eBay proves naysayers wrong

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) today reported its biggest increase in profit in five quarters, providing that reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.

Net income was $377.2 million, or 28 cents, compared with $248.3 million, or 17 cents, the San Jose, Calif.-based company said. Revenue rose 27% to $1.77 billion. Excluding one-time costs, profit would have been 33 cents, beating analysts' expectations of 30 cents. Shares rose in after-hours trading since the company gave guidance for the quarter and year that basically confirmed to Wall Street's views.

"This first quarter of 2007 was a very strong one for the company," said CEO Meg Whitman in the earnings press release. "The strength of our core businesses, as well as the significant traction we're beginning to see across our newer businesses, helped us deliver great results across the board."

Whitman can be forgiven for gloating, For the past two years, she's been blamed for bringing eBay to the brink of ahiliation at the hands of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). These results underscore that her detractors were wrong and that her strategy, with the exception of the Skype acquisition, is proving correct.

Though some merchants complained loudly. eBay last year raised fees on fixed-priced items in order to make it easier for users to find the items they want to buy. The strategy paid off for investors who as Bloomberg News notes have seen eBay shares soar 28 percent since the increases took effect.

As I noted in my recent post, eBay remains an easy and inexpensive way for many people to buy and sell goods on the Internet. Though its growth rates have slowed, it still remains a formidable brand.