Shares in the online auction house eBay slipped 12% in late trading, following the announcement of their 4th quarter profits. The profits had risen by 44% compared to the previous year, from $142m to $205.4m, but Wall Street had expected more.
Helped by growth at its PayPal payment service net revenue rose to $935.8m from $648.4m for the same quarter. "I think Wall Street has gotten a bit ahead of eBay this quarter and for the 2005 year," said Martin Pyykkonen, analyst at Janco Partners.
EBay president and chief executive Meg Whitman said that 2004 had been an "outstanding success" that generated "tremendous momentum" for 2005. A revenue of $4.2bn to $4.35bn has been forecast by the company for 2005.
