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eBay battled tech giants like Amazon and Meta for years. Now it’s getting a lift from Facebook’s Marketplace.

Meta and eBay have a new partnership, after the OG marketplace proved it’s still got it in 2024.

1/10/25 8:18AM

This week, internet royalty old (eBay) and new (Meta) joined forces, with the companies announcing a partnership that will see eBay listings tested on Facebook’s Marketplace platform.

Given the size difference here — Meta’s market cap is nearly 50x eBay’s — the deal was seen as something of a coup for eBay, allowing it to tap into Marketplace’s billion-plus monthly visitors, sending its stock up 10% on Wednesday to its highest point in over three years. That builds on a great 2024 for the OG e-commerce company, when its stock gained 42%.

You might be asking: what’s in it for Meta?

The answer, it seems, is that the deal may help Meta battle a bevy of anti-competitive accusations. Last November, the European Commission fined Meta $821 million for tying Marketplace to its core Facebook app, per CNBC.

Back to basics

In a market now ruled by giants like Amazon, eBay, the 29-year-old e-commerce pioneer, is in a curious position. At the turn of the century, the company was soaring, but as people realized selling stuff on the internet wasn’t always a scam, competition emerged in almost every category. eBay once veered into Amazon’s lane, focusing on brand-new, fixed-price items — an experiment that eventually fizzled as Amazon’s sprawling warehouses and lightning-fast delivery proved unbeatable.

That’s why four years ago, eBay stopped trying to out-Amazon Amazon, returning to its roots as a marketplace for used (and rare) goods and focusing once again on “recommerce” (pre-owned, refurbished goods and collectibles), which has proved successful so far.

Now, thanks to some of its tech rivals getting too big, eBay has a chance to piggyback on their platforms — and Wall Street is loving it.

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eBay stock slumps on gloomy Q4 outlook despite solid Q3 earnings

Shares of eBay fell as much as 10.5% in premarket trading on Thursday morning after the company gave a lower-than-expected profit forecast for the important holiday shopping season.

The e-commerce giant reported solid numbers for the third quarter on Wednesday, with revenue up 9% as reported to $2.8 billion and gross merchandise volume rising 10% to $20.1 billion, topping the average analyst forecast of $19.4 billion, per Bloomberg.

However, concerns about the future somewhat overshadowed these results.

eBay outlined its profit outlook for the period ending in December to $1.31 to $1.36 a share, with revenue at $2.83 billion to $2.89 billion. According to Bloomberg-compiled data, this broadly matches Wall Street’s estimates for the top line, but misses on the bottom line, with analysts forecasting EPS to come in at $1.39 — suggesting the company expects some further margin pressure.

The company has been facing macroeconomic challenges since the US ended the de minimis tariff exemption in late August, with the online marketplace reliant on shipments. One small silver lining? CFO Peggy Alford highlighted a “less durable trend” on a post-earnings call: that as commodity prices for precious metals boomed, demand for bullion and collectible coins on eBay spiked.