eBay Inc. (EBAY) reported third quarter earnings that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13 cents. Revenue beat the consensus by 4.6%. Revenue Gross revenue of $2.24 billion was up 6.7% sequentially and 5.7% year over year. Around 88% of total revenue was transactions-based, while the remaining 12% came from marketing services. All segments contributed to the revenue increase in the last quarter. Revenue by Segment Marketplaces revenue increased 8.4% sequentially, but was down 0.9% compared to the year-ago quarter. The sequential revenue increase was driven by an 8.9% increase in transaction revenue and a 5.7% increase in marketing services revenue. The year-over-year decline was due to lower transaction value, driven by an 18% decline in vehicles volume and flattish marketing services revenue. The segment generated 61% of total revenue. Payments revenue increased 2.8% sequentially and 15.2% from the year-ago quarter. Revenue ...

eBay Inc. reported that its net income was down 29 percent on a year-over-year basis with revenues up significantly. EBay’s core marketplace business, such as the eBay site, Shopping.com and others, saw revenue dip 1 percent to $1.4 billion. Companywide Revenues increased 6 percent to $2.24 billion.

The company cited a combination of main site activity, foreign exchange differences and a continued soft consumer market as recent factors in the company’s financial results. eBay said that the number of active users on its core marketplace rose 2 percent to 89.2 million which demonstrated that it continues to attract merchants and users. Gross merchandise volume – a metric that indicates the value of all the items sold on eBay, excluding vehicles, increased 7 percent to $12.2 billion

Growth from the company’s PayPal and Skype subsidiaries helped offset a tough environment for core areas of the business. eBay’s PayPal subsidiary, which includes short-term

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The U.S. e-commerce market is heating up, with new competition from China-based Alibaba.com. Alibaba Group CEO Jack Ma recently announced that its new business-to-business (BTB) e-commerce platform is currently in the beta stage and could be expected to launch in the U.S. by the end of the year.   This seems to be a good time to launch the site since traffic may be expected to increase as a result of the holiday season. However, the company’s entry will no doubt increase competition for existing players such as Amazon.com (AMZN), eBay Inc. (EBAY) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT).   Still, online retail is one of the few markets that are expected to continue growing this year. According to Forrester Research, non-travel ecommerce sales in the U.S. are expected to grow 11% in 2009, a slight slowdown from the 13% growth seen in 2008. One of the major

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Steel maker Nucor Corp.’s (NYSE: NUE) stock has rallied some 51% from its March 3 low of $29.84 a share and has twice bumped against its recent high of $49.91 a share. 

The stock is still a far cry from its record-high level of $83.56, but is only 0% below its 52-week high of $53.46.  Much has changed since then, as the U.S. auto industry is no longer producing the 16 million cars it produced in 2007, nor the 13 million it managed to sell last year.  This year we are looking at some 10 million units sold, according to J.D. Power and Associates, the leading forecaster in the industry.

But there is encouraging news:  The very quick restructuring of both General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GRM) and Chrysler Group LLC, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s efforts to stabilize the financial markets, and

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At a time not too long ago, pawn shops seemed like an ideal place to discharge unwanted items for a small amount; Something to give you that little extra cash in your wallet. Of course with the emergence of the Internet, the concept of a pawn shop has taken a new meaning through eBay (Public, NASDAQ:EBAY). Many users have joined the online phenomenon for buying and selling, all the while their disposable income has decreased on aggregate. However, during the recent lack of job opportunities and rising personal debts,

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - April 30, 2009 - Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week's analysis include Amazon.com (AMZN), CyberSource Corporation (CYBS), Equinix Inc. (EQIX), Google, Inc. (GOOG), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), eBay Inc. (EBAY), Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) and First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Charles Rotblut, CFA, Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

Not All Internet Stocks Are Attractive

The most important thing I look for when analyzing an industry is a discernable business trend. I want to find the factors that are driving earnings estimates higher or lower.

Unfortunately, such trends don't always exist. This is the case with Internet stocks.

On the surface, Electronic Commerce and Internet Services look good with Zacks Industry Ranks

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Highlighted stocks include Amazon.com (...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - April 24, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: eBay, Inc. (EBAY), Qualcomm, Inc. (QCOM), Broadcom Corp. (BRCM), Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) and Texas Capital Bancshares Inc. (TCBI).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Thursday's Analyst Blog:

eBay Beats on Top & Bottom Lines

After the bell today, eBay, Inc. (EBAY) reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter, beating on the top and bottom lines. The company reported net revenue of $2.02 billion, well above our estimate of

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MF Cuts Global Outlook; Brazil Hedge Fund Sells Banks, Homebuilders; February Home Prices Up 0.7%; Home Prices in Dubai Could Fall 70%; Apple Tops Forecasts; Feds Search Siemens’ Offices; Freddie Mac CFO Found Dead; E-Bay Beats Street

In its latest global outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed the growth forecast for every major country and urged more recovery actions. The IMF said the global economy will likely contract 1.3% this year and post a 1.9% gain next year, Reuters reported. Mercatto Estrategia FI, a Brazilian hedge fund that is beating 97% of its peers, is selling assets of the country’s largest homebuilders and banks, saying they are overvalued, Bloomberg reported. “Since we’ve lived through a liquidity crisis, it shook up the economy ...

As the economy continues to suffer from lower consumer confidence and weaker consumer spending, many believe that the retail sector has taken a beating from these weaknesses. One segment related to retail is eCommerce, an online version of retail that can be seen with companies such as Amazon.com Inc. [AMZN: 78.74, 0.00 (0.00%)], eBay Inc. [EBAY: 14.29, 0.00 (0.00%)], and Barnes and Noble, Inc. [BKS: 23.51, 0.00 (0.00%)]. What many economists and consumers have overlooked is the continued out performance of this segment, especially by the segment leader, Amazon. As of April 13, 2009, Amazon has been up 45.22% year-to-date. Some may say that Amazon is overpriced, but with the company being best of the breed, eCommerce flourishing, and Amazon’s growth opportunities through its product innovations, I will prove why Amazon will continue to strive through 2009.

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