Ebay reported third-quarter revenues up 32 percent from a year earlier to USD 3.0 billion, helped by the takeover of GSI, which contributed revenue of USD 203 million. Net profit improved to USD 491 million or 37 cents a share, from USD 432 million or 33 cents a share a year ago. Growth was driven by the payments division, where revenues rose 32 percent to USD 1.1 billion. PayPal had 103 million active registered accounts at the end of September, up 14 percent from a year ago. PayPal's net total payment volume grew 31 percent to USD 29.3 billion in the third quarter. Growth was led by the increasing adoption of mobile shopping, with mobile TPV on PayPal expected to exceed USD 3.5 billion this year versus just USD 750 million in 2010. Ebay's Marketplaces division reported sales up 17 percent year-on-year to USD 1.65 billion. Gross merchandise volume, excluding cars, rose 16 percent to USD 14.7 billion. Here eBay also expects growth in mobile, with mobile GMV expected to rise to over USD 5 billion this year, more than double the amount in 2010. After USD 526 million in free cash flow in the quarter, eBay finished the period with total cash of USD 5.8 billion. For the fourth quarter, eBay forecast revenues of USD 3.20-3.35 billion and EPS of USD 1.47-1.53. Profits will include the gain on its remaining stake in Skype. The company narrowed its full-year outlook to revenues of USD 11.5-11.6 billion, from an earlier estimate of USD 11.3-11.6 billion. Annual EPS is forecast at USD 2.42-2.48, ahead of its earlier outlook for USD 2.41-2.44.
