<PAGE> 1
================================================================================
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
---------------
FORM 10-Q
[X] QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED JUNE 30, 2000
OR
[ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM __________ TO __________
COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 000-24821
eBay Inc.
(EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)
DELAWARE 77-0430924
(STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF (I.R.S. EMPLOYER
INCORPORATION OR ORGANIZATION) IDENTIFICATION NUMBER)
2145 HAMILTON AVENUE
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95125
(ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES) (ZIP CODE)
(408) 558-7400
(REGISTRANT'S TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE)
---------------
Check whether the registrant: (1) filed all reports required to be filed
by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the past 12 months (or for
such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and
(2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes [X] No [ ]
As of July 31, 2000, there were 268,414,457 shares of the Registrant's
Common Stock outstanding.
================================================================================
<PAGE> 2
PART I: FINANCIAL INFORMATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
eBay Inc.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
(IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE AMOUNTS; UNAUDITED)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
DECEMBER 31, JUNE 30,
1999 2000
------------ -----------
<S> <C> <C>
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents ................................... $ 219,679 $ 135,621
Short-term investments ...................................... 181,086 146,526
Accounts receivable, net .................................... 36,538 46,307
Other current assets ........................................ 22,531 40,697
----------- -----------
Total current assets ........................... 459,834 369,151
Property and equipment, net ....................................... 111,806 123,463
Long-term investments ............................................. 373,988 430,467
Restricted cash ................................................... -- 126,390
Deferred tax asset ................................................ 5,639 9,585
Intangible and other assets, net .................................. 12,675 12,560
----------- -----------
$ 963,942 $ 1,071,616
=========== ===========
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable ............................................ $ 31,538 $ 25,941
Accrued expenses ............................................ 32,550 45,048
Deferred revenue and customer advances ...................... 5,997 13,035
Debt and leases, short-term ................................. 12,285 15,584
Income taxes payable ........................................ 6,455 6,078
Other current liabilities ................................... -- 5,319
----------- -----------
Total current liabilities ...................... 88,825 111,005
Debt and leases, long-term ........................................ 15,018 14,745
Other liabilities ................................................. 5,900 5,885
Minority interests ................................................ 1,732 14,773
----------- -----------
111,475 146,408
----------- -----------
Stockholders' equity:
Common Stock, $0.001 par value; 900,000 shares authorized;
259,565 and 262,962 shares issued and outstanding ......... 260 263
Additional paid-in capital .................................. 823,620 882,241
Notes receivable from stockholders .......................... (11) (11)
Unearned compensation ....................................... (4,124) (2,335)
Retained earnings ........................................... 27,628 45,506
Accumulated other comprehensive income ...................... 5,094 (456)
----------- -----------
Total stockholders' equity ..................... 852,467 925,208
----------- -----------
$ 963,942 $ 1,071,616
=========== ===========
</TABLE>
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
condensed consolidated financial statements.
2
<PAGE> 3
eBay Inc.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
(IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE AMOUNTS; UNAUDITED)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
THREE MONTHS ENDED SIX MONTHS ENDED
JUNE 30, JUNE 30,
------------------------ ------------------------
1999 2000 1999 2000
--------- --------- --------- ---------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Net revenues ...................................................... $ 49,479 $ 97,399 $ 92,280 $ 183,152
Cost of net revenues .............................................. 10,945 23,643 18,922 46,915
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Gross Profit ................................................. 38,534 73,756 73,358 136,237
Operating expenses:
Sales and marketing .......................................... 22,916 32,814 39,874 66,754
Product development .......................................... 5,476 11,929 7,639 23,048
General and administrative ................................... 10,088 18,285 17,702 34,079
Payroll expense on employee stock options .................... -- 834 -- 1,735
Amortization of acquired intangibles ......................... 327 340 655 615
Merger related costs ......................................... 4,359 824 4,359 824
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Total operating expenses ................................ 43,166 65,026 70,229 127,055
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Income (loss) from operations ..................................... (4,632) 8,730 3,129 9,182
Interest and other income, net .................................... 6,516 11,295 7,329 22,246
Interest expense .................................................. (523) (1,038) (1,042) (1,878)
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Income before income taxes, minority interest and equity
interest in partnership income ................................ 1,361 18,987 9,416 29,550
Provision for income taxes ........................................ (591) (8,392) (4,862) (12,946)
Minority interest in consolidated company ......................... (12) 995 (90) 1,274
Equity interest in partnership income ............................. 58 -- 117 --
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Net income ................................................... $ 816 $ 11,590 $ 4,581 $ 17,878
========= ========= ========= =========
Net income per share:
Basic ........................................................ $ 0.00 $ 0.05 $ 0.02 $ 0.07
========= ========= ========= =========
Diluted ...................................................... $ 0.00 $ 0.04 $ 0.02 $ 0.06
========= ========= ========= =========
Weighted average shares (Note 1):
Basic ........................................................ 213,710 251,075 204,686 244,463
Diluted ...................................................... 273,228 275,297 269,050 275,838
Supplemental pro forma information:
Income before income taxes, minority interest and equity
interest in partnership income ........................... 1,361 18,987 9,416 29,550
Provision for income taxes as reported ....................... (591) (8,392) (4,862) (12,946)
Pro forma adjustment to provision for income taxes (Note 3) .. (1,137) -- (677) --
Minority interest in consolidated company as reported ........ (12) 995 (90) 1,274
Equity interest in partnership income ........................ 58 -- 117 --
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Pro forma net income .............................................. $ (321) $ 11,590 $ 3,904 $ 17,878
========= ========= ========= =========
Pro forma net income per share:
Basic ........................................................ $ 0.00 $ 0.05 $ 0.02 $ 0.07
========= ========= ========= =========
Diluted ...................................................... $ 0.00 $ 0.04 $ 0.01 $ 0.06
========= ========= ========= =========
</TABLE>
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
condensed consolidated financial statements.
3
<PAGE> 4
eBay Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE AMOUNTS; UNAUDITED)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
THREE MONTHS ENDED SIX MONTHS ENDED
JUNE 30, JUNE 30,
---------------------- ----------------------
1999 2000 1999 2000
-------- -------- -------- --------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Net income ......................................................... $ 816 $ 11,590 $ 4,581 $ 17,878
Other comprehensive income:
Foreign currency translation adjustments ....................... (33) (1,074) (33) (440)
Unrealized holding gains (losses) on securities, net ........... 22,729 (7,955) 22,729 (8,811)
Estimated tax provision on change in other comprehensive income .... (9,546) 3,341 (9,546) 3,701
-------- -------- -------- --------
Net change in other comprehensive income (loss) .................... $ 13,150 $ (5,688) $ 13,150 $ (5,550)
Comprehensive income ............................................... $ 13,966 $ 5,902 $ 17,731 $ 12,328
======== ======== ======== ========
</TABLE>
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
condensed consolidated financial statements.
4
<PAGE> 5
eBay Inc.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
(IN THOUSANDS; UNAUDITED)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SIX MONTHS ENDED
JUNE 30,
------------------------
1999 2000
--------- ---------
<S> <C> <C>
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income ......................................................................... $ 4,581 $ 17,878
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Provision for doubtful accounts and authorized credits .......................... 2,843 2,530
Depreciation and amortization ................................................... 5,590 17,317
Amortization of unearned compensation ........................................... 2,275 1,525
Minority interest in consolidated companies ..................................... 127 (879)
Loss on impairment of asset held for sale ....................................... 100 126
Equity in partnership net loss .................................................. (61) --
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable ........................................................... (14,326) (6,962)
Other current assets .......................................................... (17,144) (18,503)
Other non-current assets ...................................................... -- (4,469)
Accounts payable .............................................................. 21,581 (5,597)
Accrued expenses .............................................................. 3,968 12,498
Income taxes payable .......................................................... 3,712 12,569
Other liabilities ............................................................. 6,715 10,728
--------- ---------
Net cash provided by operating activities ............................................... 19,961 38,761
--------- ---------
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment ................................................ (33,058) (28,462)
Purchases of short-term investments ................................................ (36,370) (80,005)
Purchases of long-term investments ................................................. (335,995) (208,526)
Purchases of intangible assets and other non-current assets ........................ (124) --
Sale and maturity of short-term investments ........................................ -- 114,565
Sale and maturity of long-term investments ......................................... -- 20,547
--------- ---------
Net cash used in investing activities ................................................... (405,547) (181,881)
--------- ---------
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of stock, net ............................................... 702,685 22,126
Proceeds from issuance of stock by subsidiaries .................................... -- 37,736
Stockholder loan repayments ........................................................ 769 --
Principal payments on long-term debt and leases .................................... (3,582) (360)
Stockholder distributions .......................................................... (4,018) --
--------- ---------
Net cash provided by financing activities ............................................... 695,854 59,502
--------- ---------
Effect of exchange rates on cash ........................................................ -- (440)
--------- ---------
Net change in cash and cash equivalents ................................................. 310,268 (84,058)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period ........................................ 37,285 219,679
--------- ---------
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period .............................................. $ 347,553 $ 135,621
========= =========
</TABLE>
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
condensed consolidated financial statements.
5
<PAGE> 6
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1--THE COMPANY AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:
The Company
eBay Inc. ("eBay") was incorporated in California in May 1996,
reincorporated in Delaware in April 1998 and as of June 30, 2000 had operations
in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Canada, and Japan. eBay pioneered
online personal trading by developing a Web-based community in which buyers and
sellers are brought together to buy and sell almost anything. The eBay online
service permits sellers to list items for sale, buyers to bid on items of
interest and all eBay users to browse through listed items in a fully-automated,
topically-arranged service that is available online seven-days-a-week. eBay also
engages in the traditional auction business through its subsidiaries,
Butterfields and Kruse International ("Kruse"), and in online payment processing
through our Billpoint, Inc. ("Billpoint") subsidiary.
Stock split
On April 19, 2000, eBay's Board of Directors approved a two-for-one
common stock split. Stockholders of record on May 9, 2000 received one
additional share for each share owned on May 24, 2000. All share and per share
amounts in these condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto
reflect the stock split for all periods presented.
Wells Fargo
On February 24, 2000, Billpoint and Wells Fargo Bank ("Wells Fargo")
entered into an agreement whereby Wells Fargo became the exclusive provider of
Internet payment services of domestic transactions for Billpoint's customers.
The service agreement expires February 28, 2007.
In connection with this transaction in March, 2000, Billpoint was
reincorporated in Delaware and sold 350 shares of common stock and 1,399,965
shares of Series A Preferred stock to Wells Fargo which represents approximately
35% ownership in Billpoint. Simultaneously, eBay exchanged 25,999,350 common
shares for 2,599,935 shares of Series A Preferred stock. eBay continues to
consolidate Billpoint due to a majority ownership interest and reflects a
minority interest for the equity interest of Wells Fargo.
Use of estimates
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with
generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates
and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and
disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated
financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during
the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Principles of consolidation and basis of presentation
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements as of
December 31, 1999, the condensed consolidated financial statements as of June
30, 2000, and for the three and six months ended June 30, 1999 and 2000, are
unaudited. The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements
have been prepared on the same basis as the annual consolidated financial
statements and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments, which
include only normal recurring adjustments,
6
<PAGE> 7
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(CONTINUED)
necessary to present fairly our financial position, results of operations and
cash flows as of June 30, 2000 and for the three and six months ended June 30,
1999 and 2000. These condensed consolidated financial statements and notes
thereto should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial
statements and related notes included in eBay's Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 1999. The results for the three and six months ended June 30,
2000 are not necessarily indicative of the expected results for the year ending
December 31, 2000.
Fair value of financial instruments
eBay's financial instruments, including cash, cash equivalents, accounts
receivable, and accounts payable are carried at cost, which approximates their
fair value because of the short-term maturity of these instruments. Capital
lease obligations are carried at cost, which approximates fair value due to the
proximity of the implicit rates of these financial instruments and the
prevailing market rates for similar instruments.
Short and long-term investments, which include marketable equity
securities, municipal, government and corporate bonds, are classified as
available-for-sale and reported at fair value. Realized gains and losses are
included in earnings. Unrealized gains and losses are excluded from earnings and
reported as a component of stockholders' equity.
Property and equipment
Property and equipment are stated at historical cost. Depreciation and
amortization are computed using the straight-line method over the estimated
useful lives of the assets, generally five years or less for equipment and
furniture, and up to 40 years for buildings and building improvements. Leased
capital assets are depreciated using the straight-line method over the shorter
of the lease term or the estimated useful lives of the assets.
Environmental expenditures
We own or control real estate properties that are either used in the
auction business or leased to unrelated parties for various commercial
applications. Certain environmental and structural deficiencies have been
identified in the past for which we have remediation responsibility. The amounts
accrued to correct these matters are based upon estimates developed in
preliminary studies by external consultants. Due to uncertainties inherent in
the estimation process, the amounts accrued for these matters may be revised in
future periods as additional information is obtained.
Environmental expenditures that relate to current operations are charged
to expense or capitalized as appropriate. Expenditures that relate to an
existing condition caused by past operations, and that do not contribute to
current or future revenue generation, are charged to expense. Liabilities are
recorded when environmental assessments are made, remediation obligations are
probable and the costs can be reasonably estimated. The timing of these accruals
is generally upon the completion of feasibility studies. For the periods
presented, estimated liabilities of $5.9 million are included within other
liabilities.
7
<PAGE> 8
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(CONTINUED)
Investments in subsidiaries and general partnerships
Interests in subsidiaries and general partnerships in which eBay holds
more than 50 percent ownership and exerts control are consolidated. The
consolidated accounts include 100 percent of the assets and liabilities of these
subsidiaries and general partnerships and the ownership interests of minority
investors are recorded as minority interests and are included within long-term
liabilities. Investments in subsidiaries and general partnerships where we hold
more than 20 percent ownership and exert significant influence are accounted for
using the equity method of accounting, are recorded as investment in
partnerships and are included within other assets.
Third party investments in a subsidiary of eBay are considered for their
impact on the dilution of eBay's interest at the date these investments are
made. To the extent the proceeds of these investments differ from the third
party's percent ownership in the net equity of the subsidiary, we will record
these differences as a capital transaction and accordingly will reflect eBay's
share of the difference within additional paid in capital.
Impairment of long-lived assets
eBay evaluates the recoverability of long-lived assets in accordance
with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards ("SFAS") No. 121, "Accounting
for the Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and for Long-Lived Assets to be Disposed
of." SFAS No. 121 requires recognition of impairment of long-lived assets in the
event the net book value of such assets exceeds the future undiscounted cash
flows attributable to such assets.
Revenue recognition
Online transaction revenues are derived primarily from placement fees
charged for the listing of items on the eBay website, success fees calculated as
a percentage of the final sales transaction value, and to a lesser extent,
online advertising.
Listing and featured item fee revenue is recognized ratably over the
estimated period of the auction while revenues related to success fees are
recognized at the time that the transaction is successfully concluded. A
transaction is considered successfully concluded when at least one buyer has bid
above the seller's specified minimum price or reserve price, whichever is
higher, at the end of the transaction term. Advertising revenues, which are
principally derived from the sale of banners or sponsorship on the eBay site,
are recognized as the impressions are delivered, or ratably over the term of the
agreement or where such agreements provide for minimum monthly or quarterly
advertising commitments or such commitments are fixed throughout the term.
Provisions for doubtful accounts and authorized credits to sellers are made at
the time of revenue recognition based upon our historical experience.
We reviewed the Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Accounting
Bulletin ("SAB") No. 101, "Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements," and its
effect on the recognition of listing and featured item fee revenue. While the
effect of SAB No. 101 on historical listing and featured item fee revenue is
insignificant, eBay adopted the prescribed method for placement fee revenue in
the first quarter of 2000.
8
<PAGE> 9
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(CONTINUED)
Kruse auction revenues are derived primarily from entry fees on auction
items, bidder registration fees and commission fees calculated as a percentage
of the final auction sales transaction value. Revenues related to these fees are
recognized upon the completion of an auction. Revenues are also derived from
sponsorship fees paid by various corporations. Sponsorship fee revenues are
recognized over the term of the sponsorship agreement. Advertising revenues and
auctioneer tuition fees do not represent a significant source of revenues and
are recognized as advertising and auctioneer training services are provided.
Butterfields auction revenues are derived primarily from auction
commissions and fees from the sale of property through the auction process.
Revenues from these sources are recognized at the date the related auction is
concluded. Service revenues are derived from financial, appraisal and other
related services and are recognized as such services are rendered. Rental
revenues are derived from property rentals to third parties.
To date, barter advertising has accounted for less than 1% of eBay's
revenue. Historically, we have recorded barter revenue only for the instances
when we have a history of receiving or paying cash for similar advertising
transactions. Consequently, most barter transactions have not resulted in
recognizing any revenue.
Product development costs
Product development costs include expenses incurred by eBay to maintain,
monitor and manage our website. We recognize website development costs in
accordance with Statement of Position ("SOP") 98-1, "Accounting for the Costs of
Computer Software Developed or Obtained for Internal Use." As such, we expense
all costs incurred that relate to the planning and post implementation phases of
development. Costs incurred in the development phase are capitalized and
recognized over the product's estimated useful life if the product is expected
to have a useful life beyond one year. Costs associated with repair or
maintenance for the development of website content are included in product
development expense in the accompanying consolidated statement of income.
Comprehensive income
Effective January 1, 1998 we adopted the provisions of SFAS No. 130,
"Reporting Comprehensive Income." SFAS No. 130 establishes standards for
reporting comprehensive income and its components in financial statements.
Comprehensive income, as defined, includes all changes in equity (net assets)
during a period from non-owner sources. The change in comprehensive income
resulted from foreign currency translation losses and a net unrealized loss on
securities.
Recent accounting pronouncements
In June 1998, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued
SFAS No. 133, "Accounting for Derivatives and Hedging Activities." SFAS No. 133
establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments,
including certain derivative instruments embedded in other contracts, and for
hedging activities. In July 1999, the FASB issued SFAS No. 137, "Accounting for
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities -- Deferral of the Effective Date
of FASB Statement No. 133," which deferred the effective date until the first
fiscal year ending on or after June 30, 2000. In June 2000, the FASB issued SFAS
Statement No. 138, "Accounting for Certain Derivative Instruments and Certain
Hedging Activities". SFAS No. 138 amends certain terms and conditions of SFAS
133. We will adopt SFAS No. 133 and 138 in our quarter ending March 31, 2001.
In March 2000, the EITF reached a consensus on EITF No. 00-2,
"Accounting for Website Development Costs". This EITF provides guidance on
whether certain costs incurred to develop Websites
9
<PAGE> 10
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(CONTINUED)
should be capitalized or expensed. The consensus is effective for website
development costs incurred for fiscal quarters beginning after June 30, 2000. We
do not expect the adoption of EITF No. 00-2 to have a material impact on our
financial position or results of operations.
In November 1999, the EITF commenced discussions on EITF No. 99-17,
"Accounting for Advertising Barter Transactions." The EITF provides guidance on
the recognition of Internet barter advertising revenues and expenses under
various circumstances. The EITF became effective in January 2000 and consensus
was reached that revenues and expenses from advertising barter transactions
should be recognized at the fair value of the advertising surrendered or
received only when an entity has a historical practice of receiving or paying
cash for similar advertising transactions. eBay does not expect that the
adoption of EITF No. 99-17 will have a material impact on our consolidated
financial statements.
In March 2000, the FASB issued Interpretation No. 44, ("FIN 44"),
"Accounting for Certain Transactions Involving Stock Compensation - an
Interpretation of APB 25". This Interpretation clarifies (a) the definition of
employee for purposes of applying Opinion 25, (b) the criteria for determining
whether a plan qualifies as a noncompensatory plan, (c) the accounting
consequence of various modifications to the terms of a previously fixed stock
option or award, and (d) the accounting for an exchange of stock compensation
awards in a business combination.
FIN 44 is effective July 1, 2000; however, certain conclusions in this
Interpretation cover specific events that occur after either December 15, 1998,
or January 12, 2000. To the extent that this Interpretation covers events
occurring during the period after December 15, 1998, or January 12, 2000, but
before the effective date of July 1, 2000, the effects of applying this
Interpretation will be recognized on a prospective basis from July 1, 2000. eBay
is currently assessing the impact, if any, of this Interpretation.
NOTE 2--NET INCOME PER SHARE:
The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net
income per share for the periods indicated (in thousands, except per share
amounts):
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
THREE MONTHS ENDED SIX MONTHS ENDED
JUNE 30, JUNE 30,
-------- --------
1999 2000 1999 2000
--------- --------- --------- ---------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Numerator:
Net income ....................................................... $ 816 $ 11,590 $ 4,581 $ 17,878
========= ========= ========= =========
Denominator (Note 1):
Weighted average shares .......................................... 254,968 262,537 251,058 261,361
Weighted average common shares subject to repurchase agreements .. (41,258) (11,462) (46,372) (16,898)
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Denominator for basic calculation .................................. 213,710 251,075 204,686 244,463
Weighted average effect of dilutive securities:
Warrants ......................................................... 64 -- 38 --
Weighted average common shares subject to repurchase agreements .. 41,258 11,462 46,372 16,898
Employee stock options ........................................... 18,196 12,760 17,954 14,477
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Denominator for diluted calculation ................................ 273,228 275,297 269,050 275,838
========= ========= ========= =========
Net income per share:
Basic ............................................................ $ 0.00 $ 0.05 $ 0.02 $ 0.07
========= ========= ========= =========
Diluted .......................................................... $ 0.00 $ 0.04 $ 0.02 $ 0.06
========= ========= ========= =========
</TABLE>
10
<PAGE> 11
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(CONTINUED)
NOTE 3--INCOME TAXES:
Prior to the acquisition by eBay in 1999, Butterfields was taxed as an S
Corporation. In connection with the acquisition, Butterfields' status as an S
Corporation was terminated, and Butterfields became subject to federal and state
income taxes. The supplemental pro forma financial information presented in the
financial statements includes an increase to the provisions for income taxes
based upon a combined federal and state tax rate. This rate approximates the
statutory tax rate that would have been applied if Butterfields was taxed as a C
Corporation prior to the date of the acquisition.
NOTE 4--SEGMENT INFORMATION:
Effective January 1, 1998, we adopted the provisions of SFAS No. 131,
"Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information." SFAS No.
131 establishes the standards for reporting information about operating segments
in annual financial statements and requires that certain selected information
about operating segments be reported in interim financial reports. It also
establishes standards for related disclosures about products and services and
geographic areas. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise
about which separate financial information is evaluated regularly by the chief
decision-maker in order to allocate resources and in assessing performance.
eBay has identified two primary operating segments: online services and
offline, traditional auction services. The online services segment consists of
the operations of eBay, including all international subsidiaries and Billpoint.
The offline, traditional auction segment consists of the current operations of
Butterfields and Kruse.
Segment selection is based upon the internal organization structure, the
manner in which these operations are managed and their performance evaluated by
management, the availability of separate financial information, and overall
materiality considerations. Segment performance measurement is based on
operating income before income taxes, amortization of intangibles, stock
compensation and merger related costs. The operating information for the two
segments identified are as follows, (in thousands):
11
<PAGE> 12
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(CONTINUED)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
THREE MONTHS ENDED THREE MONTHS ENDED
JUNE 30, 1999 JUNE 30, 2000
------------- -------------
ONLINE OFFLINE CONSOLIDATED ONLINE OFFLINE CONSOLIDATED
--------- -------- ------------ --------- -------- ------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Net revenues from external customers ......... $ 38,192 $ 11,287 $ 49,479 $ 87,862 $ 9,537 $ 97,399
========= ======== ========= ========= ======== ===========
Operating income (loss) before amortization
of acquired intangibles, stock
compensation, and merger related costs ..... $ (1,585) $ 3,096 $ 1,511 $ 12,630 $ (1,902) $ 10,728
Interest and other income, net ............... 6,565 (3) 6,562 11,079 216 11,295
Interest expense ............................. (2) (521) (523) (474) (564) (1,038)
Amortization of acquired intangibles, stock
compensation, and merger related costs ..... (1,854) (4,289) (6,143) (1,270) (728) (1,998)
--------- -------- --------- --------- -------- -----------
Income (loss) before income taxes,
excluding minority interest, as reported ... $ 3,124 $ (1,717) $ 1,407 $ 21,965 $ (2,978) $ 18,987
========= ======== ========= ========= ======== ===========
Total assets ................................. $ 853,179 $ 69,030 $ 922,209 $ 975,037 $ 96,579 $ 1,071,616
========= ======== ========= ========= ======== ===========
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SIX MONTHS ENDED SIX MONTHS ENDED
JUNE 30, 1999 JUNE 30, 2000
------------- -------------
ONLINE OFFLINE CONSOLIDATED ONLINE OFFLINE CONSOLIDATED
--------- -------- --------- --------- -------- ------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Net revenues from external customers ......... $ 72,202 $ 20,078 $ 92,280 $ 165,124 $ 18,028 $ 183,152
========= ======== ========= ========= ======== ===========
Operating income (loss) before amortization
of acquired intangibles, stock
compensation, and merger related costs ..... $ 8,341 $ 2,202 $ 10,543 $ 15,053 $ (2,697) $ 12,356
Interest and other income, net ............... 7,217 139 7,356 21,905 341 22,246
Interest expense ............................. (2) (1,040) (1,042) (742) (1,136) (1,878)
Amortization of acquired intangibles, stock
compensation, and merger related costs ..... (3,125) (4,289) (7,414) (2,368) (806) (3,174)
--------- -------- --------- --------- -------- -----------
Income (loss) before income taxes,
excluding minority interest, as reported .. $ 12,431 $ (2,988) $ 9,443 $ 33,848 $ (4,298) $ 29,550
========= ======== ========= ========= ======== ===========
Total assets ................................. $ 853,179 $ 69,030 $ 922,209 $ 975,037 $ 96,579 $ 1,071,616
========= ======== ========= ========= ======== ===========
</TABLE>
12
<PAGE> 13
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(CONTINUED)
NOTE 5--INVESTMENTS:
At December 31, 1999 and June 30, 2000, short and long-term investments
were classified as available-for-sale securities and are reported at fair value
as follows (in thousands):
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
DECEMBER 31, 1999
-----------------
GROSS GROSS GROSS
AMORTIZED UNREALIZED UNREALIZED ESTIMATED
COST GAINS LOSSES FAIR VALUE
--------- --------- --------- ----------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Short-term investments:
Municipal bonds and notes .. $ 75,442 $ -- $ (55) $ 75,387
Corporate bonds ............ 44,356 -- (5) 44,351
Government securities ...... 59,820 -- (492) 59,328
Other ...................... 2,034 -- (14) 2,020
-------- ------- ------- --------
Total .................. $181,652 $ -- $ (566) $181,086
======== ======= ======= ========
Long-term investments:
Municipal bonds and notes .. $322,144 $ -- $(3,425) $318,719
Corporate bonds ............ 2,353 -- (26) 2,327
Government securities ...... 28,112 -- (392) 27,720
Other ...................... 11,913 13,309 -- 25,222
-------- ------- ------- --------
Total .................. $364,522 $13,309 $(3,843) $373,988
======== ======= ======= ========
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
JUNE 30, 2000
-------------
GROSS GROSS GROSS
AMORTIZED UNREALIZED UNREALIZED ESTIMATED
COST GAINS LOSSES FAIR VALUE
--------- --------- --------- ----------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Short-term investments:
Municipal bonds and notes .. $ 30,147 $ -- $ (95) $ 30,052
Corporate bonds ............ 14,390 -- (58) 14,332
Government securities ...... 89,400 217 -- 89,617
Other ...................... 12,562 -- (37) 12,525
-------- ------ ------- --------
Total .................. $146,499 $ 217 $ (190) $146,526
======== ====== ======= ========
Long-term investments:
Municipal bonds and notes .. $434,670 $ -- $(3,855) $430,815
Corporate bonds ............ 9,088 -- -- 9,088
Government securities ...... 91,585 -- -- 91,585
Other ...................... 21,466 3,903 -- 25,369
-------- ------ ------- --------
Total .................. $556,809 $3,903 $(3,855) $556,857
======== ====== ======= ========
</TABLE>
Of the $430,815 of municipal bonds and notes included in long-term
investments, $126,390 is restricted cash.
13
<PAGE> 14
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(CONTINUED)
The estimated fair value of short and long-term investments classified
by date of contractual maturity are as follows, (in thousands):
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
DECEMBER 31, JUNE 30,
1999 2000
------------ --------
<S> <C> <C>
Due within one year or less ................ $247,513 $285,903
Due after one year through two years ....... 128,455 362,256
Due after two years through three years .... 153,884 29,855
Equity investments ......................... 25,222 25,369
-------- --------
$555,074 $703,383
======== ========
</TABLE>
NOTE 6--DEBT:
Notes payable consists of amounts payable to various financial
institutions and a former shareholder, which are secured by specific properties
and are detailed as follows:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
DECEMBER 31, JUNE 30,
1999 2000
------------ --------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Mortgage notes, prime plus 1%, due September 30, 2002 .. $ 1,797 $ 1,743
Mortgage notes, LIBOR plus 1.75%, due July 15, 2001 .... 3,501 3,413
Mortgage notes, 8.25%, due August 15, 2000 ............. 11,980 11,831
Mortgage notes, 5.2% variable, due August 1, 2003 ...... 9,300 9,300
10.5% loan on foreclosed property due October 2010 ..... 549 535
6%-10.5% notes, due October 2000 through January 2003 .. 176 121
-------- --------
Subtotal ....................................... 27,303 26,943
Less: Current portion of debt .......................... (12,285) (12,198)
-------- --------
$ 15,018 $ 14,745
======== ========
</TABLE>
Mortgage notes outstanding are on property owned by Butterfields. The
notes have variable interest rates and are secured by certain land, buildings
and improvements. The notes are repayable in equal monthly installments over six
to ten year terms, with final installments consisting of all remaining unpaid
principal and accrued interest at the end of the term.
The mortgage notes bearing an interest rate of 8.25% were originally due
on May 15, 2000. The maturity was extended to August 15, 2000.
Lease arrangement
On March 1, 2000, eBay entered into a five-year lease for general office
facilities located in San Jose, California. Payments under this lease, which
commenced during 2000, are based on a spread over the London Interbank Offering
Rate ("LIBOR") applied to the $126.4 million cost of the facility funded by the
lessor. eBay has an option to renew the lease for up to two five-year extensions
subject to specific conditions. Under the terms of the lease agreement, we were
required to place $126.4 million of cash and investment securities as collateral
for the term of the lease. The cash and investment securities are restricted as
to their withdrawal from the third party trustee and are classified as
restricted in the accompanying balance sheet.
On June 19, 2000, eBay entered into an interest rate swap agreement to
reduce the impact of changes in interest rates on the floating rate operating
lease for our facilities. The swap agreement effectively changes our interest
rate exposure on our operating lease from the spread over the three month LIBOR
to a fixed rate of 7.10%. The notional amount of the interest rate swap was $45
million whereas the total
14
<PAGE> 15
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(CONTINUED)
amount of the operating lease was $126.4 million. The differential to be paid or
received under the swap agreement will be recognized as an adjustment to other
comprehensive income on the balance sheet.
NOTE 7--CONTINGENCIES:
Lawsuits
On September 1, 1999, eBay was served with a lawsuit filed by Randall
Stoner, on behalf of the general public, in San Francisco Superior Court (No.
305666). The lawsuit alleges that we violated Section 17200 of the California
Business & Professions Code, a statute that relates to unfair competition based
upon the listing of "bootleg" or "pirate" recordings by eBay's users, allegedly
in violation of California penal statutes relating to the sale of unauthorized
audio recordings. The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief,
restitution and legal fees. We filed a general demurrer which was sustained by
the court with leave to amend. The plaintiff filed an amended complaint.
Discovery has commenced. We believe we have meritorious defenses to this lawsuit
and intend to defend ourselves vigorously. However, even if successful, this
defense could be costly and, if eBay was to lose this lawsuit, our business
could be harmed.
On December 10, 1999, we sued Bidder's Edge, Inc. in the United States
District Court for the Northern District of California alleging trespass, unfair
competition, violation of the computer fraud and abuse act, misappropriation,
false advertising, trademark dilution, injury to business reputation,
interference with prospective economic advantage, and unjust enrichment. On
February 7, 2000, Bidder's Edge denied these claims and counterclaimed against
us alleging that we violated the antitrust laws by monopolizing or attempting to
monopolize a market, we are competing unfairly, and that we interfered with
their contract with eBay magazine. Bidder's Edge is seeking treble damages, an
injunction and its fees and costs. Discovery in this case has commenced. A
motion for summary judgment on the antitrust counterclaims has been denied. On
May 24, 2000, the court granted us a preliminary injunction against the use by
Bidder's Edge of robotic means to copy our site. Bidder's Edge has appealed this
decision to the Ninth Circuit. We intend to prosecute our claims and defend
ourselves against Bidder's Edge's counterclaims vigorously. However, this
lawsuit will be costly and our business would be harmed if we were to lose.
On April 25, 2000 eBay was served with a lawsuit, Gentry et.al. v. eBay,
Inc. et.al, filed in Superior Court in San Diego, California. The lawsuit is
filed on behalf of a purported class of eBay users who purchased forged
autographed sports memorabilia on eBay. The lawsuit claims eBay was negligent in
permitting certain named (and other unnamed) defendants to sell allegedly forged
autographed sports memorabilia on eBay. In addition, the lawsuit claims eBay
violated section 17200 and a section of the California Civil Code which
prohibits "dealers" from selling sports memorabilia without a "Certificate of
Authenticity". The lawsuit seeks class action certification, compensatory
damages, a civil penalty of ten times actual damages, interest, costs and fees
and injunctive relief. Discovery of this case has commenced. We believe we have
meritorious defenses to this lawsuit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously.
However, even if successful, this defense could be costly. If we lose this
lawsuit, it would harm our business.
From time to time, eBay is involved in disputes which have arisen in the
ordinary course of business. Management believes that the ultimate resolution of
these disputes will not have a material adverse impact on eBay's financial
position or results of operations.
15
<PAGE> 16
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(CONTINUED)
Minimum Auction Guarantees
From time to time eBay, through our Butterfields subsidiary, guarantees
the minimum net proceeds with respect to the sale of properties at future
auctions. Such guaranteed proceeds are often advanced to the consignor prior to
the completion of the auction. We are responsible for the shortfall, if any,
between the guaranteed minimum proceeds and the actual net proceeds upon the
completion of the auction. Losses, if any, are recognized at the conclusion of
the auction. In 2000, Butterfields had entered into two such agreements with
guaranteed net proceeds of $1.25 million and $2.0 million. The $2.0 million
agreement is shared with another auction service, half of which is guaranteed by
each party. In June 2000, the auction associated with the $2.0 million agreement
took place, and at the conclusion of the auction, the minimum net proceed amount
was not obtained. We recognized an insignificant loss for the shortfall between
the minimum proceeds we guaranteed and the actual net proceeds.
GO.com
On February 6, 2000, we entered into a four-year marketing agreement
with GO.com. In accordance with the agreement, GO.com will provide us with
online and offline promotion, eBay and GO.com will develop a co-branded version
of the eBay service and both companies will develop a site featuring merchandise
from GO.com affiliates. These affiliates include but are not limited to The Walt
Disney Company, ESPN and ABC. In consideration for this agreement, eBay will pay
a minimum of $30 million to GO.com over the four-year term.
NEC
On February 17, 2000 eBay Japan Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay,
entered into a shareholder and marketing services agreement with NEC
Corporation. In accordance with the shareholder agreement, NEC acquired 30% of
eBay Japan and eBay retained the remaining 70% interest of eBay Japan. eBay will
continue to consolidate eBay Japan due to a majority ownership interest and will
reflect a minority interest for the equity interest of NEC.
In accordance with the marketing agreement, NEC will provide marketing
and services to eBay Japan in an effort to deliver a minimum level of confirmed
registered users. As compensation for the marketing and other services performed
by NEC, eBay Japan will pay NEC an annual up-front fee of approximately $1.5
million. The first payment was made in April, 2000, and additional payments will
be payable on the anniversary of such date in each of the subsequent three years
as long as the contract is in effect. If NEC is unable to deliver the minimum
level of confirmed registered users, then eBay will have the right to repurchase
shares of eBay Japan from NEC.
16
<PAGE> 17
eBay Inc.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(CONTINUED)
AutoTrader.com
On March 6, 2000, eBay and Autotrader.com LLC ("Autotrader") entered
into a marketing and services agreement whereby eBay and Autotrader will develop
a co-branded site, and Autotrader will refer customers desiring an auction
pricing format to eBay for a referral fee. Under the terms of the agreement, we
have committed to provide certain marketing expenditures for the promotion of
the eBay service and additional automobile related services offered by
Autotrader.
The following is a schedule by year of committed marketing and
promotional expenditures related to the agreement (in thousands):
<TABLE>
<S> <C>
Year 1................. $ 7,000
Year 2................. 8,000
Year 3................. 9,000
Last 6 months.......... 5,000
-------
Total.............. $29,000
=======
</TABLE>
Under the agreement, eBay acquired approximately a 3% equity investment
in Autotrader representing 1,173,876 Autotrader.com Class A units in exchange
for cash proceeds of $10.3 million or $8.77 per unit.
AOL
In March 1999, eBay expanded the scope of its strategic relationship
with AOL. Under the amended agreement, eBay was granted a prominent presence
featuring it as the preferred provider of person-to-person trading services on
AOL's proprietary services (both domestic and international), AOL.com, Digital
Cities, ICQ, CompuServe (both domestic and international) and Netscape. In
addition, eBay has developed or will develop a co-branded version of its service
for each AOL property which will prominently feature each party's brand. AOL
will be entitled to all advertising revenue from the co-branded site. eBay will
pay $75 million over the four-year term of the contract. We are recognizing
these fees as sales and marketing expense over the greater of: i) the ratio of
the number of impressions delivered over the total number of contracted
impressions, or ii) a straight-line basis beginning with the initial delivery of
impressions and extending over the term of the contract. At June 30, 2000, we
had advanced $37.5 million under the amended agreement, and had recognized $17.1
million as advertising expense commencing with the launch of the co-branded
program and delivery of advertising impressions.
In conjunction with the expanded strategic relationship, AOL terminated
its original contract with eBay in August of 1999. As a result, the remaining
$8.0 million commitment associated with the original agreement has been waived.
AOL continued to deliver impressions under the original agreement through August
1999.
NOTE 8--SUBSEQUENT EVENT:
On July 11, 2000, eBay acquired Half.com, Inc. ("Half.com"). Half.com
was incorporated in Pennsylvania in July, 1999 and provides a fixed price
person-to-person e-commerce site allowing people to buy and sell high quality,
previously owned goods for at least half off the original list price.
In connection with the merger, eBay issued, or reserved for issuance, a
total of approximately 5,484,000 shares of eBay common stock to Half.com's
existing shareholders, option holders and warrant holders as consideration for
all shares of capital stock, options and warrants of Half.com held immediately
prior to the consummation of the merger. The merger will be accounted for as a
pooling of interests.
17
<PAGE> 18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEM 2: MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This document contains certain forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, such as statements of eBay's plans, objectives,
expectations and intentions. When used in this document, the words "expects",
"anticipates", "intends" and "plans" and similar expressions are intended to
identify certain of these forward-looking statements. The cautionary statements
made in this document should be read as being applicable to all related
forward-looking statements wherever they appear in this document. Our actual
results could differ materially from those discussed in this document. Factors
that could cause or contribute to such differences include those discussed
below.
OVERVIEW
eBay pioneered online person-to-person trading by developing a Web-based
community in which buyers and sellers are brought together in an efficient and
entertaining format to buy and sell almost anything. The eBay service permits
sellers to list items for sale, buyers to bid on items of interest and all eBay
users to browse through listed items in a fully-automated, topically-arranged,
intuitive and easy-to-use online service that is available seven-days-a-week. We
have extended our online offerings to include regional and international
trading, autos, "premium" priced items, and we have acquired Billpoint, a
provider of online billing and payment solutions. eBay also expanded into the
traditional auction business, also called offline trading, with our acquisitions
of Butterfields and Kruse.
Substantially all of our revenues comes from fees and commissions
associated with online and offline trading services. Online revenue is primarily
derived from placement and success fees paid by sellers, as eBay does not charge
fees to buyers. Sellers pay a nominal placement fee, and by paying additional
fees, sellers can have items featured in various ways. Sellers also pay a
success fee based on the final purchase price. We also receive revenue from
online advertising and expect this source of revenue to increase in the future.
To date, online payment solutions provided by Billpoint have not made
significant contributions to net revenues, although we expect Billpoint's
revenue to increase in the future. Offline revenue is derived from a variety of
sources including sellers' commissions, buyers' premiums, bidder registration
fees, and auction related services including appraisal and authentication. eBay
expects that the online business will continue to represent the majority of
revenue growth in the foreseeable future.
The following table sets forth, for the periods presented, certain data
from eBay's consolidated statement of income as a percentage of net revenues.
The information contained in the table below should be read in conjunction with
the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included elsewhere in
this report.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
THREE MONTHS ENDED SIX MONTHS ENDED
JUNE 30, JUNE 30,
-------------------- --------------------
1999 2000 1999 2000
------ ------ ------ ------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Net revenues ........................................... 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Cost of net revenues ................................... 22.1 24.3 20.5 25.6
------ ------ ------ ------
Gross profit ....................................... 77.9 75.7 79.5 74.4
------ ------ ------ ------
Operating expenses:
Sales and marketing ................................ 46.3 33.7 43.2 36.5
Product development ................................ 11.1 12.2 8.3 12.6
General and administrative ......................... 20.4 18.8 19.2 18.6
Payroll expense on employee stock options .......... -- 0.9 -- 0.9
Amortization of acquired intangibles ............... 0.7 0.3 0.7 0.3
Merger related costs ............................... 8.8 0.8 4.7 0.5
------ ------ ------ ------
Total operating expenses ....................... 87.3 66.7 76.1 69.4
------ ------ ------ ------
Income from operations ................................. (9.4) 9.0 3.4 5.0
Interest and other income, net ......................... 13.2 11.6 7.9 12.2
Interest expense ....................................... (1.0) (1.1) (1.0) (1.1)
------ ------ ------ ------
</TABLE>
18
<PAGE> 19
<TABLE>
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Income before income taxes and minority interest ....... 2.8 19.5 10.3 16.1
Provision for income taxes ............................. (1.2) (8.6) (5.3) (7.0)
Minority interest in consolidated company .............. -- 1.0 (0.1) 0.7
------ ------ ------ ------
Net income ............................................. 1.6% 11.9% 4.9% 9.8%
====== ====== ====== ======
</TABLE>
It is difficult for us to forecast revenues or earnings accurately, and
the operating results in one or more future quarters may fall below the
expectations of securities analysts or investors. Although accurate revenue
forecasts are difficult, we have begun to recognize the seasonal nature of our
business. In particular, the online portion of our business has historically
noted stronger sequential quarterly revenue growth between the fourth quarter
and the first quarter and a lower, relatively level growth rate throughout the
remainder of the year. Within offline auction operations, Butterfields typically
experiences its strongest revenue in the second and fourth quarters, while Kruse
International typically experiences its strongest revenue in the third quarter.
Due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting net revenues, it is also
difficult to forecast income statement expense categories as a percentage of net
revenues. We expect to invest any revenue upside back into the business across
all expense categories. Quarterly and annual income statement expense categories
as a percentage of net revenues may be significantly different from historical
or projected rates. As a general note, we expect costs to increase in absolute
dollars across all income statement categories. As more users come to the site
for practical and one-time items like computers and automobiles, we expect that
the number of transactions per registered user will continue to decline. Because
the product mix is varied, the metrics for transactions per registered user is
decreasingly relevant. We expect that our gross margin could remain relatively
flat with a subsequent increase in the fourth quarter due primarily to the
management of costs in customer support and site operations.
Although the operations and results of both Butterfields and Kruse show
seasonal trends in net revenues and expenses, annual results of operations are
relatively stable when compared to the online business. To a large extent, the
changes in the consolidated results of operations for the periods presented are
due to the growth of the online business, which will be the primary focus of our
year-over-year quarterly comparisons.
Net Revenues
eBay derives revenue from a variety of sources including: listing,
success and featured item fees, advertising for transactions occurring online,
sponsorships in online operations, and auction related fees, commissions and
rental income in traditional auction operations. eBay's net revenues increased
from $49.5 million and $92.3 million in the three and six months ended June 30,
1999 to $97.4 million and $183.2 million in the comparable periods of 2000. The
increases from 1999 to 2000 were predominantly the result of increased use of
the eBay site. The growth in the eBay site is primarily attributable to the
growth in the number of registered users, listings and gross merchandise sales.
We expect that future revenue growth will be largely driven by the online
services and, to a lesser extent, advertising.
We have reviewed the Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Accounting
Bulletin ("SAB") No. 101, "Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements," and its
effect on the recognition of listing and featured item fee revenue. While the
effect of SAB No. 101 on historical listing and featured item fee revenue is
insignificant, eBay adopted the prescribed method for placement fee revenue in
the first quarter of 2000. As such, listing and featured item fee revenue is
recognized ratably over the estimated period of the auction.
Cost of Net Revenues
19
<PAGE> 20
Cost of net revenues for online operations consists primarily of costs
associated with customer support and site operations. The costs included are
compensation, employee and facilities costs for customer support and site
operations personnel, ISP connectivity charges and depreciation on site
equipment. Cost of net revenues in traditional auction operations primarily
includes compensation for auction, appraisal, and customer support personnel and
direct auction costs, such as event site rental. Cost of net revenues increased
from $10.9 million and $18.9 million or 22.1% and 20.5% of net revenues for the
three and six months ended June 30, 1999 to $23.6 million and $46.9 million or
24.3% and 25.6% of net revenues for the comparable periods in 2000. The
increases from 1999 to 2000 were due almost entirely to the eBay online
business, including eBay's international operations and Billpoint. The increase
in expenditures for the eBay online service from 1999 to 2000 resulted from the
continued development and expansion of our customer support and site operations
departments, depreciation of the equipment required for site operations,
software licensing fees and ISP connectivity charges. Cost of net revenues as a
percentage of net revenues is expected to remain relatively flat but may
decrease in the fourth quarter due primarily to the management of costs in
customer support and site operations. Changes in offline cost of net revenues
increased proportionately with the changes in net revenues during the periods
reported.
Sales and Marketing
eBay's sales and marketing expenses for both the online and traditional
auction businesses are comprised primarily of compensation for our sales and
marketing personnel, advertising, tradeshow and other promotional costs,
expenses for creative design of the website, employee and facilities costs.
Sales and marketing expenses increased in absolute dollars from $22.9 million
and $39.9 million or 46.3% and 43.2% of net revenues for the three and six
months ended June 30, 1999 to $32.8 million and $66.8 million or 33.7% and 36.5%
of net revenues for the same periods in 2000. Increases from 1999 to 2000 in
absolute dollars were primarily the result of growth in online advertising,
including expenses for various marketing agreements, personnel related costs,
costs associated with the use of outside services and consultants and
miscellaneous user and promotional costs.
Online sales and marketing expenses are expected to increase in absolute
dollars in 2000 as we plan to build the eBay brand more broadly. We expect to
further build our brand with continued advertising impressions delivered under
the strategic alliance with AOL, new alliances including agreements with Go.com
and Autotrader.com and the expansion of international advertising. Sales and
marketing expenses in the traditional auction businesses are expected to remain
comparable with historical levels.
Product Development
Product development expenses consist primarily of compensation for our
product development staff, payments to outside contractors, depreciation on
equipment used for development, employee and facilities costs. Our product
development expenses increased from $5.5 million and $7.6 million or 11.1% and
8.3% of net revenues for the three and six months ended June 30, 1999 to $11.9
million and $23.0 million or 12.2% and 12.6% of net revenues for the same
periods in 2000. The online business was the driver of the year-over-year
changes. Neither Butterfields nor Kruse had any product development costs for
the six months ended June 30, 2000. The increase from 1999 to 2000 resulted
primarily from an increase in personnel-related costs as we significantly
increased the size of our product development staff, expenses related to
contractors and consultants employed within product development departments, and
maintenance and depreciation for equipment used in research and development.
This year-over-year increase also includes the operations at Billpoint. Product
development expenses are expected to increase in absolute dollars during future
periods primarily from personnel additions, the continued impact of Billpoint
product development, and additional depreciation costs as we continue to
purchase equipment to improve and expand operations both domestically and
internationally.
General and Administrative
20
<PAGE> 21
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation
for personnel and, to a lesser extent, fees for external professional advisors,
provisions for doubtful accounts, employee and facilities costs. Our general and
administrative expenses increased in absolute dollars from $10.1 million and
$17.7 million or 20.4% and 19.2% of net revenues in the three and six months
ended June 30, 1999 to $18.3 million and $34.1 million or 18.8% and 18.6% of net
revenues for the same period in 2000. During the respective periods in 1999 and
2000, increases in absolute dollars in general and administrative expenses were
primarily driven by the online auction business. The year-over-year increases
resulted from growth in personnel related expenses in order to meet the demands
of our expanding business, including operations in new countries and the
integration of new businesses, the allowance for doubtful accounts, fees for
professional services, employee and facilities costs. We expect that general and
administrative expenses will increase as a percentage of net revenues in future
periods as we continue to invest in the infrastructure that is necessary for our
business. Such expenses in the online business are typically lower as a
percentage of net revenues than those in the traditional auction business.
Payroll Expense on Employee Stock Options
eBay is subject to employer payroll taxes on employee exercises of
non-qualified stock options. These employer payroll taxes are recorded as a
charge to operations in the period such options are exercised based on actual
gains realized by employees. In addition, we receive tax deductions for gains
realized by employees on the exercise of non-qualified stock options for which
the benefit is recorded as a change to paid-in capital. eBay's quarterly results
of operations and cash flows could vary significantly depending on the actual
period that the stock options are exercised by employees and, consequently, the
amount of employer payroll taxes assessed.
Amortization of Acquired Intangibles
From time to time we have purchased, and expect to continue purchasing,
assets or businesses in order to maintain our leadership role in online personal
trading. These purchases may result in the creation of intangible assets and
lead to a corresponding increase in the amortization of acquired intangibles.
Our amortization of acquired intangibles remained comparable in absolute dollars
and decreased as a percentage of revenue from $327,000 and $655,000 or 0.7% of
net revenues in the three and six months ended June 30, 1999 to $340,000 and
$615,000 or 0.3% of net revenues in the same periods in 2000. Acquisition
related intangibles will be amortized at varying rates through 2009.
Interest and Other Income, Net
Interest and other income, net, consists of interest earned on
cash, cash equivalents, and short term investments offset by foreign exchange
gains or losses. Our interest and other income, net increased in
absolute dollars from $6.5 million and $7.3 million or 13.2% and 7.9% of net
revenues in the three and six months ended June 30, 1999 to $11.3 million and
$22.2 million or 11.6% and 12.2% of net revenues for the comparable periods in
2000. The increase from 1999 to 2000 was primarily the result of interest earned
on cash, cash equivalents and investments, particularly the interest earned on
the net proceeds from eBay's follow-on offering that was completed in April
1999. We expect interest and other income to exceed interest expense for the
remainder of 2000 due to the interest earned on the proceeds from our April 1999
follow-on offering as well as positive cash flow from operations.
Provision for Income Taxes
eBay's effective federal and state income tax rates were 42% and 51% for
three and six months ended June 30, 1999 compared to 42% for the same periods in
2000. Prior to the acquisition by eBay in 1999, Butterfields was taxed as an S
Corporation. In connection with the acquisition, Butterfields' status as an S
Corporation was terminated, and Butterfields became subject to federal and state
income taxes. The
21
<PAGE> 22
supplemental pro forma financial information presented in the financial
statements includes an increase to the provisions for income taxes based upon a
combined federal and state tax rate. This rate approximates the statutory tax
rate that would have been applied if Butterfields were taxed as a C Corporation
prior to the acquisition.
Stock-Based Compensation
In connection with granting certain stock options from May 1997 through
May 1999, we recorded aggregate unearned compensation totaling $13.1 million,
which is being amortized over the four-year vesting period of the options. Of
the total unearned compensation, approximately $1.5 million and $2.3 million was
amortized in the three and six months ended June 30, 1999 compared to $459,000
and $1.5 million for the same periods in 2000. For the remainder of 2000, we
expect $4.0 million in amortization which includes charges related to Half.com.
We expect approximately $1.2 million of amortization in 2001, and approximately
$290,000 of amortization in 2002.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Since inception, eBay has financed operations primarily from net cash
generated from operating activities. We obtained additional financing from the
sale of preferred stock and warrants, proceeds from the exercise of those
warrants, proceeds from the exercise of stock options, and proceeds from our
initial and follow-on public offerings.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $20.0 million for the six
months ended June 30, 1999 compared to net cash provided by operations of $38.8
million for the same period in 2000. Net cash provided by operating activities
resulted primarily from our net income before non-cash charges for depreciation
and amortization, accrued expenses, as well as increases in other liabilities,
offset by changes in accounts receivable and other current assets.
Net cash used in investing activities totaled $405.5 million for the six
months ended June 30, 1999 compared to $181.9 million for the same period in
2000. The primary use for invested cash in the periods presented was purchases
of investments, property, and equipment. Additionally, $126.4 million in cash
was provided from the sale of long and short-term investments to fund the
restricted cash required under the terms of our lease agreement.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $695.9 million for the six
months ended June 30, 1999 compared to $59.5 million for the same period in
2000. The decrease from 1999 to 2000 was primarily driven by decreased sales of
common stock, partially offset by NEC's investment in eBay Japan and Wells
Fargo's investment in Billpoint.
eBay had no material commitments for capital expenditures at June 30,
2000, but expects such expenditures to approximate $20 million through December
31, 2000. Such expenditures will primarily be for computer equipment, furniture
and fixtures and leasehold improvements. eBay also has total minimum lease
obligations of $45.7 million under certain noncancellable operating leases and
notes payable obligations of $26.9 million through December 2004. In March 1999,
eBay and AOL expanded the scope of their strategic relationship. Under the
agreement eBay will pay AOL $75 million over the four-year term of the contract.
To date, eBay has paid $37.5 million on the contract.
eBay believes that existing cash, cash equivalents and investments, and
any cash generated from operations will be sufficient to fund our operating
activities, capital expenditures and other obligations for the foreseeable
future. However, if during that period or thereafter we are not successful in
generating sufficient cash flow from operations or in raising additional capital
when required in sufficient amounts and on terms acceptable to us, eBay's
business could suffer.
22
<PAGE> 23
STOCK SPLIT
On April 19, 2000, eBay's Board of Directors approved a two-for-one
common stock split. Stockholders of record on May 9, 2000 received one
additional share for each share owned on May 24, 2000.
ACQUISITION-HALF.COM
On July 11, 2000, eBay acquired Half.com, Inc. ("Half.com"). Half.com
provides a fixed price person-to-person e-commerce allowing people to buy and
sell high quality, previously owned goods for at least half off the original
list price.
In connection with the merger, eBay issued, or reserved for issuance, a
total of approximately 5,484,000 shares of eBay common stock to Half.com's
existing shareholders, option holders and warrant holders as consideration for
all shares of capital stock, options and warrants of Half.com held immediately
prior to consummation of the merger. The merger will be accounted for as a
pooling of interests.
RISK FACTORS THAT MAY AFFECT RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION
The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing
eBay. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we
currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations. If any of the
following risks actually occur, our business could be harmed.
We have a limited operating history
Our company was formed as a sole proprietorship in September 1995 and we
incorporated in May 1996. We have only a limited operating history on which you
can base an evaluation of our business and prospects. As an online commerce
company still relatively early in our development, we face substantial risks,
uncertainties, expenses and difficulties. To address these risks and
uncertainties, we must do the following:
- maintain and increase our number of registered users, items
listed on our service and completed sales;
- expand into new markets;
- maintain and grow our website and customer support operations at
a reasonable cost;
- continue to make trading through our service safer for users;
- maintain and enhance our brand;
- successfully execute our business and marketing strategy;
- continue to develop and upgrade our technology and information
processing systems;
- continue to enhance our service to meet the needs of a changing
market;
- provide superior customer service;
- respond to competitive developments; and
23
<PAGE> 24
- attract, integrate, retain and motivate qualified personnel.
We may be unable to accomplish one or more of these goals, which could
cause our business to suffer. In addition, accomplishing one or more of these
goals might be very expensive, which could harm our financial results.
Our operating results may fluctuate
Our operating results have varied on a quarterly basis during our
operating history. Our operating results may fluctuate significantly as a result
of a variety of factors, many of which are outside our control. Factors that may
affect our quarterly operating results include the following:
- our ability to retain an active user base, to attract new users
who list items for sale and who purchase items through our
service and to maintain customer satisfaction;
- our ability to keep our website operational and to manage the
number of items listed on our service;
- the amount and timing of operating costs and capital
expenditures relating to the maintenance and expansion of our
business, operations and infrastructure;
- foreign, federal, state or local government regulation,
including investigations prompted by items improperly listed or
sold by our users;
- the introduction of new sites, services and products by us or
our competitors;
- volume, size, timing and completion rate of trades on our
website;
- consumer confidence in the security of transactions on our
website;
- our ability to upgrade and develop our systems and
infrastructure to accommodate growth;
- technical difficulties or service interruptions;
- our ability to attract new personnel in a timely and effective
manner;
- our ability to retain key employees in both our online
businesses and our acquisitions;
- our ability to successfully integrate Half.com, our newest
acquisition;
- the ability of our land-based auction businesses to acquire high
quality properties for auction;
- the timing, cost and availability of advertising in traditional
media and on other websites and online services;
- the timing of marketing and other expenses under existing
contracts;
- consumer trends and popularity of some categories of collectible
items;
- the success of our brand building and marketing campaigns;
- the level of use of the Internet and online services;
24
<PAGE> 25
- increasing consumer acceptance of the Internet and other online
services for commerce and, in particular, the trading of
products such as those listed on our website; and
- general economic conditions and economic conditions specific to
the Internet and electronic commerce industries.
Our limited operating history and the emerging nature of the markets in
which we compete make it difficult for us to forecast the level or source of our
revenues or earnings accurately. We believe that period-to-period comparisons of
our operating results may not be meaningful and you should not rely upon them as
an indication of future performance. We do not have backlog, and almost all of
our net revenues each quarter come from auctions for items that are listed and
auctions completed during that quarter. Our operating results in one or more
future quarters may fall below the expectations of securities analysts and
investors. In that event, the trading price of our common stock would almost
certainly decline.
Our failure to manage growth could harm us
We currently are experiencing a period of expansion in our headcount,
facilities and infrastructure, and we anticipate that further expansion will be
required to address potential growth in our customer base and market
opportunities. This expansion has placed, and we expect it will continue to
place, a significant strain on our management, operational and financial
resources. The areas that are put under strain by our rate of growth include the
following:
- The Website. We must constantly add new hardware, update
software and add new engineering personnel to accommodate the
increased use of our website and the new products and features
we are regularly introducing. This has reduced our margins. If
we are unable to increase the capacity of our systems at least
as fast as the growth in demand for this capacity, our website
may become unstable and may cease to operate for periods of
time. We have experienced periodic unscheduled downtime.
Continued unscheduled downtime would harm our business and also
could anger users of our website and reduce future revenues.
- Customer Support. We must expand our customer support operations
to accommodate the increased number of users and transactions on
our website. If we are unable to hire and successfully train
sufficient employees or contractors in this area, users of our
website may have negative experiences, and current and future
revenues could suffer.
- Customer Accounts. Our revenues are dependent on prompt and
accurate billing processes. If we are unable to grow our
transaction processing abilities to accommodate the increasing
number of transactions that must be billed, our ability to
collect revenue will be harmed.
We must continue to hire, train and manage new employees at a rapid
rate. The majority of our employees today have been with us less than one year,
and we expect that our rate of hiring will continue at a very high pace. If our
new hires are not good hires, or if we are unsuccessful in training and
integrating these new employees, or if we are not successful in retaining our
existing employees, our business may be harmed. To manage the expected growth of
our operations and personnel, we will need to improve our transaction
processing, operational and financial systems, procedures and controls. Our
current and planned personnel, systems, procedures and controls may not be
adequate to support our future operations. We may be unable to hire, train,
retain and manage required personnel or to identify and take advantage of
existing and potential strategic relationships and market opportunities.
We may not maintain profitability
We believe that our continued profitability will depend in large part on
our ability to do the following:
- maintain sufficient transaction volume to attract buyers and
sellers;
25
<PAGE> 26
- manage the costs of our business, including the costs associated
with maintaining and developing our website, customer support
and international and product expansion;
- increase our brand name awareness; and
- provide our customers with superior community and trading
experiences.
We are investing heavily in marketing and promotion, customer support,
further development of our website, technology and operating infrastructure
development. The costs of these investments have reduced our margins and are
expected to remain significant into the future. In addition, we have significant
ongoing commitments in some of these areas. As a result, we may be unable to
adjust our spending rapidly enough to compensate for any unexpected revenue
shortfall, which may harm our profitability. The existence of several larger and
more established companies that are rapidly enabling online sales as well as new
companies, many of whom do not charge for transactions on their sites and others
who are facilitating trading through other pricing formats (fixed price, reverse
auction, group buying, etc.) may limit our ability to raise user fees in
response to declines in profitability. In addition, we are spending in advance
of anticipated growth, which may also harm our profitability. In view of the
rapidly evolving nature of our business and our limited operating history, we
believe that period-to-period comparisons of our operating results are not
necessarily meaningful. You should not rely upon our historical results as
indications of our future performance.
Acquisitions could result in dilution, operating difficulties and other
harmful consequences
We have acquired a number of businesses, including our recent
acquisition of Half.com, and may in the future acquire businesses, technologies,
services or products that we believe are strategic. The process of integrating
any acquisition may create unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures
and is itself risky. The areas where we may face difficulties include:
- diversion of management time (at both companies) during the
period of negotiation through closing and further diversion of
such time after closing from focus on operating the businesses
to issues of integration and future products;
- decline in employee morale and retention issues resulting from
changes in compensation, reporting relationships, future
prospects, or the direction of the business;
- the need to integrate each company's accounting, management
information, human resource and other administrative systems to
permit effective management and the lack of control if such
integration is delayed or not implemented; and
- the need to implement controls, procedures and policies
appropriate for a larger public company at companies that prior
to acquisition had been smaller, private companies.
Prior to the four large acquisitions we made in 1999, we had almost no
experience in managing this integration process. Most of our acquisitions to
date have involved either family-run companies or very early stage companies,
which may worsen these integration issues. Moreover, the anticipated benefits of
any or all of these acquisitions may not be realized. Future acquisitions or
mergers could result in potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, the
incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities or amortization expenses related to
goodwill and other intangible assets, any of which could harm our business.
Future acquisitions or mergers may require us to obtain additional equity or
debt financing, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all. Even if
available, this financing may be dilutive.
Unauthorized break-ins or other assaults on our service could harm our
business
Our servers are vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic
break-ins and similar disruptions, which could lead to interruptions, delays,
loss of data or the inability to complete customer transactions. In addition,
unauthorized persons may improperly access our data. We have experienced an
26
<PAGE> 27
unauthorized break-in by a "hacker" who has stated that he can in the future
damage or change our system or take confidential information. We have also
experienced "denial of service" attacks on our system which made our website
unavailable for periods of time. These and other types of attacks could harm us.
Actions of this sort may be very expensive to remedy and could damage our
reputation and discourage new and existing users from using our service.
Our business may be harmed by the listing or sale by our users of illegal
items
The law relating to the liability of providers of online services for
the activities of their users on their service is currently unsettled. We are
aware that certain goods, such as firearms, other weapons, adult material,
tobacco products, alcohol and other goods that may be subject to regulation by
local, state or federal authorities, have been listed and traded on our service.
We may be unable to prevent the sale of unlawful goods, or the sale of goods in
an unlawful manner, by users of our service, and we may be subject to
allegations of civil or criminal liability for unlawful activities carried out
by users through our service. Several lawsuits based upon such allegations are
currently pending. See "Legal Proceedings." In order to reduce our exposure to
this liability, we have prohibited the listing of certain items and increased
the number of personnel reviewing questionable items. We may in the future
implement other protective measures that could require us to spend substantial
resources and/or to reduce revenues by discontinuing certain service offerings.
Any costs incurred as a result of liability or asserted liability relating to
the sale of unlawful goods or the unlawful sale of goods, could harm our
business. In addition, we have received significant and continuing media
attention relating to the listing or sale of unlawful goods on our website. This
negative publicity could damage our reputation and diminish the value of our
brand name. It also could make users reluctant to continue to use our services.
Our business may be harmed by the listing or sale by our users of pirated
items
We have received in the past, and we anticipate we will receive in the
future, communications alleging that certain items listed or sold through our
service by our users infringe third-party copyrights, trademarks and tradenames
or other intellectual property rights. Although we have actively sought to work
with the content community to eliminate infringing listings on our website, some
content owners have expressed the view that our efforts are insufficient. An
allegation of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights may
result in litigation against us. Any such litigation could be costly for us,
could result in increased costs of doing business through adverse judgment or
settlement, could require us to change our business practices in expensive ways,
or could otherwise harm our business. See "Legal Proceedings."
Our business may be harmed by fraudulent activities on our website
Our future success will depend largely upon sellers reliably delivering
and accurately representing their listed goods and buyers paying the agreed
purchase price. We have received in the past, and anticipate that we will
receive in the future, communications from users who did not receive the
purchase price or the goods that were to have been exchanged. In some cases
individuals have been arrested and convicted for fraudulent activities using our
website. While we can suspend the accounts of users who fail to fulfill their
delivery obligations to other users, we do not have the ability to require users
to make payments or deliver goods or otherwise make users whole other than
through our limited insurance program. Other than through this program, we do
not compensate users who believe they have been defrauded by other users. We
also periodically receive complaints from buyers as to the quality of the goods
purchased. Negative publicity generated as a result of fraudulent or deceptive
conduct by users of our service could damage our reputation and diminish the
value of our brand name. We expect to continue to receive requests from users
requesting reimbursement or threatening or commencing legal action against us if
no reimbursement is made. This sort of litigation could be costly for us, divert
management attention, result in increased costs of doing business, lead to
adverse judgments or could otherwise harm our business.
Government inquiries may lead to charges or penalties
On January 29, 1999, we received initial requests to produce certain records
and information to the federal government relating to an investigation of
possible illegal transactions in connection with our
27
<PAGE> 28
website. We were informed that the inquiry includes an examination of our
practices with respect to these transactions. We have provided further
information in connection with this ongoing inquiry. In order to protect the
investigation, the court has ordered that no further public disclosures be made
with respect to the matter.
On March 24, 2000, Butterfields received a grand jury subpoena from the
Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice requesting documents relating
to, among other things, changes in Butterfields' seller commissions and
buyer premiums and discussions, agreements or understandings with other
auction houses, in each case since 1992. We believe this request may be related
to a publicly reported criminal investigation of auction houses for price
fixing. We have provided the information requested in the subpoena.
Should these or any other investigations lead to civil or criminal
charges against us, we would likely be harmed by negative publicity, the costs
of litigation, the diversion of management time and other negative effects, even
if we ultimately prevail. Our business would certainly suffer if we were not to
prevail in any action like these. Even the process of providing records and
information can be expensive, time consuming and result in the diversion of
management attention.
A large number of transactions occur on our website. We believe that
government regulators have received a substantial number of consumer complaints
about us which, while small as a percentage of our total transactions, are large
in aggregate numbers. As a result, we have from time to time been contacted by
various federal, state and local regulatory agencies and been told that they
have questions with respect to the adequacy of the steps we take to protect our
users from fraud. We are likely to receive additional inquiries from regulatory
agencies in the future, which may lead to action against us. We have responded
to all inquiries from regulatory agencies by describing our current and planned
antifraud efforts. If one or more of these agencies is not satisfied with our
response to current or future inquiries, the resultant investigations and
potential fines or other penalties could harm our business.
We have provided information to the antitrust division of the Department
of Justice in connection with an inquiry into our conduct with respect to
"auction aggregators" including our licensing program and our lawsuit against
Bidder's Edge. Should the division decide to take action against us, we would
likely be harmed by negative publicity, the costs of the action, possible
private antitrust lawsuits, the diversion of management time and effort and
penalties we might suffer if we ultimately were not to prevail.
Some of our businesses are subject to regulation and others may be in the
future
Both Butterfields and Kruse are subject to regulation in some
jurisdictions governing the manner in which live auctions are conducted. Both
are required to obtain licensure in these jurisdictions with respect to their
business or to permit the sale of categories of items (e.g. wine, automobiles,
and real estate). These licenses generally must be renewed regularly and are
subject to revocation for violation of law, violation of the regulations
governing auctions in general or the sale of the particular item and other
events. If either company was unable to renew a license or had a license
revoked, its business would be harmed. In addition, changes to the regulations
or the licensure requirements could increase the complexity and the cost of
doing auctions, thereby harming us.
As our activities and the types of goods listed on our site expand,
state regulatory agencies may claim that we are subject to licensure in their
jurisdiction. These claims could result in costly litigation or could require us
to change our manner of doing business in ways that increase our costs or reduce
our revenues or force us to prohibit listings of certain items. We could also be
subject to fines or other penalties. Any of these outcomes could harm us.
Companies that handle payments, including our subsidiaries Billpoint and
Half.com, may be subject to additional regulation
28
<PAGE> 29
The Half.com business model involves the handling of payments by buyers
for the items listed by Half.com's sellers. Billpoint handles its customer funds
as a provider of Internet payment solutions. Businesses that handle consumers'
funds are subject to numerous regulations, including those related to banking,
credit cards, escrow, fair credit reporting and others. Billpoint is a new
business with a relatively novel approach to facilitating payments. It is not
yet known how regulatory agencies will treat Billpoint. The cost and complexity
of Billpoint's business may increase if certain regulations are deemed to apply
to its business. In addition to the need to comply with these regulations,
Billpoint's business is also subject to risks of fraud, the need to grow systems
and processes rapidly if its products are well received, a high level of
competition, including competitors who are currently not charging for their
product offerings and are offering significant promotional incentives, and the
need to coordinate systems and policies among itself, us and Wells Fargo Bank,
which is the provider of payment services. Similarly, Half.com may be subject to
certain regulations regarding payments and the cost and complexity of its
business may increase if these regulations are deemed to apply to its business.
We are subject to risks associated with information disseminated through
our service
The law relating to the liability of online services companies for
information carried on or disseminated through their services is currently
unsettled. Claims could be made against online services companies under both
United States and foreign law for defamation, libel, invasion of privacy,
negligence, copyright or trademark infringement, or other theories based on the
nature and content of the materials disseminated through their services. Several
private lawsuits seeking to impose liability upon us currently are pending. In
addition, federal, state and foreign legislation has been proposed that imposes
liability for or prohibits the transmission over the Internet of certain types
of information. Our service features a Feedback Forum, which includes
information from users regarding other users. Although all such feedback is
generated by users and not by us, it is possible that a claim of defamation or
other injury could be made against us for content posted in the Feedback Forum.
Claims like these become more likely and have a higher probability of success in
jurisdictions outside the U.S. If we become liable for information provided by
our users and carried on our service, we could be directly harmed and we may be
forced to implement new measures to reduce our exposure to this liability. This
may require us to expend substantial resources and/or to discontinue certain
service offerings, which would negatively affect our financial results. In
addition, the increased attention focused upon liability issues as a result of
these lawsuits and legislative proposals could harm our reputation or otherwise
impact the growth of our business. We carry liability insurance, but it may not
be adequate to compensate us if we become liable for information carried on or
through our service. Any costs incurred as a result of this liability or
asserted liability could harm our business.
We are subject to intellectual property and other litigation
On September 1, 1999, we were served with a lawsuit filed by Randall
Stoner, on behalf of the general public, in San Francisco Superior Court (No.
305666). The lawsuit alleges that we violated Section 17200 of the California
Business & Professions Code, a statute that relates to unfair competition, based
upon the listing of "bootleg" or "pirate" recordings by eBay's users, allegedly
in violation of California penal statutes relating to the sale of unauthorized
audio recordings. The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief,
restitution and legal fees. We filed a general demurrer which was sustained by
the court with leave to amend. The plaintiff filed an amended complaint.
Discovery has commenced. We believe we have meritorious defenses to this lawsuit
and intend to defend ourselves vigorously. However, even if successful, this
defense could be costly and, if eBay was to lose this lawsuit, our business
could be harmed.
On December 10, 1999, we sued Bidder's Edge, Inc in the United States
District Court for the Northern District of California alleging trespass, unfair
competition, violation of the computer fraud and abuse act, misappropriation,
false advertising, trademark dilution, injury to business reputation,
interference with prospective economic advantage, and unjust enrichment. On
February 7, 2000, Bidder's Edge denied these claims and counterclaimed against
us alleging that we violated the antitrust laws by monopolizing or attempting to
monopolize a market, we are competing unfairly, and that we interfered with
their contract with eBay magazine. Bidder's Edge is seeking treble damages, an
injunction and its fees and costs. Discovery in this case has commenced. A
motion for summary judgment on the antitrust counterclaim has
29
<PAGE> 30
been denied. On May 24, 2000, the court granted us a preliminary injunction
against the use by Bidder's Edge of robotic means to copy our site. Bidder's
Edge has appealed this ruling. We intend to prosecute our claims and defend
ourselves against Bidder's Edge's counterclaims vigorously. However, this
lawsuit will be costly and our business would be harmed if we were to lose.
On April 25, 2000 eBay was served with a lawsuit, Gentry et.al. v. eBay,
Inc. et.al, filed in Superior Court in San Diego, California. The lawsuit is
filed on behalf of a purported class of eBay users who purchased forged
autographed sports memorabilia on eBay. The lawsuit claims eBay was negligent in
permitting certain named (and other unnamed) defendants to sell allegedly forged
autographed sports memorabilia on eBay. In addition, the lawsuit claims eBay
violated section 17200 and a section of the California Civil Code which
prohibits "dealers" from selling sports memorabilia without a "Certificate of
Authenticity". The lawsuit seeks class action certification, compensatory
damages, a civil penalty of ten times actual damages, interest, costs and fees
and injunctive relief. Discovery in this case has commenced. We believe we have
meritorious defenses to this lawsuit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously.
However, even if successful, this defense could be costly. If we lose this
lawsuit, it would harm our business.
Other third parties have from time to time claimed and may claim in the
future that we have infringed their past, current or future technologies. We
expect that participants in our markets increasingly will be subject to
infringement claims as the number of services and competitors in our industry
segment grows. Any claim like this, whether meritorious or not, could be
time-consuming, result in costly litigation, cause service upgrade delays or
require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements. These royalty or
licensing agreements might not be available on acceptable terms or at all. As a
result, any claim like this could harm our business.
From time to time, eBay is involved in disputes which have arisen in the
ordinary course of business. Management believes that the ultimate resolution of
these disputes will not have a material adverse impact on eBay's financial
position or results of operations.
The inability to expand our systems may limit our growth
We seek to generate a high volume of traffic and transactions on our
service. The satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of our
website, processing systems and network infrastructure are critical to our
reputation and our ability to attract and retain large numbers of users. Our
revenues depend on the number of items listed by users, the volume of user
transactions that are successfully completed and the final prices paid for the
items listed. We need to expand and upgrade our technology, transaction
processing systems and network infrastructure both to meet increased traffic on
our site and to implement new features and functions, including those required
under our contracts with third parties. We may be unable to accurately project
the rate or timing of increases, if any, in the use of our service or to expand
and upgrade our systems and infrastructure to accommodate any increases in a
timely fashion.
We use internally developed systems to operate our service for
transaction processing, including billing and collections processing. We must
continually improve these systems in order to accommodate the level of use of
our website. In addition, we may add new features and functionality to our
services that would result in the need to develop or license additional
technologies. We capitalize hardware and software costs associated with this
development in accordance with company policy and include such amounts in
computer equipment and software. Internal expenses are often judged to have
useful lives of less than one year, or have been more appropriately classified
as maintenance related costs. As such, these costs are expensed as incurred. Our
inability to add additional software and hardware or to upgrade our technology,
transaction processing systems or network infrastructure to accommodate
increased traffic or transaction volume could have adverse consequences. These
consequences include unanticipated system disruptions, slower response times,
degradation in levels of customer support, impaired quality of the users'
experience on our service and delays in reporting accurate financial
information. Our failure to provide new features or functionality also could
result in these consequences. We may be unable to effectively upgrade and expand
our systems in a timely manner or to integrate smoothly any newly developed or
purchased technologies with our existing systems. These difficulties could harm
or limit our ability to expand our business.
30
<PAGE> 31
System failures could harm our business
We have experienced system failures from time to time. Our website has
been interrupted for periods of up to 22 hours. In addition to placing increased
burdens on our engineering staff, these outages create a flood of user questions
and complaints that must be responded to by our customer support personnel. Any
unscheduled interruption in our service results in an immediate loss of revenues
that can be substantial and may cause some users to switch to our competitors.
If we experience frequent or persistent system failures, our reputation and
brand could be permanently harmed. We have been taking steps to increase the
reliability and redundancy of our system. These steps are expensive, reduce our
margins and may not be successful in reducing the frequency or duration of
unscheduled downtime.
Substantially all of our computer hardware for operating our service
currently is located at the facilities of Exodus Communications, Inc. in Santa
Clara, California and AboveNet Communications in San Jose, California. These
systems and operations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from
earthquakes, floods, fires, power loss, telecommunication failures and similar
events. They are also subject to break-ins, sabotage, intentional acts of
vandalism and similar misconduct. We do not maintain fully redundant systems or
alternative providers of hosting services, and we do not carry business
interruption insurance sufficient to compensate us for losses that may occur.
Despite any precautions we may take, the occurrence of a natural disaster or
other unanticipated problems at either the Exodus or AboveNet facility could
result in interruptions in our services. In addition, the failure by Exodus or
AboveNet to provide our required data communications capacity could result in
interruptions in our service. Any damage to or failure of our systems could
result in interruptions in our service. Interruptions in our service will reduce
our revenues and profits, and our future revenues and profits will be harmed if
our users believe that our system is unreliable.
Our stock price has been and may continue to be extremely volatile
The trading price of our common stock has been and is likely to be
extremely volatile. Our stock price could be subject to wide fluctuations in
response to a variety of factors, including the following:
- actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating
results;
- unscheduled system downtime;
- additions or departures of key personnel;
- announcements of technological innovations or new services by us
or our competitors;
- changes in financial estimates by securities analysts;
- conditions or trends in the Internet and online commerce
industries;
- changes in the market valuations of other Internet or online
service companies;
- developments in Internet regulation;
- announcements by us or our competitors of significant
acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital
commitments;
- sales of our common stock or other securities in the open
market; and
- other events or factors that may be beyond our control.
31
<PAGE> 32
In addition, the trading price of Internet stocks in general, and ours
in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations in recent
months. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the
operating performance of these companies. The valuations of many Internet
stocks, including ours, are extraordinarily high based on conventional valuation
standards such as price-to-earnings and price to sales ratios. The trading price
of our common stock has increased enormously from the initial public offering
price. These trading prices and valuations may not be sustained. Any negative
change in the public's perception of the prospects of Internet or e-commerce
companies could depress our stock price regardless of our results. Other broad
market and industry factors may decrease the market price of our common stock,
regardless of our operating performance. Market fluctuations, as well as general
political and economic conditions, such as recession or interest rate or
currency rate fluctuations, also may decrease the market price of our common
stock. In the past, following declines in the market price of a company's
securities, securities class-action litigation often has been instituted.
Litigation of this type, if instituted, could result in substantial
costs and a diversion of management's attention and resources.
New and existing regulations could harm our business
We are subject to the same federal, state and local laws as other
companies conducting business on the Internet. Today there are relatively few
laws specifically directed towards online services. However, due to the
increasing popularity and use of the Internet and online services, many laws
relating to the Internet are being debated at the state and federal levels (both
in the U.S. and abroad) and it is possible that laws and regulations will be
adopted with respect to the Internet or online services. These laws and
regulations could cover issues such as online contracts, user privacy, freedom
of expression, pricing, fraud, content and quality of products and services,
taxation, advertising, intellectual property rights and information security.
Applicability to the Internet of existing laws governing issues such as property
ownership, copyrights and other intellectual property issues, taxation, libel,
obscenity and personal privacy is uncertain. The vast majority of these laws
were adopted prior to the advent of the Internet and related technologies and,
as a result, do not contemplate or address the unique issues of the Internet and
related technologies. Those laws that do reference the Internet, such as the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act, have not yet been interpreted to a significant
degree by the courts and their applicability and reach are therefore uncertain.
In addition, numerous states, including the State of California, where our
headquarters are located, have regulations regarding how "auctions" may be
conducted and the liability of "auctioneers" in conducting such auctions. No
final legal determination has been made with respect to the applicability of the
California regulations to our business to date and little precedent exists in
this area. Several states are considering imposing these regulations upon us or
our users, which could harm our business. In addition, as the nature of the
products listed by our users change, we may become subject to new regulatory
restrictions.
Several states have proposed legislation that would limit the uses of
personal user information gathered online or require online services to
establish privacy policies. The Federal Trade Commission also has recently
settled several proceedings regarding the manner in which personal information
is collected from users and provided to third parties. Changes to existing laws
or the passage of new laws intended to address these issues could directly
affect the way we do business or could create uncertainty in the marketplace.
This could reduce demand for our services, increase the cost of doing business
as a result of litigation costs or increased service delivery costs, or
otherwise harm our business. In addition, because our services are accessible
worldwide, and we facilitate sales of goods to users worldwide, foreign
jurisdictions may claim that we are required to comply with their laws. For
example, a French court has recently ruled that a U.S. website must comply with
French laws regarding content. As we have expanded our international activities,
we have become obligated to comply with the laws of the countries in which we
operate. Laws regulating Internet companies outside of the U.S. may be less
favorable then those in the U.S., giving greater rights to consumers, content
owners and users. Compliance may be more costly or may require us to change our
business practices or restrict our service offerings relative to those in the
United States. Our failure to comply with foreign laws could subject us to
penalties ranging from fines to bans on our ability to offer our services.
In the United States, companies are required to qualify as foreign
corporations in states where they are conducting business. As an Internet
company, it is unclear in which states we are actually conducting business. Our
failure to qualify as a foreign corporation in a jurisdiction where we are
required to do so
32
<PAGE> 33
could subject us to taxes and penalties for the failure to qualify and could
result in our inability to enforce contracts in those jurisdictions. Any new
legislation or regulation, or the application of laws or regulations from
jurisdictions whose laws do not currently apply to our business, could harm our
business.
Our business has been seasonal
Our results of operations historically have been somewhat seasonal in
nature because many of our users reduce their activities on our website during
the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and with the onset of good weather. We
have historically experienced our strongest quarter of online growth in Q1. Both
Butterfields and Kruse have significant quarter-to-quarter variations in their
results of operations depending on the timing of auctions and the availability
of high quality items from large collections and estates. Butterfields typically
has its best operating results in the traditional fall and spring auction
seasons and has historically incurred operating losses in the first and third
quarters. Kruse typically sees a seasonal peak in operations in the third
quarter. Seasonal or cyclical variations in our business may become more
pronounced over time and may harm our results of operations in the future.
We are dependent on the continued growth of online commerce
The business of selling goods over the Internet, particularly through
personal trading, is new and dynamic. Our future net revenues and profits will
be substantially dependent upon the widespread acceptance of the Internet and
online services as a medium for commerce by consumers. Rapid growth in the use
of and interest in the Internet and online services is a recent phenomenon. This
acceptance and use may not continue. Even if the Internet is accepted, concerns
about fraud, privacy and other problems may mean that a sufficiently broad base
of consumers will not adopt the Internet as a medium of commerce. In particular,
our website requires users to make publicly available their e-mail addresses and
other personal information that some potential users may be unwilling to
provide. These concerns may increase as additional publicity over privacy issues
on eBay or generally over the Internet increase. Market acceptance for recently
introduced services and products over the Internet is highly uncertain, and
there are few proven services and products. In order to expand our user base, we
must appeal to and acquire consumers who historically have used traditional
means of commerce to purchase goods. If these consumers prove to be less active
than our earlier users, and we are unable to gain efficiencies in our
operating costs, including our cost of acquiring new customers, our business
could be adversely impacted.
There are many risks associated with our international operations
We are expanding internationally. In 1999, we acquired alando, a leading
online German personal trading platform, and began operations in the United
Kingdom and, through a joint venture, in Australia. In the first quarter of
2000, we further expanded into Japan and formally launched our localized
Canadian operations. Expansion into international markets will require
management attention and resources. We have limited experience in localizing our
service to conform to local cultures, standards and policies. We may have to
compete with local companies who understand the local market better than we do.
We may not be successful in expanding into international markets or in
generating revenues from foreign operations. Even if we are successful, the
costs of operating internationally are expected to exceed our international net
revenues for at least 12 months in most countries. As we continue to expand
internationally, we are subject to risks of doing business internationally,
including the following:
- regulatory requirements, including regulation of "auctions,"
that may limit or prevent the offering of our services in local
jurisdictions;
- legal uncertainty regarding liability for the listings of our
users, including less Internet friendly basic law and unique
local laws;
- government-imposed limitations on the public's access to the
Internet;
- difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations;
33
<PAGE> 34
- longer payment cycles, different accounting practices and
problems in collecting accounts receivable;
- higher telecommunications and internet service provider costs;
- more stringent consumer protection laws;
- cultural nonacceptance of online trading;
- stronger local competitors;
- seasonal reductions in business activity; and
- potentially adverse tax consequences.
Some of these factors may cause our international costs to exceed our
domestic costs of doing business. To the extent we expand our international
operations and have additional portions of our international revenues
denominated in foreign currencies, we also could become subject to increased
difficulties in collecting accounts receivable and risks relating to foreign
currency exchange rate fluctuations.
Our business may be subject to sales and other taxes
We do not collect sales or other similar taxes on goods sold by users
through our service. One or more states may seek to impose sales tax collection
obligations on companies such as ours that engage in or facilitate online
commerce. Several proposals have been made at the state and local level that
would impose additional taxes on the sale of goods and services through the
Internet. These proposals, if adopted, could substantially impair the growth of
electronic commerce, and could diminish our opportunity to derive financial
benefit from our activities. In 1998, the U.S. federal government enacted
legislation prohibiting states or other local authorities from imposing new
taxes on Internet commerce for a period of three years. This tax moratorium will
last only for a limited period and does not prohibit states or the Internal
Revenue Service from collecting taxes on our income, if any, or from collecting
taxes that are due under existing tax rules. A successful assertion by one or
more states or any foreign country that we should collect sales or other taxes
on the exchange of merchandise on our system would harm our business.
We are dependent on key personnel
Our future performance will be substantially dependent on the continued
services of our senior management and other key personnel. Our future
performance also will depend on our ability to retain and motivate our other
officers and key employees. The loss of the services of any of our executive
officers or other key employees could harm our business. We do not have long-
term employment agreements with any of our key personnel, and we do not maintain
any "key person" life insurance policies. Our new businesses are all dependent
on attracting and retaining key employees. The land-based auction businesses are
particularly dependent on specialists and senior management because of the
relationships these individuals have established with sellers who consign
property for sale at auction. For example, Dean Kruse is particularly important
to Kruse. We have had some turnover of these types of personnel, and continued
losses could result in the loss of significant future business and would harm
us. Such personnel are in great demand by other online companies. In addition,
employee turnover frequently increases during the period following an
acquisition as employees evaluate possible changes in compensation, culture,
reporting relationships, and the direction of the business. Such increased
turnover could increase our costs and reduce our future revenues. Our future
success also will depend on our ability to attract, train, retain and motivate
highly skilled technical, managerial, marketing and customer support personnel.
Competition for these personnel is intense, especially for engineers and other
professionals and especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we may be unable
to successfully attract, integrate or retain sufficiently qualified personnel.
In making employment decisions, particularly in the Internet and high-technology
industries, job candidates
34
<PAGE> 35
often consider the value of the stock options they are to receive in connection
with their employment. Fluctuations in our stock price may make it more
difficult to retain and motivate employees whose stock option strike prices are
substantially above current market prices.
Our off-line auction businesses need to continue to acquire properties
The businesses of Butterfields and Kruse are both dependent on the
continued acquisition of high quality auction properties from sellers. Their
future success will depend in part on their ability to maintain an adequate
supply of high quality auction property, particularly fine and decorative arts
and collectibles and collectible automobiles, respectively. There is intense
competition for these pieces with other auction companies and dealers. In
addition, a small number of key senior management and specialists maintain the
relationships with the primary sources of auction property and the loss of any
of these individuals could harm the business of Butterfields and Kruse.
Our off-line auction businesses could suffer losses from price guarantees,
advances or rescissions of sales
In order to secure high quality auction properties from sellers,
Butterfields and Kruse may give a guaranteed minimum price or a cash advance to
a seller, based on the estimated value of the property. If the auction proceeds
are less than the amount guaranteed, or less than the amount advanced and the
seller does not repay the difference, the company involved will suffer a loss.
In addition, under certain circumstances a buyer who believes that an item
purchased at auction does not have good title, provenance or authenticity may
rescind the purchase. Under these circumstances, the company involved will lose
its commissions and fees on the sale even if the seller, in accordance with the
terms and conditions of sale, in turn accepts back the item and returns the
funds he or she received from the sale.
We acquired real property with some of our new businesses
In connection with the acquisitions of Kruse and Butterfields we
acquired real property including land, buildings and interests in partnerships
holding land and buildings. We have no experience in managing real property.
Ownership of this property subjects us to new risks, including:
- the possibility of environmental contamination and the costs
associated with fixing any environmental problems;
- adverse changes in the value of these properties, due to
interest rate changes, changes in the neighborhoods in which the
properties are located, or other factors;
- the possible need for structural improvements in order to comply
with zoning, seismic, disability act or other requirements; and
- possible disputes with tenants, partners or others.
Our market is intensely competitive
Online personal trading market is a new, rapidly evolving and intensely
competitive area. We expect competition to intensify in the future as the
barriers to entry are relatively low, and current and new competitors can launch
new sites at a nominal cost using commercially available software. Depending on
the category of product, eBay currently or potentially competes with a number of
companies serving particular categories of goods as well as those serving
broader ranges of goods. Broad-based competitors include the vast majority of
traditional department and general merchandise stores as well as emerging online
retailers. These include most prominently: Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, Sears,
Macy's, JC Penney, Montgomery Ward, Costco, Sam's Club as well as Amazon.com,
Buy.com, AOL.com, Yahoo! shopping and MSN.
35
<PAGE> 36
In addition, eBay faces competition from specialty retailers and
exchanges in each of its categories of products. For example:
Antiques: Christies, eHammer, Sotheby's / Sothebys.com,
Sothebys.amazon.com
Coins & Stamps: Collectors Universe, Heritage, Numismatists Online, US
Mint
Collectibles: Franklin Mint
Musical Instruments: Guitar Center, Harmony-Central.com, MARRS,
MusicHotBid.com
Sports Memorabilia: Beckett's, Collectors Universe
Toys, Bean Bag Plush: Amazon.com, eToys.com, KB Toys, Toys R Us
Premium Collectibles: Christies, DuPont Registry, Gavelnet, Greg Manning
Auctions, iCollector, Lycos / Skinner Auctions, Millionaire.com,
Phillips (LVMH), Sotheby's, Sothebys.amazon.com
Automotive (used cars): Auction Auto.com, Autobytel.com, AutoMallUSA,
AutoVantage.com, AutoWeb.com, Barrett-Jackson, CarOrder.com, CarPoint,
CarScene.com, eClassics.com, Edmunds, GreenLight.com, Hemmings,
Newspaper classifieds, Used car dealers
Books, Movies, Music: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Barnesandnoble.com,
BigStar, Blockbuster, BMG Columbia House, CDNow, DVD Express,
Spinner.com, Wherehouse, Alibris.com, Bookfinders.com
Clothing: Bluefly.com, Dockers.com, FashionMall.com, The Gap, J. Crew,
LandsEnd.com, The Limited, Lucy.com, Macys, The Men's Wearhouse, Ross,
3Dshopping.com
Computers & Consumer Electronics: Best Buy, Buy.com, Circuit City,
Compaq, CompUSA, Dell, Egghead, Fry's Electronics, Gateway, The Good
Guys, IBM, MicroWarehouse, The Sharper Image, Shopping.com,
ValueAmerica.com
Home & Garden: IKEA, Crate & Barrel, Furniture.com, Homepoint.com, Home
Depot, Living.com, Garden.com, Pottery Barn, Ethan Allen, Frontgate
Jewelry: Ashford.com, Mondera.com
Sporting Goods/Equipment: dsports.com, FogDog.com, Footlocker, Gear.com,
golfclubexchange, golftrader.com, MVP.com, PlanetOutdoors.com, Play It
Again Sports, REI, Sports Authority
Tool/Equipment/Hardware: Home Depot, HomeBase, Amazon.com, Ace Hardware,
OSH
Business-to-Business: Ariba, BidFreight.com, BizBuyer.com, bLiquid.com,
CloseOutNow.com, CommerceBid.com, Commerce One, Concur Technologies,
DoveBid, FreeMarkets, iMark, Oracle, PurchasePro.com, RicardoBiz.com,
Sabre, SurplusBin.com, UnionStreet.com, Ventro, VerticalNet
Additionally, we face competition from various online auction sites
including: Amazon.com, the Fairmarket Auction Network (an auction network
including Microsoft's MSN, Excite@Home, Dell Computer, ZD Net, Lycos and more
than 100 others), First Auction, Surplus Auction, uBid, Yahoo! Auctions and a
large number of other companies using an auction format for consumer-to-consumer
or business-to-consumer sales.
The principal competitive factors in our market include the following:
36
<PAGE> 37
- ability to attract buyers;
- volume of transactions and selection of goods;
- community cohesion and interaction;
- system reliability;
- customer service;
- reliability of delivery and payment by users;
- brand recognition;
- website convenience and accessibility;
- level of service fees; and
- quality of search tools.
Some current and potential competitors have longer company operating
histories, larger customer bases and greater brand recognition in other business
and Internet markets than we do. Some of these competitors also have
significantly greater financial, marketing, technical and other resources. Other
online trading services may be acquired by, receive investments from or enter
into other commercial relationships with larger, well-established and
well-financed companies. As a result, some of our competitors with other revenue
sources may be able to devote more resources to marketing and promotional
campaigns, adopt more aggressive pricing policies and devote substantially more
resources to website and systems development than we are able to. Increased
competition may result in reduced operating margins, loss of market share and
diminished value of our brand. Some of our competitors have offered services for
free, and others may do this as well. We may be unable to compete successfully
against current and future competitors.
In order to respond to changes in the competitive environment, we may,
from time to time, make pricing, service or marketing decisions or acquisitions
that could harm our business. For example, we implemented an insurance program
that generally insures items up to a value of $200, with a $25 deductible, for
users with a non-negative feedback rating at no cost to the user. New
technologies may increase the competitive pressures by enabling our competitors
to offer a lower cost service. Some Web-based applications that direct Internet
traffic to certain websites may channel users to trading services that compete
with us.
Although we have established Internet traffic arrangements with several
large online services and search engine companies, these arrangements may not be
renewed on commercially reasonable terms. Even if these arrangements are
renewed, they may not result in increased usage of our service. In addition,
companies that control access to transactions through network access or Web
browsers could promote our competitors or charge us substantial fees for
inclusion.
The offline auction business is intensely competitive. Butterfields
competes with two larger and better known auction companies, Sotheby's Holdings,
Inc. and Christie's International plc, as well as numerous regional auction
companies. To the extent that these companies increase their focus on the middle
market properties that form the core of Butterfields' business, its business may
suffer. Kruse is subject to competition from numerous regional competitors. In
addition, competition with Internet-based auctions may harm the land-based
auction business. Although Billpoint's business is new, several new companies
have entered this market, including competitors who are offering free services
and significant promotional incentives, and large companies, including banks and
credit card companies, are also beginning to enter this market.
37
<PAGE> 38
Our business is dependent on the development and maintenance of the Web
infrastructure
The success of our service will depend largely on the development and
maintenance of the Web infrastructure. This includes maintenance of a reliable
network backbone with the necessary speed, data capacity and security, as well
timely development of complementary products such as high-speed modems, for
providing reliable Web access and services. Because global commerce and the
online exchange of information is new and evolving, we cannot predict whether
the Web will prove to be a viable commercial marketplace in the long term. The
Web has experienced, and is likely to continue to experience, significant growth
in the numbers of users and amount of traffic. If the Web continues to
experience increased numbers of users, increased frequency of use or increased
bandwidth requirements, the Web infrastructure may be unable to support the
demands placed on it. In addition, the performance of the Web may be harmed by
increased users or bandwidth requirements.
The Web has experienced a variety of outages and other delays as a
result of damage to portions of its infrastructure, and it could face outages
and delays in the future. These outages and delays could reduce the level of Web
usage as well as the level of traffic and the processing transactions on our
service. In addition, the Web could lose its viability due to delays in the
development or adoption of new standards and protocols to handle increased
levels of activity or due to increased governmental regulation. The
infrastructure and complementary products or services necessary to make the Web
a viable commercial marketplace for the long term may not be developed
successfully or in a timely manner. Even if these products or services are
developed, the Web may not become a viable commercial marketplace for services
such as those that we offer.
Our business is subject to online commerce security risks
A significant barrier to online commerce and communications is the
secure transmission of confidential information over public networks. Our
security measures may not prevent security breaches. Our failure to prevent
security breaches could harm our business. Currently, a significant number of
our users authorize us to bill their credit card accounts directly for all
transaction fees charged by us. We rely on encryption and authentication
technology licensed from third parties to provide the security and
authentication technology to effect secure transmission of confidential
information, including customer credit card numbers. Advances in computer
capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography, or other
developments may result in a compromise or breach of the technology used by us
to protect customer transaction data. Any such compromise of our security could
harm our reputation and, therefore, our business. In addition, a party who is
able to circumvent our security measures could misappropriate proprietary
information or cause interruptions in our operations. An individual has claimed
to have misappropriated some of our confidential information by breaking into
our computer system. We may need to expend significant resources to protect
against security breaches or to address problems caused by breaches. Security
breaches could damage our reputation and expose us to a risk of loss or
litigation and possible liability. Our insurance policies carry low coverage
limits, which may not be adequate to reimburse us for losses caused by security
breaches.
We must keep pace with rapid technological change to remain competitive
The market in which we compete is characterized by rapidly changing
technology, evolving industry standards, frequent new service and product
introductions and enhancements and changing customer demands. These market
characteristics are worsened by the emerging and changing nature of the
Internet. Our future success therefore will depend on our ability to adapt to
rapidly changing technologies, to adapt our services to evolving industry
standards and to continually improve the performance, features and reliability
of our service. Our failure to adapt to such changes would harm our business. In
addition, the widespread adoption of new Internet, networking or
telecommunications technologies or other technological changes could require
substantial expenditures to modify or adapt our services or infrastructure.
38
<PAGE> 39
We need to develop new services, features and functions in order to expand
We plan to expand our operations by developing new or complementary
services, products or transaction formats or expanding the breadth and depth of
services. We may be unable to expand our operations in a cost-effective or
timely manner. Even if we do expand, we may not maintain or increase our overall
market acceptance. If we launch a new business or service that is not favorably
received by consumers, it could damage our reputation and diminish the value of
our brand. We anticipate that future services will include pre-and post-trade
services.
We are pursuing strategic relationships with third parties to provide
many of these services. By using third parties to deliver these services, we may
be unable to control the quality of these services and our ability to address
problems if any of these third parties fails to perform adequately will be
reduced. Expanding our operations in this manner also will require significant
additional expenses and development, operations and other resources and will
strain our management, financial and operational resources. The lack of market
acceptance of any new services could harm our business.
Our growth will depend on our ability to develop our brand
We believe that our historical growth has been largely attributable to
word of mouth. We have benefited from frequent and high visibility media
exposure both nationally and locally. We do not expect the frequency or quality
of this media exposure to continue. However, we believe that continuing to
strengthen our brand will be critical to achieving widespread acceptance of our
service. Promoting and positioning our brand will depend largely on the success
of our marketing efforts and our ability to provide high quality services. In
order to promote our brand, we will need to increase our marketing budget and
otherwise increase our financial commitment to creating and maintaining brand
loyalty among users. Brand promotion activities may not yield increased
revenues, and even if they do, any increased revenues may not offset the
expenses we incurred in building our brand. If we do attract new users to our
service, they may not conduct transactions over our service on a regular basis.
If we fail to promote and maintain our brand or incur substantial expenses in an
unsuccessful attempt to promote and maintain our brand, our business would be
harmed.
We may be unable to protect or enforce our own intellectual property rights
adequately
We regard the protection of our copyrights, service marks, trademarks,
trade dress and trade secrets as critical to our success. We rely on a
combination of patent, copyright, trademark, service mark and trade secret laws
and contractual restrictions to protect our proprietary rights in products and
services. We have entered into confidentiality and invention assignment
agreements with our employees and contractors, and nondisclosure agreements with
parties with whom we conduct business in order to limit access to and disclosure
of our proprietary information. These contractual arrangements and the other
steps taken by us to protect our intellectual property may not prevent
misappropriation of our technology or deter independent third-party development
of similar technologies. We pursue the registration of our trademarks and
service marks in the U.S. and internationally. Effective trademark, service
mark, copyright and trade secret protection is very expensive to maintain, and
protection may not be available in every country in which our services are made
available online. Furthermore, we must also protect our URL in an increasing
number of jurisdictions, a process which is expensive and may not be successful
in every location. We have licensed in the past, and expect to license in the
future, certain of our proprietary rights, such as trademarks or copyrighted
material, to third parties. These licensees may take actions that might diminish
the value of our proprietary rights or harm our reputation. We also rely on
certain technologies that we license from third parties, such as Oracle
Corporation, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems Inc., the suppliers of key database
technology, the operating system and specific hardware components for our
service. These third-party technology licenses may not continue to be available
to us on commercially reasonable terms. The loss of this technology could
require us to obtain substitute technology of lower quality or performance
standards or at greater cost.
Our business is subject to consumer trends and discretionary consumer
spending
39
<PAGE> 40
We derive most of our revenues from fees received from sellers for
listing products for sale on our service and fees received from successfully
completed transactions. Our future revenues will depend upon continued demand
for the types of goods that are listed by users of our service. The popularity
of certain categories of items, such as toys, dolls and memorabilia, among
consumers may vary over time due to perceived scarcity, subjective value, and
societal and consumer trends in general. A decline in the popularity of, or
demand for, certain collectibles or other items sold through our service could
reduce the overall volume of transactions on our service, resulting in reduced
revenues. In addition, consumer "fads" may temporarily inflate the volume of
certain types of items listed on our service, placing a significant strain upon
our infrastructure and transaction capacity. These trends also may cause
fluctuations in our operating results from one quarter to the next. Any decline
in demand for the goods offered through our service as a result of changes in
consumer trends could harm our business. A decline in consumer spending would
harm our land-based auction businesses. Sales of fine and decorative art,
collectable cars and other collectibles would be adversely affected by a decline
in discretionary consumer spending, especially for luxury items. Changes in
buyer's tastes, economic conditions or consumer trends could cause declines in
the number or dollar volume of items sold and thereby harm the business of these
companies.
Some anti-takeover provisions may affect the price of our common stock
The Board of Directors has the authority to issue up to 10,000,000
shares of preferred stock and to determine the preferences, rights and
privileges of those shares without any further vote or action by the
stockholders. The rights of the holders of common stock may be harmed by the
rights of the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued in the future.
Some provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could have the
effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of
our outstanding voting stock. These include provisions that provide for a
classified Board of Directors, prohibit stockholders from taking action by
written consent and restrict the ability of stockholders to call special
meetings. We are also subject to provisions of Delaware law that prohibit us
from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a
period of three years from the date the person became an interested stockholder,
unless certain conditions are met. This could have the effect of delaying or
preventing a change of control.
We are controlled by certain stockholders, executive officers and directors
Our executive officers and directors (and their affiliates) own a
majority of our outstanding common stock. As a result, they have the ability to
control our company and direct our affairs and business, including the election
of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This
concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, deferring or
preventing a change in control of our company and may make some transactions
more difficult or impossible without the support of these stockholders. Any of
these events could decrease the market price of our common stock.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEM 3: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTEREST RATE RISK
The primary objective of eBay's investment activities is to preserve
principal while at the same time maximizing yields without significantly
increasing risk. To achieve this objective, we maintain our portfolio of cash
equivalents, short-term and long-term investments in a variety of securities,
including both government and corporate obligations and money market funds.
These securities are generally classified as available for sale and consequently
are recorded on the balance sheet at fair value with unrealized gains or losses
reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income, net
of tax.
Investments in both fixed rate and floating rate interest earning
instruments carries a degree of interest rate risk. Fixed rate securities may
have their fair market value adversely impacted due to a rise in interest rates,
while floating rate securities may produce less income than expected if interest
rates fall. Due in part to these factors, our investment income may fall short
of expectations due to changes in interest
40
<PAGE> 41
rates or we may suffer losses in principal if forced to sell securities which
have declined in market value due to changes in interest rates. At June 30,
2000, our investment instruments earned a pretax yield of approximately 6.3% and
had a weighted average maturity of 1.0 years. Thus, if interest rates were to
drop by 0.6% we may experience a 10% reduction in interest income. If yields
were to move up by 100 basis points, the market value of our securities could
drop by approximately $7.5 million.
On June 19, 2000, eBay entered into an interest rate swap agreement to
reduce the impact of changes in interest rates on the floating rate operating
lease for our facilities. The swap agreement effectively changes our interest
rate exposure on our operating lease from the spread over the three month LIBOR
to a fixed rate of 7.10%. The notional amount of the interest rate swap was $45
million whereas the total amount of the operating lease was $126.4 million. The
differential to be paid or received under the swap agreement will be recognized
as an adjustment to other comprehensive income on the balance sheet.
EQUITY PRICE RISK
We are exposed to equity price risk on the marketable portion of equity
investments as such investments are subject to considerable market risk due to
their volatility. eBay typically does not attempt to reduce or eliminate its
market exposure in these equity investments. As of June 30, 2000, the position
in equity investments included unrealized gains of $3.9 million.
FOREIGN CURRENCY RISK
International sales are made mostly from eBay's foreign sales in the
respective countries by our foreign subsidiaries and are typically denominated
in the local currency of each country. These subsidiaries also incur most of
their expenses in the local currency. Accordingly, all foreign subsidiaries use
the local currency as their functional currency. Our international business is
subject to risks typical of an international business, including, but not
limited to differing economic conditions, changes in political climate,
differing tax structures, other regulations and restrictions, and foreign
exchange rate volatility. Accordingly, our future results could be materially
adversely impacted by changes in these or other factors. These intercompany
accounts are typically denominated in the functional currency of the foreign
subsidiary in order to centralize foreign exchange risk with the parent company
in the United States. eBay is also exposed to foreign exchange rate fluctuations
as the financial results of foreign subsidiaries are translated into U.S.
dollars in consolidation. As exchange rates vary, these results, when
translated, may vary from expectations and adversely impact overall expected
profitability. The effect of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on eBay as of
June 30, 2000 was a loss of approximately $498,000.
PART II: OTHER INFORMATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On September 1, 1999, eBay was served with a lawsuit filed by Randall
Stoner, on behalf of the general public, in San Francisco Superior Court (No.
305666). The lawsuit alleges that we violated Section 17200 of the California
Business & Professions Code, a statute that relates to unfair competition, based
upon the listing of "bootleg" or "pirate" recordings by eBay's users, allegedly
in violation of California penal statutes relating to the sale of unauthorized
audio recordings. The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief,
restitution and legal fees. We filed a general demurrer which was sustained by
the court with leave to amend. The plaintiff filed an amended complaint.
Discovery has commenced. We believe we have meritorious defenses to this lawsuit
and intend to defend ourselves vigorously. However, even if successful, this
defense could be costly and, if eBay was to lose this lawsuit, our business
could be harmed.
41
<PAGE> 42
On December 10, 1999, we sued Bidder's Edge, Inc. in the United States
District Court for the Northern District of California alleging trespass, unfair
competition, violation of the computer fraud and abuse act, misappropriation,
false advertising, trademark dilution, injury to business reputation,
interference with prospective economic advantage, and unjust enrichment. On
February 7, 2000, Bidder's Edge denied these claims and counterclaimed against
us alleging that we violated the antitrust laws by monopolizing or attempting to
monopolize a market, we are competing unfairly, and that we interfered with
their contract with eBay magazine. Bidder's Edge is seeking treble damages, an
injunction and its fees and costs. Discovery in this case has commenced. A
motion for summary judgment on the antitrust counterclaim has been denied. On
May 24, 2000, the court granted us a preliminary injunction against the use by
Bidder's Edge of robotic means to copy our site. Bidder's Edge has appealed this
decision to the Ninth Circuit. We intend to prosecute our claims and defend
ourselves against Bidder's Edge's counterclaims vigorously. However, this
lawsuit will be costly and our business would be harmed if we were to lose.
On April 25, 2000 eBay was served with a lawsuit, Gentry et.al. v. eBay,
Inc. et.al, filed in Superior Court in San Diego, California. The lawsuit is
filed on behalf of a purported class of eBay users who purchased forged
autographed sports memorabilia on eBay. The lawsuit claims eBay was negligent in
permitting certain named (and other unnamed) defendants to sell allegedly forged
autographed sports memorabilia on eBay. In addition, the lawsuit claims eBay
violated section 17200 and a section of the California Civil Code which
prohibits "dealers" from selling sports memorabilia without a "Certificate of
Authenticity". The lawsuit seeks class action certification, compensatory
damages, a civil penalty of ten times actual damages, interest, costs and fees
and injunctive relief. Discovery in this case has commenced. We believe we have
meritorious defenses to this lawsuit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously.
However, even if successful, this defense could be costly. If we lose this
lawsuit, it would harm our business.
Other third parties have from time to time claimed and may claim in the
future that we have infringed their past, current or future technologies. We
expect that participants in our markets increasingly will be subject to
infringement claims as the number of services and competitors in our industry
segment grows. Any claim like this, whether meritorious or not, could be
time-consuming, result in costly litigation, cause service upgrade delays or
require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements. These royalty or
licensing agreements might not be available on acceptable terms or at all. As a
result, any claim like this could harm our business.
From time to time, eBay is involved in disputes which have arisen in the
ordinary course of business. Management believes that the ultimate resolution of
these disputes will not have a material adverse impact on eBay's financial
position or results of operations.
ITEM 2. CHANGES IN SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
Not applicable.
ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
Not applicable.
42
<PAGE> 43
ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
eBay held its Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 23, 2000. The
following is a brief description of each matter voted upon at the meeting and
the number of votes cast for, withheld, or against and the number of abstentions
with respect to each matter. The three directors proposed by eBay for
re-election were elected to new, three year terms by the following vote:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
DIRECTOR NAME DIRECTOR SHARES VOTED FOR SHARES WITHHELD AUTHORITY
------------- ------------------------- -------------------------
<S> <C> <C>
Dawn G. Lepore 120,606,176 70,984
Pierre M. Omidyar 120,617,206 59,954
Howard P. Schultz 120,614,139 63,021
</TABLE>
The stockholders approved the Company's 1999 Global Equity Incentive
Plan: Shares voted for: 105,651,341; Shares voted against: 14,873,226; Shares
abstaining: 152,593.
The stockholders approved the appointment of the auditors: Shares voted
for: 120,528,275 Shares voted against: 129,509; Shares abstaining: 19,376.
ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION
Not applicable.
ITEM 6. EXHIBITS AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K
(a) The following exhibits are filed as part of this report:
27.01 Financial Data Schedule (EDGAR version only)
(b) Reports on Form 8-K.
On May 25, 2000, eBay filed a report on Form 8-K, announcing a
two-for-one stock split declared by the Board of Directors on April
19, 2000. The record date for the stock split was May 9, 2000, and
the payment date was May 24, 2000.
43
<PAGE> 44
SIGNATURES
In accordance with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act, the
Registrant has caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized.
eBay Inc.
Date: August 9, 2000
By: /s/ MARGARET C. WHITMAN
--------------------------------------
Margaret C. Whitman
President and Chief Executive Officer
By: /s/ GARY F. BENGIER
--------------------------------------
Gary F. Bengier
Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
44
<PAGE> 45
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
27.01 FINANCIAL DATA SCHEDULE
