EBay Inc. on Wednesday posted its first loss since going public in 1998 after writing off part of the value of its Skype Internet telephone division; but excluding that, the company beat estimates.
The San Jose, Calif.-based online auctioneer said it lost $935.6 million, or 69 cents a share, in the third quarter, compared with net income of $280.9 million, or 20 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 30 percent, to $1.89 billion, led by a 40 percent jump overseas.
Excluding the $1.39 billion cost of the write-down, eBay would have earned 41 cents a share, 8 cents a share more than Wall Street expected.
“Other than Skype, the rest of the business is doing very well,” said Steve Weinstein, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Ore.
The report came out after the close of trading.
In other earnings news:
– ETrade Financial Corp. swung to a third-quarter loss after writing down nearly $200 million worth of mortgage-backed securities squeezed during the summer’s credit crisis.
The New York-based online brokerage posted a loss of $58.4 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with a profit of $153.2 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier. Wall Street was expecting a profit of 10 cents a share for the latest quarter. Revenue tumbled 45 percent, to $321.2 million, because of the $197 million in write-downs.
The report came out after the close of trading.
– Washington Mutual Inc. posted a 72 percent plunge in third-quarter profit as sagging home prices made it harder for borrowers to pay their bills and hurt the value of the Seattle-based bank’s portfolio of mortgage loans.
The nation’s third-biggest home lender reported a profit of $210 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with $748 million, or 77 cents a share, a year earlier. The most recent result missed estimates by 4 cents a share. Revenue sank 4 percent, to $3.39 billion.
The report came out after the close of trading.
– AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, said third-quarter profit surged from the year-ago period, when the carrier took a $99 million charge for fuel-hedging contracts.
The Ft. Worth-based carrier reported net income of $175 million, or 61 cents a share, compared with $15 million, or 6 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding a one-time charge of $40 million, or 13 cents a share, AMR would have earned 74 cents a share in the most recent period, beating estimates by 1 cent a share. Revenue edged up nearly 2 percent, to $5.95 billion.
AMR stock added 98 cents, to $25.10, on the New York Stock Exchange.
– JPMorgan Chase & Co. managed to turn out a 2 percent gain in third-quarter profit, beating Wall Street expectations despite rocky market conditions and a rough lending climate.
After taking write-downs of $1.3 billion on leveraged loans and padding credit-loss provisions by about $2 billion, JPMorgan said net income was $3.37 billion, or 97 cents a share, beating estimates by 7 cents a share. A year ago, the New York-based bank earned $3.30 billion, or 92 cents a share. Revenue rose 4 percent, to $16.11 billion.
Shares of JPMorgan gained $1.26, to $46.37, on the NYSE.
– Coca-Cola Co. posted a 13 percent increase in third-quarter profit, to $1.65 billion, or 71 cents a share, from $1.46 billion, or 62 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
The most recent result beat estimates by 3 cents a share. The Atlanta-based beverage giant said revenue jumped 19 percent, to $21.5 billion.
Shares of Coca-Cola increased $1.33, to $59.09, on the NYSE.
