eBay Inc (EBAY)’s Q4 2014 Earnings Call Transcript

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In Q4, we generated net revenues of $4.9 billion, up 9%. Organic revenue growth was 10% in the quarter. Brain tree contributed approximately 1 point of growth, while currency negatively impacted growth by roughly 2 points. We delivered revenue near the high end of the guidance range despite the impact of the stronger dollar, which impacted revenue by approximately $30 million since our guidance in October.

Non-GAAP EPS was $0.90, up 10%. EPS growth was driven by 9% top line growth and lower share count, partially offset by lower operating margins. Operating margins declined by 150 basis points due to the higher customer service and site ops cost and slightly higher operating expenses. A little more color on operating expenses, which were 41% of revenue in the quarter, up 50 basis points. The biggest driver was sales and marketing, up 70 basis points. The incremental spend was to drive traffic at Market Places and to drive comprehension and usage by our customers at PayPal. We gained operating leverage on our G&A line, which was down 110 basis points.

We generated free cash flow of $1.3 billion in the quarter, and Cap Ex was 8% of revenue. We had excellent free cash flow for the full year 2014, ending with cash, cash equivalents and non-equity investments of $14.6 billion, including $4.5 billion in the U.S. During the year, we generated $4.4 billion in free cash flow. We lowered our cost of capital by repurchasing 88 million shares of stock and issuing $3.5 billion in debt at attractive rates. And we funded our PayPal Credit portfolio primarily using our off-shore cash. We have significant capacity to capitalize 2 independent companies while providing them each with the financial flexibility to invest and grow.

Now let’s take a closer look at our segment results. PayPal had a great quarter and a strong close to an excellent year. For the first time, we achieved revenues of more than $2 billion in the quarter, reaching $2.2 billion, up 18% on an FX neutral basis, driven by strong account growth and accelerating transaction growth, which was partially offset by a 3 point sequential deceleration on eBay growth. More than 50% of PayPal’s revenues came from outside the U.S.

A few quick comments on PayPal operating metrics. Total active accounts growth was 13%, with rising engagement per account. TPV, on an FX neutral basis, grew 27%, with Merchant Services FX neutral TPV increasing 36%. Transaction margins remained well above the 60% level, while we continue to expand off of eBay, grow large merchant ubiquity and accelerate Brain tree growth with merchants and consumers. PayPal’s segment margin declined 370 basis points to 22% due to increased investment in Brain tree, product, brand, as well as costs from onetime regulatory matters.

Now let’s turn to the Market Places business. Market Places delivered $2.3 billion in revenue, up 5% on an FX neutral basis, a challenging close to a tough year. FX neutral transaction revenue grew 3%, while marketing services revenue grew 12%. Helped by strong growth of our global classifieds business. Stub Hub continued to detract from revenue due to a lower take rate from the pricing changes earlier in the year.

eBay is a good business, but we have real challenges that we’re working our way through. And as John mentioned, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. A little more on what’s going on. Since the fourth quarter of last year, our GMB has decelerated by 7 points globally and 11 points in the U.S., our largest and most competitive market. Our ecosystem has simply been disrupted.

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