eBay has announced its financial results for Q4 2013, reporting strong revenue. The company also disclosed that it spurned billionaire investor Carl Icahn's proposal to separate PayPal.
On Wednesday, Jan. 22, eBay posted its earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013 and confirmed revenue of $4.5 billion, an increase of 13 percent when compared to Q4 2012. The company reported earnings of $850 million, or 65 cents per share, for the quarter.
"We feel good about our performance and strong finish in the fourth quarter, with the holiday shopping season clearly showing how online, mobile and other omni-channel commerce capabilities are changing how consumers shop and pay," said eBay Inc. CEO and President John Donahoe. "Mobile exceeded expectations for the year. Our total mobile commerce volume grew 88 percent, with eBay reaching $22 billion and PayPal hitting $27 billion in 2013. And mobile added more than 14 million customers. PayPal and eBay together create an incredibly strong global commerce ecosystem for consumers and merchants, and we continue to see tremendous growth opportunities ahead."
eBay also disclosed it has received a proposal from Carl Icahn, who has nominated two of his employees to the company's Board of Directors. It was a "non-binding proposal for a spinoff of its PayPal business into a separate company," eBay said.
Icahn has acquired shares and derivative securities of eBay that give him an economic interest of approximately 0.82 percent in the company. eBay said in the earnings call that the company's Board of Directors routinely assesses its strategic direction and its explored details regarding the separation of PayPal. However, the company's Board of Directors has concluded that the current strategic direction best serves eBay and its shareholders. eBay also pointed out that its online payment service, PayPal, drives innovation in payments at global scale and creates value for consumers, merchants and shareholders.
eBay also revealed that PayPal delivered strong Q4 2013 results. PayPal reported revenue of $6.6 billion in Q4 2013, an increase of 19 percent when compared to Q4 2012. PayPal also increased its customer base by adding 5.2 million active registered accounts in the quarter. The payment service saw the year end with 143 million customers, an increase by 16 percent when compared to 2012.
PayPal's net total payment volume (TPV) grew 25 percent in Q4 2013 with 3 billion transactions generating $180 billion in net TPV for 2013. Payment volume on eBay also grew by 14 percent in both the quarter as well as the full year and generated $54 billion in net TPV 2013.
eBay's shares increased by over 7 percent in the after hours of trading and closed at $54.51 per share on January 22.
