eBay Inc EBAY

EBay's Focus Category Investments, Advertising Business Underpin Forecast Return to Growth

We take a positive view of eBay's strategic framework. After divesting a number of noncore segments, its marketplace looks similar to the vibrant platform of the early 2000s, with the firm leaning into its core competency of price discovery for non-new, in-season wares. After unsuccessful forays into fulfillment services and low-value customer segments, the company has prioritized its bread and butter "focus categories," with expansion into authentication services, tuck-in acquisitions, and vertical investments driving healthy growth for eBay's most distinct inventory. Those categories now represent 30% of gross merchandise volume, or GMV, and disproportionately cater to the 16 million high-value "enthusiast" buyers who funnel more than $3,100 in annual spending toward the commerce platform.