eBay Earnings: Revenue Rises 14%, and the U.S. Supplies About 87% of the Growth in Purchases

By Stock Titan Editorial Team Published October 28, 2026, 05:03 PM EDT · Updated October 28, 2026, 05:44 PM EDT

eBay earnings: Q3 2026 results against eBay's own forecast

A filing with the SEC dated October 22 said eBay expected results above its August ranges. The release now shows by how much.

In August, eBay forecast third quarter revenue of $3.07 billion to $3.12 billion, and it reported $3.21 billion, according to the third quarter release.

Gross merchandise volume reached $23.2 billion, counting the value of all paid purchases on eBay's marketplaces. The forecast had been $22.0 billion to $22.4 billion. That August forecast already included the expected effect of Depop, the fashion resale app eBay bought.

Profit per share came in above its range too. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $1.51, a measure that leaves out items such as stock-based pay and deal costs. The forecast had been $1.36 to $1.42.

Analysts expected less as well. The consensus compiled by Zacks Investment Research was $1.43 a share, the average of seven analysts.

Earnings per share were $1.11 under GAAP, the standard accounting rules, 13% less than a year earlier. Before tax, profit actually rose, so the whole drop came after tax; a year earlier eBay recorded an income tax benefit.

Profit grew more slowly than sales, and the non-GAAP operating margin slipped to 26.3% from 27.0%, counting operating profit as a share of revenue.

It is also a habit. By our count, revenue and volume growth have both topped the high end of eBay's forecast in each of the last four quarters. They beat it by 2 to 4 points, excluding currency moves. Those four quarters say nothing about how the next one will turn out.

Show the data

Item	Low	High	Value
Q4 2025	8%	10%	13%
Q1 2026	13%	15%	17%
Q2 2026	8%	10%	14%
Q3 2026	8%	10%	13%

eBay U.S. gross merchandise volume against international

U.S. gross merchandise volume rose 27% to $12.5 billion. International volume grew 4% to $10.6 billion, its slowest pace of any quarter in 2026.

The U.S. line counts sellers, by our reading of eBay's annual report. That report credits international growth to "increased exports from Greater China and Japan into our major markets." So a watch an American buys from a seller in Japan counts as international.

In the release, the chief executive spoke of the business as a whole. "Our Focus Categories, C2C marketplace, and Recommerce leadership are driving strong, sustained growth," Chief Executive Jamie Iannone said in it, using C2C for people selling to other people and recommerce for the resale of used goods. Focus Categories are the product lines eBay puts first, such as collectibles and car parts. The release also cites eBay's sixth annual Recommerce Report, which found 47% of consumers surveyed purchase secondhand goods at least monthly, up from 35% in 2025.

eBay's second quarter report was more direct. It credited "improved U.S. consumer demand" and strength in collectibles, car parts, fashion and refurbished goods. It also cited "continued challenging macroeconomic conditions across certain international markets."

The number of buyers barely moved. Without Depop and Tise, two resale apps eBay bought, active buyers rose 1% to 136 million, counting anyone who paid for at least one purchase in the previous 12 months. The release does not say how much of the spending growth came from people who already shopped on eBay.

Depop joined on July 30, bought from Etsy for $1.4 billion in cash. U.S. growth was 27% and 24% in the two quarters before the deal closed.

eBay Live, its live video shopping channel, is selling goods at "a multibillion-dollar annualized run rate," the release says, meaning its recent pace would add up to billions of dollars over a year. Its growth remained "well into the triple digits year over year," so the channel more than doubled from a year earlier.

Show the data

Category	U.S.	International
Q2 2025	7%	5%
Q3 2025	13%	7%
Q4 2025	19%	2%
Q1 2026	27%	10%
Q2 2026	24%	6%
Q3 2026	27%	4%

eBay layoffs and the cost of the job cuts

eBay announced the plan on October 20 and described it in the October 22 filing that also flagged the strong quarter. It said the plan is meant "to align its teams and resources with its top strategic priorities to drive long-term sustainable growth." By its own account, the plan moves people and money toward the work eBay ranks first. eBay says the savings will be used to further its "strategic and operating initiatives."

eBay estimates pre-tax charges under GAAP of $130 million to $150 million. Substantially all of them are for severance and post-employment benefits, and all of them will be paid in cash. Most will be booked in the fourth quarter. eBay expects the job actions to be substantially complete by the end of the first quarter of 2027.

The filing gives a percentage and no number of jobs. eBay had about 12,300 employees at the end of 2025, before Depop joined, according to its annual report.

The charge also shows up in the forecast. It is one of the items that separate eBay's fourth quarter forecast under GAAP, $0.82 to $0.87 a share, from its adjusted forecast of $1.48 to $1.53.

eBay Q4 2026 guidance

In dollars, eBay forecasts fourth quarter revenue of $3.19 billion to $3.24 billion. The forecast includes Depop.

For gross merchandise volume, eBay forecasts growth of 12% to 14% excluding currency moves.

That volume growth forecast is the highest eBay has given for any quarter this year, and the revenue growth forecast is the lowest of the four since February.

The gap means eBay expects its revenue to be a smaller share of the value of goods sold. By our calculation, using the midpoint of both ranges, the forecast puts revenue at about 13.5% of gross merchandise volume. A year earlier it was 14.0%, and eBay does not give a reason for the drop.

The base is high. A year earlier, revenue grew 13% excluding currency moves, on volume growth of 8% on the same basis.

For the full year 2026, eBay forecasts revenue of $12.62 billion to $12.67 billion and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share of $6.25 to $6.30.

eBay stock after hours, buybacks and dividend

In the 5:26 p.m. ET minute, EBAY changed hands at $123.45, against the regular-session close of $118.02, according to StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data.

eBay repurchased $689 million of its stock, about 6 million shares, and paid $138 million of cash dividends.

By our calculation, the $827 million eBay reports returning came to about 110% of its free cash flow of $749 million, the cash the business produced after paying for equipment.

The cash flow statement shows $664 million paid for buybacks in the quarter. Counted that way, the payout was about 107% of free cash flow.

About $1.3 billion remained at September 30 of the repurchase authorization, the amount the board allows eBay to spend on buybacks.

Fewer shares lift profit per share. The average diluted share count fell to 453 million from 467 million, counting the shares used to work out profit per share. So non-GAAP net income rose 8%, and non-GAAP earnings per share rose 12%.

The fourth quarter dividend of $0.31 per share is payable on December 18, 2026, to stockholders of record on December 4.

eBay paid $1.32 billion for Depop in the quarter, net of the cash Depop held. Its cash and cash equivalents were $1.2 billion at September 30, down from the end of 2025.

Debt was about $6.7 billion at September 30, the same as at the end of 2025, and $1.6 billion of it is due within a year. So eBay bought a company and paid out more than its free cash flow in one quarter, and it did both without adding debt since December.

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