eBay lays out game plan to recapture glory days

Image courtesy of E-Commerce Times

Chief Executive John Donahoe told Wall Street analysts that the company's greatest growth potential lies in its online payment unit, PayPal. eBay will also institute changes to its Marketplace business, the CEO said.

Its Marketplaces business should see US$5 billion to $7 billion in revenue, driven by search, catalogue and platform improvements, according to the company. That compares with 2008's $5.6 billion. The company also accentuated its fast-growing PayPal unit, saying it expects that business to double by 2011.

The revival plan was greeted with skepticism by financial analysts.

"They didn't say anything that they hadn't really said before about the steps they were undertaking in the business," said Derek Brown, an equity analyst with Cantor Fitzgerald who has had a sell rating on eBay shares for the last five years. "They put some incremental colour about some of the things they stated in the past."

eBay's stock was up 2.92% to $11.97 per share in mid-day trading on Thursday.

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