eBay (EBAY) Q4 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q4 2024 GMV was $19.3B, up 4% YoY; full-year GMV reached $74.7B, up 2% YoY, with three consecutive quarters of positive growth despite macroeconomic headwinds.

• Q4 revenue was $2.58B, up 1% YoY; full-year revenue was $10.3B, up 2% YoY.

• Non-GAAP EPS for Q4 was $1.25, up 16% YoY; full-year non-GAAP EPS was $4.88, up 15% YoY.

• Returned $3.7B to shareholders in 2024 via repurchases and dividends.

• Significant AI-driven innovation, new payment options, and partnerships with OpenAI and Meta enhanced buyer and seller experiences.

Financial highlights

• Q4 free cash flow was $560M; full-year free cash flow was $2.0B.

• Q4 non-GAAP operating income was $698M, up 2% YoY; non-GAAP operating margin was 27%.

• Q4 advertising revenue was $445M, up 12% YoY, with first-party ads up 16–18%.

• Q4 take rate was 13.3%, down 40 bps YoY, mainly due to UK C2C initiative and FX.

• Q4 GAAP operating margin was 21.1%, up from 16.0% last year.

Outlook and guidance

• Q1 2025 GMV guidance: $18.3B–$18.6B (flat to +1% YoY); revenue: $2.52B–$2.56B (flat to +1% YoY); non-GAAP EPS: $1.32–$1.36.

• FY 2025: low single-digit GMV growth and high single-digit non-GAAP EPS growth expected; capital expenditures targeted at 4–5% of revenue.

• At least $2B in share repurchases planned for FY 2025; dividend increased to $0.29/share for Q1 2025.

• Non-GAAP operating income growth to align with revenue; operating margin expected to be flat YoY.

• Unique tax payments of ~$650M in Q2 2025 related to prior asset sales; normalized free cash flow expected north of $2B excluding these.