Ebay beats the Street, institutes first-ever dividend

Online marketplace Ebay topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly sales on Tuesday after customers opened their wallets along with their hearts during the all-important holiday season.

The California-based firm turned in sales of $2.88bn from the three months ended 31 December - a 6.3% year-on-year increase and a touch ahead of analysts' estimates of $2.86bn.

Ebay's net income from continuing operations came to $763m or $0.80 on a per share basis - a marked improvement on the $2.6bn loss turned in a year earlier as a result of a one-time tax-related expense of more than $3bn.

The retailer also initiated a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share and announced its intention to expand its share repurchase authorisation by an additional $4bn.

Active buyers 4% across its platforms for a total of 179m.

Chief executive Devin Wenig said: "We delivered record earnings for the fourth quarter and full year 2018."

"We are confident in the strength of our business and future growth prospects, as demonstrated by our decision to institute eBay's first-ever dividend and increase our share repurchase program."

For the full year 2019, Ebay now expects net revenues to be in the range of $10.7bn to $10.9bn and earnings from continuing operations to come to $1.83 to $1.93 per share.

As of 2150 GMT, eBay shares had picked up 2.85% in after-hours trading to $34.65 each.