For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. Not only can it impact your investment portfolio, but it can also help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.
Another factor that can influence investors is FOMO, or the fear of missing out, especially with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in eBay (EBAY) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to EBAY for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
eBay's Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at eBay's main business drivers.
eBay operates an online shopping platform which provides sellers the tools to build online store formats, making it easier for customers to browse by brands.
Over the years, the company has evolved from a relatively small community user-based auction site to a worldwide commercial behemoth store.
The company is well positioned in the online marketplace space. Since the separation from PayPal in 2015, its marketplace business continues to be the key growth driver for eBay.
eBay’s structured data initiatives to better understand, organize and leverage inventory on its site for delivering more personalized user experiences continues to drive gross merchandise volume (GMV) growth.
In addition to the marketplace business, the company’s advertising business has been doing well. Its focus on growing promoted listing fees (as part of the first-party advertising business) should continue to expand the company’s growth.
Total net revenues were $10.2 billion in 2024. The company's operating region comprises the United States and international regions, which include the U.K., China, Germany and Rest of the World.
In 2024, the company generated $5.2 billion in revenues from the United States (51% of net revenues), which were up 3.2% from 2023. International regions generated $5.04 billion in revenues in 2024 (49% of net revenues). More precisely, eBay generated $1.5 billion, $1.16 billion, $972 million and $1.39 billion of revenues from the U.K., China, Germany and Rest of the World, respectively.
Bottom Line
Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of a few things: research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in eBay a decade ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.
A $1000 investment made in October 2015 would be worth $3,451.70, or a gain of 245.17%, as of October 27, 2025, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.
Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 227.29% and gold's return of 238.04% over the same time frame.
Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for EBAY.
eBay is strongly positioned to capture growth in e-commerce, supported by its global marketplace that connects millions of buyers and sellers across diverse categories. Its focus on enhancing marketplace experiences through AI-driven tools, managed payments, and buyer protections like the Money Back Guarantee strengthens user trust and engagement. Mobile commerce adoption, a unified app experience, and expansion in collectibles, including the eBay vault and TCGplayer acquisition, add to long-term opportunities. Strong advertising momentum and personalized seller solutions further drive GMV. However, eBay faces intense competition from Amazon, Alibaba, Etsy, and Facebook, pressuring market share. Dependence on Google for traffic adds risk, while a leveraged balance sheet and rising expenses create concerns around financial flexibility.
The stock has jumped 6.65% over the past four weeks. Additionally, no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 2 higher, for fiscal 2025; the consensus estimate has moved up as well.
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eBay Inc. (EBAY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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