In 2015, PayPal and eBay turned into independent companies. According to eBay, both companies were going to benefit from the separation.
PayPal and eBay
People outside the eBay were sure the separation would be beneficial for both companies. They believed not much would change from the consumer or merchant perspective. Moreover, it was expected that independent operation would help eBay generate better profits and would provide a positive future for the company.
According to Neira Jones, UK payments expert, one of the strategic factors that contributed towards separation was the constant divergences about the future ambitions between the companies. PayPal wanted to become a regulated payment brand like Visa and MasterCard. eBay was trying to become the global marketplace it wanted to be.
Jones further noted that if PayPal became a financial institution, the same stringent rules would be applied both for seller account setup and merchant account setup. When opening an account, buyers would be subject to bank-like controls. So to fulfill their ambitions, eBay and PayPal needed to become separate companies.
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For the quarter ended September 30, 2016, eBay Inc. delivered gross merchandise volume (GMV) of $20.1 billion. The company increased 5% on a foreign exchange (FX) neutral basis and 3% on an as-reported basis. Revenue made up $2.2 billion, which is up 8% on an FX-Neutral basis and 6% on an as-reported basis.
GAAP net income from continuing operations counted for $418 million, or $0.36 per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income from continuing operations accounted for $509 million, or $0.45 per diluted share. eBay generated $802 million of operating cash flow and $617 million of free cash flow from continuing operations. The company repurchased $500 million of its common stock.
In the 3rd quarter, more than 1 million active buyers were added across eBay’s platforms to its 165 million global active buyers.