EBay raises forecasts on online boom, shares hit record high

(Reuters) – EBay Inc raised its current-quarter revenue and profit forecasts on Thursday, as people stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic ordered more through its online platform, sending its shares to a record high.

Soaring online demand has boosted performance of e-commerce companies as well as helped traditional retailers’ businesses.

While Walmart and Target , which also sell essential goods, recorded their best online sales in years, specialty retailers American Eagle and Best Buy sold more online as stores remained closed during lockdowns.

EBay said demand was strong across all its businesses, including home & garden, electronics, fashion and collectibles, with the company now expecting second-quarter gross merchandise volume growth rate to be between 23% and 26% from a year earlier.

The company said revenue in classifieds were performing at the high end of estimates. It said in February it was looking at multiple candidates for a potential sale of the unit.

EBay said its full-year performance will likely be above the range it forecast earlier. In April, it estimated full-year revenue between $9.56 billion and $9.76 billion.

It expects second-quarter revenue to be between $2.75 billion and $2.80 billion, compared with earlier estimates of $2.38 billion to $2.48 billion.

It also raised its adjusted profit forecast to between $1.02 and $1.06 per share from an earlier range of $0.73 to $0.80 per share.

Shares of the company rose as much as 11.6% to an all-time high of $51.88 in early trading.

(Reporting by Neha Malara in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)