is really taking action on duplicate listings now. Tamebay says it’s received numerous questions from sellers about duplicate listings, indicating that there is some confusion out there. It also shares a couple of details indicating eBay is indeed going after these listings:

One Tamebay reader has been monitoring duplicates and had some interesting news to share. They told us “For ages eBay seemed not to be doing anything about this plague. A week or so ago you ran an article about how they are getting tough on this and are demoting accounts, or multiple linked accounts doing this. I have reported a few over the last week (by phone) and nearly all of them have been actioned“.

eBay will of course allow sellers to leave one listing live, but they’ll force them to cancel the other duplicates. There are two benefits to sellers who report their competitors – Getting higher up the Best Match search results by having duplicates removed and as a side benefit eBay demote eBay sellers breaking the rules.

It appears that there is a two working day turnaround for reports to be actioned, so don’t expect an immediate result. However our reader tells us that eBay let slip that they had a meeting last week and they have increased the people in this department to tackle duplicate listings as they see it as a priority to clean up their catalogue.

eBay gave sellers until June to mend their duplicate listing ways, but at that point, the company previously said it would reduce listing visibility for those who “pollute the eBay marketplace with duplicates.

eBay also made it clear that this wouldn’t just be the case for the actual duplicate listings, but for all of the seller’s listings. It said this in its announcement:

If a seller violates the duplicate listings policy, then all the listings from that seller—including those across linked accounts—will have reduced visibility. This visibility reduction will last until the duplicate listings are removed.

Remember, each listing should provide distinct and unique value to buyers. Listings are considered duplicates if they’re for items that have no significant difference between them, or if they appear to be for the same item in search results…

You simply can’t have more than one fixed price listing of an identical item at the same time. Period. You can, however, have more than one auction-style listing for identical items. Separate listings can be created for the same item on different eBay sites as long as the international shipping options don’t result in the listings cluttering the search results in any individual site.

You can also use separate listings for items that are similar but not identical, as long as the differences are clearly reflected in the title, subtitle, price, photos, condition, item specifics, or parts compatibility areas of the listing. You can have one fixed price listing with variations or one fixed price listing offering multiples of an item.

You can have separate listings for items that are identical except for condition, like if one is new, one is used, and one is refurbished.

If you’re unsure about where your listings stand, you better take a few minutes to read through eBay’s guidelines here.

Image via eBay

July 16, 2015
eBay Just Gave Sellers A Helpful New Report

eBay is giving sellers an enhanced transaction defect report, which is accessible from the seller dashboard. The report is updated and synced to the dashboard each day, and makes it easier to see the details needed for managing defects.

“We know our sellers work hard to deliver great service and an outstanding shopping experience with every item they ship,” the company says in an announcement. “We also know it’s important for sellers to quickly see and understand the transaction defects they receive—and make any adjustments they need to continue to sell successfully.”

The report lets sellers sort transaction defects by program, evaluation period, and defect type. eBay says this paints a clearer picture of areas that require attention.

You can also view which defects have ben removed by eBay itself via automated protections and transactions where you’ve asked for eBay’s help.

Sellers can download reports each month and save them to their report history in order to keep a record of past transaction periods. To review it, go to the dashboard, click “% of your transactions with defects” and download it from there.

eBay offers more details on the new report in its Seller Center.

Image via YouTube

July 13, 2015
This New eBay Seller Requirement Goes Into Effect Today

eBay sellers selling branded new and manufacturer-refurbished items in certain categories must now comply with a new rule the company is set to begin enforcing today.

eBay announced, as part of its Spring Seller Update, that sellers who list such items in the specified categories would be required to include the item’s brand, manufacturer part number (MPN), and a global trade item number (GTIN). eBay said in an announcement on Monday:

As previously announced, product identifiers are now required in order to complete listings of branded new items and manufacturer-refurbished items in qualifying categories, effective June 29, 2015.

Starting today, eBay is enforcing the product identifier requirement on a category-by-category basis by preventing the completion of new listings or manual relistings whenever product identifiers aren’t included.

Categories in which sellers must comply include: Baby, Books, Business & Industrial (Test, Lab, and Office Equipment), Camera & Photos, Cell Phones & Accessories, Clothing, Shoes & Accessories (Shoes Only), Computers/Tablets & Networking, Consumer Electronics, DVDs & Movies, eBay Motors, Health & Beauty, Home & Garden (Tools and Appliances only), Music, Musical Instruments & Gear, Pet Supplies, Sporting Goods, Toys & Hobbies, and Video Games & Consoles.

Product identifiers will now be required on new listings. eBay will prevent listing completion if the information is not included. The policy will be added on a category-by-category basis. The company says to add the information to your listings to make sure you’re ready.

For sellers, it’s worth noting that including the required information can help users find the items they’re actually looking for, which in turn means more sales of these products.

The company recently provided sellers with tips for getting more views with the identifiers:

– Be sure to include your item’s unique product identifiers any time you list branded items in new condition—particularly in the categories listed here.

– Use eBay’s bulk listing and editing tool to update your existing listings with the required product identifiers now to take advantage of increased search visibility.

– To save time—and to make sure your listing is as accurate as possible—match your item with a product from the eBay catalog every time you list. When you do, the unique product identifiers for your item are included automatically in your listing.

– Review eBay’s best practices for maximizing your position in Best Match search results. And remember, creating great collections can also help attract more buyers to your listings.

The company provides a helpful FAQ section about product identifiers here, which will hopefully answer any questions you may have about implementing this.

Image via YouTube

June 29, 2015

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015 Financial Highlights (presented in millions, except per share data and percentages)
	Fourth Quarter				Full Year
	2015	2014	Change		2015	2014	Change
eBay Inc.
Net revenues	$2,322	$2,323	$(1)	—%	$8,592	$8,790	$(198)	(2)%
GAAP – Continuing Operations
Income (loss) from continuing operations	$523	$729	$(206)	(28)%	$1,947	$(865)	$2,812	**
Earnings (loss) per diluted share from continuing operations	$0.43	$0.59	$(0.16)	(26)%	$1.60	$(0.69)	$2.29	**
Non-GAAP – Continuing Operations
Net income (loss)	$600	$685	$(85)	(12)%	$2,232	$2,386	$(154)	(6)%
Earnings (loss) per diluted share	$0.50	$0.55	$(0.05)	(10)%	$1.83	$1.89	$(0.06)	(3)%
**Not meaningful

eBay Inc.
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet

	December 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
	(In millions, except par value amounts)

ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	1,832	$	4,105
Short-term investments	4,299		3,730
Accounts receivable, net	619		600
Other current assets	1,154		1,048
Current assets of discontinued operations	—		17,048
Total current assets	7,904		26,531
Long-term investments	3,391		5,736
Property and equipment, net	1,554		1,486
Goodwill	4,451		4,671
Intangible assets, net	90		133
Other assets	395		207
Long-term assets of discontinued operations	—		6,368
Total assets	$	17,785	$	45,132
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Short-term debt	$	—	$	850
Accounts payable	349		107
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	1,736		3,830
Deferred revenue	106		108
Income taxes payable	72		125
Current liabilities of discontinued operations	—		12,511
Total current liabilities	2,263		17,531
Deferred and other tax liabilities, net	2,092		522
Long-term debt	6,779		6,777
Other liabilities	75		79
Long-term liabilities of discontinued operations	—		317
Total liabilities	11,209		25,226

Total stockholders’ equity	6,576		19,906
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	17,785	$	45,132

eBay Inc.
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Year Ended December 31,
	2015			2014			2015			2014
	(In millions, except per share amounts)

Net revenues	$	2,322		$	2,323		$	8,592		$	8,790
Cost of net revenues ⁽¹⁾	493			442			1,771			1,663
Gross profit	1,829			1,881			6,821			7,127
Operating expenses:
Sales and marketing ⁽¹⁾	595			627			2,267			2,442
Product development ⁽¹⁾	229			236			923			983
General and administrative ⁽¹⁾	260			211			1,122			889
Provision for transaction losses	72			66			271			262
Amortization of acquired intangible assets	11			10			41			75
Total operating expenses	1,167			1,150			4,624			4,651
Income from operations	662			731			2,197			2,476
Interest and other, net	(12		)	7			209			39
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	650			738			2,406			2,515
Provision for income taxes	(127		)	(9		)	(459		)	(3,380		)
Income (loss) from continuing operations	$	523		$	729		$	1,947		$	(865	)
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes ⁽²⁾	(46		)	294			(222		)	911
Net income	$	477		$	1,023		$	1,725		$	46

Income (loss) per share – basic:
Continuing operations	$	0.44		$	0.59		$	1.61		$	(0.69	)
Discontinued operations	$	(0.04	)	$	0.24		$	(0.18	)	$	0.73
Net income per share – basic	$	0.40		$	0.83		$	1.43		$	0.04

Income (loss) per share – diluted:
Continuing operations	$	0.43		$	0.59		$	1.60		$	(0.69	)
Discontinued operations	$	(0.04	)	$	0.23		$	(0.18	)	$	0.73
Net income per share – diluted	$	0.39		$	0.82		$	1.42		$	0.04

Weighted average shares:
Basic	1,191			1,230			1,208			1,251
Diluted	1,204			1,241			1,220			1,251

(1) Includes stock-based compensation as follows:
Cost of net revenues	$	10		$	10		$	38		$	33
Sales and marketing	19			22			94			93
Product development	25			26			108			116
General and administrative	24			35			139			102
	$	78		$	93		$	379		$	344
(2) Includes PayPal financial results from October 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 for Fourth Quarter; January 1, 2015 to July 17, 2015 and January 1, 2014 toDecember 31, 2014 for Full Year; also includes the eBay Enterprise financial results from October 1, 2015 to November 2, 2015 and October 1, 2014 toDecember 31, 2014 for Fourth Quarter; January 1, 2015 to November 2, 2015 and January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 for Full Year.

eBay Inc.
Unaudited Summary of Consolidated Net Revenues

Net Revenues by Type	Three Months Ended
	December 31, 2015			September 30, 2015			June 30, 2015			March 31, 2015			December 31, 2014
	(In millions, except percentages)
Net Revenues by Type:
Net transaction revenues:
Marketplace	$	1,584		$	1,459		$	1,524		$	1,536		$	1,662
Current quarter vs prior year quarter	(5		)%	(5		)%	(3		)%	(3		)%	N/A
Percent from international	63		%	62		%	62		%	60		%	63		%
StubHub	232			200			161			132			174
Current quarter vs prior year quarter	34		%	17		%	8		%	(2		)%	N/A
Percent from international	1		%	2		%	2		%	2		%	1		%
Total net transaction revenues	1,816			1,659			1,685			1,668			1,836
Current quarter vs prior year quarter	(1		)%	(3		)%	(2		)%	(3		)%	N/A
Percent from international	55		%	54		%	56		%	55		%	57		%

Marketing services and other revenues:
Marketplace	326			266			251			235			312
Current quarter vs prior year quarter	4		%	—		%	(5		)%	(10		)%	N/A
Percent from international	47		%	44		%	47		%	49		%	48		%
Classifieds	183			178			180			162			180
Current quarter vs prior year quarter	2		%	(3		)%	(4		)%	(2		)%	N/A
Percent from international	100		%	100		%	100		%	100		%	100		%
Corporate and other	(3		)	(4		)	(6		)	(4		)	(5		)
Total marketing services and other revenues	506			440			425			393			487
Current quarter vs prior year quarter	4		%	(2		)%	(5		)%	(8		)%	N/A
Percent from international	66		%	67		%	70		%	70		%	67		%

Total net revenues	$	2,322		$	2,099		$	2,110		$	2,061		$	2,323
Current quarter vs prior year quarter	—		%	(2		)%	(3		)%	(4		)%	N/A

eBay Inc.
Unaudited Supplemental Operating Data

	Three Months Ended
	December 31, 2015		September 30, 2015		June 30, 2015		March 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
	(In millions, except percentages)
Active Buyers ⁽¹⁾	162		159		157		156		154
Current quarter vs prior year quarter	5	%	5	%	6	%	8	%	10	%

Gross Merchandise Volume ⁽²⁾
Marketplace	$20,676		$18,674		$19,273		$19,476		$20,883
Current quarter vs prior year quarter	(1	)%	(3	)%	(2	)%	(2	)%	1	%
StubHub	$1,184		$927		$788		$675		$911
Current quarter vs prior year quarter	30	%	10	%	1	%	6	%	2	%
Total GMV	$21,860		$19,601		$20,061		$20,151		$21,794
Current quarter vs prior year quarter	—	%	(2	)%	(2	)%	(2	)%	1	%

(1)		All buyers who successfully closed a transaction on our Marketplace and StubHub platforms within the previous 12-month period. Buyers may register more than once, and as a result, may have more than one account.
(2)		Total value of all successfully closed transactions between users on our Marketplace and StubHub platforms during the period regardless of whether the buyer and seller actually consummated the transaction. We believe that GMV provides a useful measure of the overall volume of closed transactions that flow through our platforms in a given period, notwithstanding the inclusion in GMV of closed transactions that are not ultimately consummated.

eBay Inc.

	Three Months Ending
	March 31, 2016
(In millions, except per share amounts)	GAAP	Non-GAAP ^(a)
Diluted EPS from continuing operations	$0.37 – $0.39	$0.43 – $0.45

	Twelve Months Ending
	December 31, 2016
	GAAP	Non-GAAP ^(b)
(In millions, except per share amounts)
Diluted EPS from continuing operations	$1.55 – $1.60	$1.82 – $1.87

(a) Estimated non-GAAP amounts above for the three months ending March 31, 2016, reflect adjustments that exclude the estimated amortization of acquired intangible assets of approximately $10 – $15 million and estimated stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes on stock-based compensation expense of approximately $85 – $95 million as well as the related tax impact.
(b) Estimated non-GAAP amounts above for the twelve months ending December 31, 2016, reflect adjustments that exclude the estimated amortization of acquired intangible assets of approximately $35 – $45 million and estimated stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes on stock-based compensation expense of approximately $410 – $430 million.

eBay Inc.
Reconciliation of GAAP Operating Margin to Non-GAAP Operating Margin

	Three Months Ended						Year Ended
	December 31, 2015			December 31, 2014			December 31, 2015			December 31, 2014
	(In millions, except percentages)
GAAP operating income	$	662		$	731		$	2,197		$	2,476
Stock-based compensation expense and related employer payroll taxes	78			96			396			373
Amortization of acquired intangible assets within cost of net revenues	5			8			25			34
Amortization of acquired intangible assets within operating expenses	11			10			41			75
Separation	43			7			160			7
Restructuring and acquisition related	—			—			62			—
Total non-GAAP operating income adjustments	137			121			684			489
Non-GAAP operating income	$	799		$	852		$	2,881		$	2,965
Non-GAAP operating margin	34.4		%	36.7		%	33.5		%	33.7		%

Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income to Non-GAAP Net Income and
GAAP Effective Tax Rate to Non-GAAP Effective Tax Rate*

	Three Months Ended						Year Ended
	December 31, 2015			December 31, 2014			December 31, 2015			December 31, 2014
	(In millions, except percentages)
GAAP income from continuing operations before income taxes	$	650		$	738		$	2,406		$	2,515
GAAP provision for income taxes	(127		)	(9		)	(459		)	(3,380		)
GAAP net income from continuing operations	$	523		$	729		$	1,947		$	(865	)
Non-GAAP adjustments to net income from continuing operations:
Non-GAAP operating income from continuing operations adjustments (see table above)	137			121			684			489
Gains or losses on investments	—			—			(264		)	—
Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments	(60		)	(165		)	(135		)	2,762
Non-GAAP net income from continuing operations	$	600		$	685		$	2,232		$	2,386

Diluted net income from continuing operations per share:
GAAP	$	0.43		$	0.59		$	1.60		$	(0.69	)
Non-GAAP	$	0.50		$	0.55		$	1.83		$	1.89
Shares used in GAAP diluted net income (loss) per-share calculation	1,204			1,241			1,220			1,251
Shares used in non-GAAP diluted net income per-share calculation	1,204			1,241			1,220			1,262

GAAP effective tax rate – Continuing operations	20		%	1		%	19		%	134		%
Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments to net income (loss) from continuing operations	4		%	19		%	2		%	(113		)%
Non-GAAP effective tax rate – Continuing Operations	24		%	20		%	21		%	21		%

*Presented on a continuing operations basis

Reconciliation of Operating Cash Flow to Free Cash Flow*

	Three Months Ended						Year Ended
	December 31, 2015			December 31, 2014			December 31, 2015			December 31, 2014
	(In millions)						(In millions)
Net cash provided by continuing operating activities	$	1,126		$	838		$	2,877		$	3,228
Less: Purchases of property and equipment	(129		)	(200		)	(668		)	(622		)
Free cash flow from continuing operations	$	997		$	638		$	2,209		$	2,606

*Presented on a continuing operations basis