EBay Posts Strong Quarterly ResultsEBay Posts Strong Quarterly Results

Online auctioneer eBay Inc. on Wednesday said earnings rose 36 percent in the fourth quarter, beating analysts' expectations, but the company said profit and sales for the year could fall short of estimates.

Net income for the period ended Dec. 31 was $279.2 million, or 20 cents a share, up from $205.4 million, or 15 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Sales rose 42 percent to $1.33 billion from $935.8 million.

Net revenue for the company rose 42 percent to $1.33 billion. Growth came from two of its largest markets, Germany and the United States. It also had better-than-expected revenue growth from recent acquisitions Skype and Shopping.com.

U.S. marketplaces net revenues, including Shopping.com, rose 39 percent to $526.1 million from the year-ago quarter.

Confirmed registered users for the online site at the end of the quarter rose 33 percent to 180.6 million, compared the year-ago quarter. Active users who bid, bought or listed an item within the previous 12-months rose 28 percent to 71.8 million compared with the same quarter in the prior year.

New listings rose 35 percent to 546.4 million, and eBay hosted approximately 383,000 stores worldwide, with roughly 212,000 stores on the U.S. site.