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eBay (EBAY) Q1 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Mar 2026 (Q1 FY26)· Consumer Discretionary· Apr 29, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

eBay Q1 FY26 — Broad-based GMV acceleration led by collectibles and AI-native marketplace

eBay opened 2026 with broad-based momentum as strategic priorities — focus categories, C2C and recommerce — now drive the majority of GMV, and the marketplace pivots from AI-powered optimization toward fully AI-native listing and search experiences. Management contrasts resilient US demand against a still-pressured European consumer, guiding to a natural deceleration as prior-year tailwinds and bullion demand lap, while signaling willingness to reinvest upside into live commerce and vehicles.

Highlights

5
  • GMV grew 14% to $22.2B on an organic FX-neutral basis (FX provided a ~400 bps tailwind), with US GMV up nearly 27%

  • Revenue grew 17% to $3.09B and non-GAAP operating income grew 18% to $907M; non-GAAP EPS grew 21% to $1.66

  • Focus categories GMV grew 24%, outpacing the rest of the marketplace by 15 percentage points; strategic priorities (focus categories, C2C, recommerce) now ~70% of total GMV

  • Total advertising revenue reached $581M (>2.6% GMV penetration) with first-party ads up 28% to $555M and off-platform ads up 29%

  • Returned $639M to shareholders and generated $898M of free cash flow; eBay Live annual GMV run rate more than 8x higher YoY

Concerns

5
  • International GMV grew only ~2% organic FX-neutral amid challenging European consumer confidence and macro data

  • Global active buyers grew just 1% to ~136M TTM and enthusiast buyers ~16M (up ~2%), with growth concentrated in the US

  • Q2 and full-year growth expected to decelerate (Q2 GMV growth guided to 8%-10%) as prior-year lower-funnel marketing and Carna-partnership tailwinds lap and gold/silver bullion demand reverts to historical levels

  • Transaction losses increased in Q1 driven by newer shipping programs and customer-experience enhancements

  • Pending Depop acquisition expected to be a low-single-digit headwind to operating income growth and dilute non-GAAP EPS growth by low single digits; higher interest expense and lower cash balance to pressure net interest line

Guidance & targets

CategoryTargetConfidence
Q2 2026 GMV
$21.3B-$21.7B (8%-10% FX-neutral growth)
high materiality
High
Q2 2026 revenue
$2.97B-$3.03B (8%-10% FX-neutral growth)
high materiality
High
Q2 2026 non-GAAP operating income growth
6%-10% YoY (non-GAAP operating margin 27.6%-28.1%)
high materiality
High
Q2 2026 non-GAAP EPS
$1.46-$1.51 (7%-11% YoY growth)
high materiality
High
Full-year 2026 GMV growth (ex-Depop)
7%-7.5% FX-neutral
high materiality
High
Full-year 2026 revenue growth (ex-Depop)
In line to slightly ahead of GMV on an FX-neutral basis
high materiality
Medium
Full-year 2026 non-GAAP operating income growth (ex-Depop)
9%-11%
high materiality
High
Full-year 2026 non-GAAP earnings growth
Relatively in line with non-GAAP operating income growth (9%-11%)
high materiality
Medium
Full-year 2026 non-GAAP tax rate
17.5%
medium materiality
High
Full-year 2026 capital expenditures
4%-5% of revenue
medium materiality
High
Full-year 2026 share repurchases
Roughly $2B
high materiality
High
Q2 2026 quarterly cash dividend
$0.31 per share (payable in June)
medium materiality
High
Depop acquisition close timing
By end of Q3 2026
high materiality
Medium
Depop contribution to 2026 FX-neutral GMV growth
Approximately 1 percentage point
medium materiality
Medium
Depop impact on 2026 operating income and EPS growth
Low-single-digit headwind to operating income growth; low-single-digit dilution to non-GAAP EPS growth
high materiality
Medium
Advertising revenue growth
Healthy growth continuing to outpace GMV for the foreseeable future
medium materiality
Medium
Gold/silver bullion GMV normalization
Reverting to historical levels in Q2
medium materiality
High
Australia C2C selling experience revamp
Remove selling fees for consumer sellers; introduce a buyer-facing fee on C2C transactions
medium materiality
High

Segment performance

SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
United States (geography)
Broad-based acceleration across categories; eBay Live, C2C and US exports were larger contributors, aided by a weaker US dollar and the Carna partnership plus lower-funnel marketing efficiencies.
US active buyer growth: ~6% YoYUS enthusiast buyer growth: 8% YoYRemainder of US business (ex-collectibles): double-digit GMV growth, outpacing broader e-commerce benchmarks
—~27% GMV growth (organic FX-neutral)——
International (geography)
Macro conditions remain challenging in largest international markets, but targeted investments in areas of right-to-win and shipping solutions drove sequential improvement.
FX tailwind: ~70 bps to spot GMV growthUK and Germany: improved growth from focus categories, C2C and eBay LiveGreater China and Japan: cross-border growth recovered
—over 2% GMV growth (organic FX-neutral)accelerated vs Q4—
Advertising
Growth driven by strong volume and continued monetization across CPA/CPC and offsite products; management expects ad revenue to keep outpacing GMV.
GMV penetration: over 2.6%First-party ads: $555MPromoted Listings: over $1.2B of the over $2.5B total listingsSellers adopting at least 1 promoted-listing product: 5.2 millionThird-party display ads: declined as expected (legacy deprecation)
$581M total advertising revenueads grew 27%; first-party ads +28%; off-platform ads +29%——

EBAY operating KPIs by quarter

EBAY operating KPIs stated on its earnings calls, by fiscal quarter
KPI Dec 2024 Q4 FY24 Mar 2025 Q1 FY25 Sep 2025 Q3 FY25 Dec 2025 Q4 FY25This call Mar 2026 Q1 FY26 Jun 2026 Q2 FY26Change vs prior quarter
Active buyers
<134M Active buyers grew over 1% to nearly 134 million in Q4. Source: earnings call transcript
134M Our trailing 12-month active buyers grew over 1% to $134 million in the first quarter. Source: earnings call transcript
134M+ Our trailing 12-month active buyers were over 134 million in Q3, up 1% year-over-year. Source: earnings call transcript
——
136M Active buyers grew nearly 2% to 136 million on a trailing 12-month basis, including buyers from recently acquired, Tise. Source: earnings call transcript
—
Enthusiast buyers
~16M Enthusiast buyers remained stable at roughly 16 million and spend per enthusiast buyer grew slightly year-over-year to more than $3,100. Source: earnings call transcript
—
~16M Enthusiast buyers remained stable at roughly $16 million, while spend per enthusiast buyer grew year-over-year to over $3,200 on a trailing 12-month basis. Source: earnings call transcript
~16M Enthusiast buyers were stable at roughly 16 million while spend per enthusiast buyer grew year-over-year to over $3,300 on a trailing 12-month basis. Source: earnings call transcript
—
16M Enthusiast buyers totaled 16 million and grew by nearly 3% year-over-year and spend per enthusiast buyer increased to approximately $3,600 on a trailing 12-month basis. Source: earnings call transcript
—
Spend per enthusiast buyer
$3,100+ Enthusiast buyers remained stable at roughly 16 million and spend per enthusiast buyer grew slightly year-over-year to more than $3,100. Source: earnings call transcript
$3,100+ Enthusiast buyers grew roughly 16 million and spend per enthusiast buyer grew slightly year-over-year and remained at over $3,100. Source: earnings call transcript
$3,200+ Enthusiast buyers remained stable at roughly $16 million, while spend per enthusiast buyer grew year-over-year to over $3,200 on a trailing 12-month basis. Source: earnings call transcript
$3,300+ Enthusiast buyers were stable at roughly 16 million while spend per enthusiast buyer grew year-over-year to over $3,300 on a trailing 12-month basis. Source: earnings call transcript
$3,400+ Enthusiast buyers remained at roughly $16 million, but grew by nearly 2% year-over-year and spend exceeded $3,400 on a trailing 12-month basis. Source: earnings call transcript
~$3,600 Enthusiast buyers totaled 16 million and grew by nearly 3% year-over-year and spend per enthusiast buyer increased to approximately $3,600 on a trailing 12-month basis. Source: earnings call transcript
—
Sellers adopting advertising products
~3.4M Approximately 3.4 million sellers adopted a single ad product during the quarter, and we ended Q4 with more than 1.1 billion live Promoted Listings out of nearly $2.3 billion total listings on eBay. Source: earnings call transcript
3.7M+ Over 3.7 million sellers adopted a single Promoted Listing product during Q1. Source: earnings call transcript
4.4M+ Active Promoted Listings comprised nearly 1.2 billion of more than 2.4 billion total listings on eBay, while over 4.4 million sellers adopted at least a single Promoted Listings product during the quarter. Source: earnings call transcript
4.8M Promoted listings comprised nearly 1.2 billion of the roughly 2.5 billion total listings on eBay while 4.8 million sellers adopted at least 1 promoted listing product during the quarter. Source: earnings call transcript
5.2M Promoted Listings comprised over $1.2 billion of the over $2.5 billion total listings on eBay and 5.2 million sellers adopted at least 1 promoted listing product during the quarter. Source: earnings call transcript
5.7M Promoted Listings comprised nearly $1.3 billion of the $2.6 billion total listings on eBay and 5.7 million sellers adopted at least 1 promoted listing product during the quarter. Source: earnings call transcript
+9.6%

Operating figures the company stated on at least two of the calls shown, checked against each call's transcript. Click a figure to read the sentence. A dash means it was not stated that quarter.

Product announcements

ProductTypeDetails
Magical listing (latest generation, AI seller tool)expansion
Agentic (genetic) search betalaunch
AI card scanning featureexpansion
eBay Liveexpansion
Guaranteed Fit (motors P&A)expansion
Authenticity Guarantee (fashion)expansion
eBay inventory in Facebook Marketplace searchexpansion
SpeedPAK cross-border shippingexpansion
eBay International Shipping (Canada)expansion
Australia C2C consumer selling experienceroadmap
eBay climate transition planmilestone

Deals & partnerships

Depop acquisition

Regulatory clearances received in the US and Germany; reviews in progress and on track in other markets including the UK and Australia. Part of eBay's fashion enthusiast strategy and 'built, buy and partner' playbook.

Aladin Systems acquisition

UK-based software provider for salvage yards; strengthens the motors P&A value proposition and supports the circular economy.

Caramel acquisition

Acquired a little over a year ago; underpins eBay's fast-growing vehicles business and P&A cross-sell opportunity.

Meta (Facebook Marketplace) partnership / integration

eBay inventory now enabled in Facebook Marketplace search box for the majority of users in the US, Germany and France following a successful pilot; new tests also in progress.

Marks & Spencer partnership / live shopping event

First direct-from-brand live shopping event, held in the UK in March, driving fashion GMV via eBay Live.

SpeedPAK shipping partnership

Cross-border shipping partnership performing well in Greater China and Japan; access expanded to sellers in Germany and 6 other markets.

Carna (transcribed 'Carna'/'Conner') partnership

US partnership cited as a noticeable growth driver during Q2 of last year; the name is garbled by ASR (rendered as both 'Conner' and 'Carna').

OpenAI advertising / agentic commerce pilot

eBay is running an ads pilot (transcribed 'Open A high ads pilot') as part of testing agentic commerce and expanding inventory reach.

Risks & headwinds

Weak European / international consumer demand and macro ongoing

International GMV grew only ~2% organic FX-neutral vs ~27% in the US

Mitigation:Targeted investments in focus categories, C2C, eBay Live and shipping solutions in areas with a right to win; international growth improved sequentially from Q4

Transitory gold/silver bullion demand normalization Q2 2026

Transitory benefit to Q1 GMV growth; expected to revert to historical levels in Q2 (a driver of the majority of the Q1-to-Q2 growth deceleration)

Mitigation:Anticipated in guidance; broad-based non-bullion collectibles strength offsets

Prior-year lapping dynamics (lower-funnel marketing efficiencies and US Carna partnership) Q2 2026 and back half

Combined with bullion, account for the majority of implied YoY GMV growth deceleration from 14% (Q1) to 8%-10% (Q2)

Mitigation:Continued broad-based strategic-priority growth plus incremental contributions from live and vehicles

Rising transaction losses from newer shipping programs Q1 2026, moderating over time

Transaction losses increased as expected in Q1

Mitigation:Loss trends improved toward end of quarter; programs expected to follow a typical curve of higher initial losses moderating as they optimize

Depop acquisition dilution post-close (by end of Q3 2026) through FY26

Low-single-digit headwind to 9%-11% operating income growth; low-single-digit dilution to non-GAAP EPS growth

Mitigation:Viewed as strategic to fashion enthusiast growth; includes planned investment and integration costs

Higher interest expense and lower cash balance FY2026

Expected to pressure the net interest and other line items YoY

Mitigation:Partially offset by tailwind from share repurchases

Higher effective tax rate FY2026

Non-GAAP tax rate 17.5%, 1 percentage point higher than 2025

Competitive intensity in C2C / fashion resale ongoing

Not quantified (Vinted, transcribed 'Vintage', cited as scaling and investing in the US)

Mitigation:Strong US C2C position, AI listing tools, improved value proposition, and pending Depop acquisition

Complex global trade policy / cross-border environment ongoing

Not quantified

Mitigation:Shipping solutions (eBay International Shipping, SpeedPAK) to reduce cross-border cost and complexity

Q&A highlights

How to reconcile the 6% US buyer growth with the much higher US GMV; what are order-frequency vs ASP trends and is the new-buyer funnel expanding again?

Jamie said US buyer growth of 6% (US enthusiast buyers +8%) understates strength; mid-value buyers have grown YoY every quarter since the start of 2024, consistently outpacing total active buyer growth. US GMV growth is balanced across active buyers, sold items and ASP, offset somewhat by macro-pressured international trends.

“when you look at the U.S. GMV, Nikhil, it's balanced between active buyers, sold items, an ASP, which is, I think, a healthy place to be.”

asked by Nikhil Devnani · answered by Jamie Iannone

4 min read 8 chapters

Detailed narrative

Broad-based GMV acceleration and strategic-priority mix

Q1 GMV rose 14% to $22.2B (organic FX-neutral) with FX adding ~400 bps, as year-over-year growth improved sequentially across all major categories led by collectibles, eBay Motors, electronics and fashion. Focus categories grew 24%, outpacing the rest of the marketplace by 15 percentage points.

The most established strategic priorities — focus categories, C2C and recommerce (pre-owned and refurbished) — now represent approximately 70% of total GMV, each individually grew faster than overall GMV, and collectively grew in the high teens. US GMV was particularly strong at nearly 27%, while international GMV grew just over 2%.

Collectibles leadership and off-platform marketplaces

Collectibles was the largest contributor to GMV growth, aided by the 30th anniversary of Pokemon in late February and accelerating sports trading-card demand (NFL, NBA, 2026 MLB releases). A transitory benefit from gold and silver bullion began normalizing in late Q1 and should revert to historical levels in Q2.

Off-platform marketplaces TCG Player and Golden both grew strongly, with Golden reaching a new quarterly GMV record and facilitating the sale of a Pokemon Pikachu Illustrator card for over $16 million — the most valuable trading card ever sold at auction.

AI-powered card scanning surpassed 30 million cumulative scans and expanded beyond sports to the top 5 card-game genres.

eBay Motors: P&A, vehicles and guaranteed fit

The motors parts & accessories (P&A) business delivered its strongest year-over-year GMV growth since 2021, contributing roughly 2 points of growth to the overall marketplace, driven by the Guaranteed Fit program (US, UK, Germany, newly expanded to Australia). eBay acquired Aladin Systems, a UK salvage-yard software provider, to bring more recycled P&A inventory onto the platform.

The nascent vehicles business (built on the Caramel acquisition ~a year ago) is scaling month-over-month, exited Q1 at an annualized GMV run rate in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and is expanding from C2C toward small dealerships, with synergies expected as vehicle buyers return for P&A.

Fashion, C2C and eBay Live

Fashion GMV accelerated sequentially with luxury growing healthy double digits; authenticity guarantee expanded to 70+ shoe and accessory brands in the US plus pre-loved/luxury apparel. C2C — more than a quarter of total GMV — delivered double-digit growth across the US, UK and Germany, outpacing B2C, helped by the latest magical listing AI tool that drove a mid-teens increase in casual fashion listers. eBay Live now operates in 7 markets with an annual GMV run rate more than 8x higher year-over-year; its 48 hours of drops event set a daily US record (each day 60% above the prior Black Friday record), and UK/Germany 24-hour events each hit 7-figure daily GMV.

AI-native marketplace transition

eBay is shifting from AI-powered optimizations to fully AI-native experiences. The US rollout of the latest magical listing generation drove a greater than 50% increase in new listing creation rate, double-digit increases in sold items and GMV per lister, stronger retention and higher estimated customer lifetime value; it began expanding to Germany in April with directionally similar early A/B uplift.

Sellers have created 0.5 billion listings using AI tools. An agentic search beta for buyers is showing ~50% more search engagement in AI-refined sessions, translating into double-digit increases in purchase behavior. AI is also lowering marketing creative costs and boosting CRM engagement (~40% more engagement on AI-written email subject lines).

Revenue, take rate and advertising

Revenue grew 17% to $3.09B (organic FX-neutral; FX +260 bps to spot). Take rate was 13.9%, up modestly year-over-year, with tailwinds from advertising, shipping and lapping the UK C2C buyer-fee rollout partially offset by rapid eBay Live growth and category/ASP mix, plus a ~20 bps FX headwind.

Total advertising revenue was $581M (>2.6% GMV penetration); first-party ads grew 28% to $555M and off-platform ads grew 29%, while legacy third-party display declined as expected. Promoted Listings comprised over $1.2B of the over $2.5B total listings, and 5.2 million sellers adopted at least one promoted-listing product.

Profitability, cash flow and capital allocation

Non-GAAP gross margin was 74.6%, up 1 point year-over-year on lower cost of payments, operational efficiencies and the UK managed-shipping program switching from gross to net revenue recognition on January 1. Non-GAAP operating income grew 18% to $907M; non-GAAP EPS grew 21% to $1.66 while GAAP EPS was $1.12.

Free cash flow was $898M. The company ended Q1 with $5.1B cash and fixed-income investments, $6.7B gross debt, and ~$770M of equity investments/warrants; it received ~$190M from the Orolia shareholder distribution, reducing that carrying value to ~$470M. eBay returned $639M to shareholders ($500M buyback at ~$90 average; $139M dividend).

Shipping, partnerships and outlook

Shipping is a major 2026 focus: eBay International Shipping scaled in Canada following its Q4 launch, and SpeedPAK expanded to Germany and 6 other markets while continuing to perform in Greater China and Japan. eBay inventory reached general availability in Facebook Marketplace search for the majority of US, Germany and France users.

Following a Q1 pilot with M&S, live shopping and cross-border shipping are being scaled amid a complex trade environment. Management raised the full-year GMV outlook to 7%-7.5% FX-neutral and operating income growth to 9%-11%, guiding to a natural Q2 deceleration (8%-10% GMV growth) as prior-year tailwinds and bullion demand lap.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.