eBay will report its third-quarter 2026 results on October 28. Its shares have climbed to around $121, a multi-year high, even after the company rejected GameStop's offer of $125 per share. Investors are now focused less on whether a deal could be reached and more on whether eBay can sustain growth in its core marketplace while turning eBay Live, Depop and cost reductions into stronger earnings.
Analysts See 10.2% Revenue Growth
Analysts currently expect eBay to report third-quarter earnings of $1.41 per share, up about 4% year over year. Revenue is forecast at $3.1 billion, representing growth of 10.2%. Revenue rose 15% in the second quarter, and the company has indicated that growth should remain relatively solid in the third quarter.
Over the past year, eBay has sought to move beyond the limited growth associated with a mature e-commerce platform by using product tools and new services to expand transaction volumes. Collectibles have been a key focus. The company's artificial-intelligence card scanner and authentication guarantee are designed to make transactions in the category easier and more secure.
eBay Live has also shown rapid expansion. Gross merchandise volume on the live-commerce business increased eightfold year over year in the second quarter. Median seller GMV rose to three times its previous level, while buyers' spending on related products increased 70%.
eBay's second-quarter GMV reached $22.4 billion, with organic growth of 14% on a constant-currency basis. That compared with almost no transaction-volume growth at the beginning of last year. The company is also building advertising into a larger revenue stream. Advertising revenue approached $600 million in the second quarter, up 23% year over year and nearly 10 percentage points faster than GMV growth.
Depop Will Add About Two Months of Results
eBay completed its $1.2 billion acquisition of secondhand fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy on July 30. The third-quarter results will therefore include roughly two months of Depop's financial performance. Depop's GMV was estimated at about $1.1 billion at the end of 2025, suggesting that its near-term contribution to eBay's overall revenue and transaction volume will remain limited.
Under eBay's third-quarter guidance, Depop is expected to contribute 2.5 percentage points to constant-currency GMV growth, equivalent to about $512.5 million. Its contribution to constant-currency revenue growth is expected to be 1.5 percentage points, or approximately $42.3 million.
eBay expects overall constant-currency growth of about 8% in the quarter, below the second quarter's performance. Second-quarter revenue exceeded market expectations by $117 million, while eBay has also beaten revenue estimates by roughly $90 million in several recent quarters. Whether that pattern can continue will be a central focus of the report.
Depop's inclusion is also expected to weigh on near-term earnings-per-share growth. Market estimates suggest that the $1.36 EPS reported in the third quarter of 2025 will face dilution of about $0.18 this quarter. Excluding Depop, eBay's EPS would be roughly in line with the second quarter's $1.60, compared with the current forecast of $1.41.
Job Cuts Could Lift 2027 Earnings
eBay announced this week that it would cut about 9% of its workforce. The cost reductions could support the company's 2027 EPS target, while also indicating that management is continuing to reshape operations to control expenses and improve efficiency. eBay ended the second quarter with net debt of $1.9 billion.
Share Price Already Reflects Part of the Recovery
eBay's market capitalization is about $55 billion, with the stock trading near $121. That is close to the valuation level associated with GameStop's takeover proposal in early May. At that time, eBay shares had spent an extended period below $100, while GameStop offered approximately $125 per share.
The rally has not pushed eBay's valuation to an extreme level, but its forward price-to-earnings multiple is now at least the highest it has been in several years. The share-price gains and multiple expansion have largely occurred as the company returned to double-digit growth.
Based on market forecasts for 2027 EPS, eBay currently trades at roughly 18 times earnings. If layoffs and other cost measures produce stronger profits, the effective valuation multiple could fall further.
Morgan Stanley has taken a positive view of eBay Live's growth and lists eBay among its stocks of interest. Its price target, however, is $132, only about 9% above the current share price of $121. That gap highlights how much of the market's remaining upside assessment depends on growth continuing to accelerate after the recent rally.
eBay Live Remains the Key Variable
eBay's next share-price move will depend increasingly on whether the platform can convert its current growth initiatives into consistent revenue. If eBay Live cannot broaden its user and seller base beyond its early success, growth could slow again. Depop could increase GMV in the short term while weighing on EPS growth through consolidation-related dilution.
A U.S. recession or weaker consumer spending could also reduce online transaction volumes. In the upcoming third-quarter report, investors will be watching core marketplace growth, Depop's actual contribution, advertising revenue and the change in the expense ratio following the workforce reduction.