EBay Boosts Earnings View Due to Sale of More MercadoLibre Shares

By Josh Beckerman 

EBay Inc., which previously said it would see a significant gain on its sale of MercadoLibre Inc. shares, increased its fourth-quarter earnings guidance to reflect the sale of more stock.

With the exercise of the overallotment option, eBay has exited its stake in the Buenos Aires-based e-commerce technology. The stock sale, already upsized, totaled more than $1.36 billion.

In its earnings report on Oct. 19, eBay said it would use the proceeds "in a manner consistent with its capital allocation policy."

EBay became a MercadoLibre shareholder in 2001 when MercadoLibre bought the Brazilian unit of iBazar, which eBay had previously acquired.

EBay now expects fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $1.15 to $1.25 a share, compared with its prior outlook of $1.05 to $1.15.

The San Jose, Calif., company said last month that it expected fourth-quarter revenue of $2.36 billion to $2.41 billion and adjusted earnings from continuing operations of 52 cents to 54 cents, compared with analysts' expectations of $2.4 billion in revenue and 54 cents of per-share earnings.

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 03, 2016 19:32 ET (23:32 GMT)

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