eBay sold its Enterprise business for $925 million and topped Wall Street expectations for its second-quarter earnings as the online retailer prepares to spin off PayPal.
Shares rose more than 4% in morning trading on Thursday. eBay had said in January that it might sell Enterprise, which develops online shopping sites for brick-and-mortar retailers. Clients include Sports Authority, PetSmart and Ikea.
Earlier this July one of its biggest clients, Toys R Us, said that it would move its e-commerce business in house next year. But that didn’t stop the sale to a group of private equity firms led by Permira and Sterling Partners, the company announced on Thursday.
Adjusted earnings, excluding a $786 million charge related to the Enterprise sale, amounted to 76 cents per share. That was 4 cents better than analysts had projected, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.
Thirteen analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.48 billion. eBay said the stronger dollar hurt its results.
Shares rose $2.15, or 3.4%, to close at $65.59 on Thursday.
(With inputs from AP)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)