Overview
eBay Inc. is a global e-commerce company founded in San Jose, California, in 1995. Its principal business is a marketplace that connects buyers and sellers, giving sellers access to a worldwide customer base and buyers access to inventory across categories such as vehicle parts, collectibles, refurbished goods, apparel and luxury goods. It earns revenue primarily from transaction fees, advertising and shipping services.[1][2][3]
eBay describes its purpose as connecting people and building communities to create economic opportunity for all. Its platforms serve buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets, with the United States its largest revenue market. In 2025, eBay reported $11.1 billion in net revenue and approximately 12,300 employees worldwide.[1][4][5][6] [1][2][3][7][8][4][5][6]
Products & services
eBay’s marketplace offers listings across categories including motor-vehicle parts and accessories, collectibles, refurbished goods, apparel, luxury goods and sneakers. Category-specific services include vehicle-fitment data to help buyers select compatible parts, professional installation where available, and free returns on qualifying parts purchases. eBay Refurbished offers products from verified brands and top-rated sellers with standardized condition grading and warranty coverage; Authenticity Guarantee authenticates eligible luxury, collectible and high-value items. eBay Live provides interactive live-shopping experiences.[9][10][11]
For sellers, eBay provides listing, shipping, payment and advertising services. Its AI-assisted listing tools can prefill item details, generate titles and descriptions, and, in some cases, recognize product images. Shipping programs address delivery transparency and cross-border transactions, while payment options supported through partners include cards, digital wallets and buy-now-pay-later services. Sellers can pay to promote listings through sponsored ads on or off eBay; the company also sells third-party advertising.[12][13][14][15]
In 2025, marketplace revenue—including transaction fees, store subscriptions and shipping fees—was $9.107 billion, approximately 82% of net revenue. Advertising revenue was $1.993 billion, approximately 18%. eBay does not separately report revenue for individual product categories or programs.[16][17] [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][17][17]
Geographic presence
eBay is headquartered in San Jose, California, and its marketplaces connect buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets. In 2025, 51% of the value of goods transacted on its platforms was generated outside the United States.[18][1][19]
In 2025, eBay reported net revenue of $11.1 billion: $5.789 billion from the United States (52.2%), $1.565 billion from the United Kingdom (14.1%), $1.253 billion from China (11.3%), $978 million from Germany (8.8%), and $1.515 billion from the rest of the world (13.6%). The company attributes revenue geographically primarily according to customer location.[7][20]
Its U.S. and international properties support offices, data centers, product development and customer service. eBay owns or leases properties in the United States and 23 other countries; of its approximately 2.7 million square feet of property, 1.8 million square feet is in the United States and 0.9 million square feet is elsewhere. Its owned data centers are in Utah.[21][22] [18][1][19][7][7][7][7][7][7][20][21][22]
Business segments
eBay reports one operating segment rather than separate business segments. It covers the marketplace at eBay.com and localized sites, off-platform marketplaces, and mobile apps. The company does not give this segment a distinct official name; “Marketplace” is a revenue category, not a second reportable segment.[23]
Within that segment, Marketplace revenue comes primarily from transaction-related fees, store subscriptions and shipping fees. It accounted for approximately 82% of 2025 net revenue. Advertising, primarily fees to promote sellers’ listings and third-party advertising fees, accounted for approximately 18%. These are revenue categories, not operating segments.[24][15][6]
Geographically, approximately 52% of 2025 net revenue came from the United States, 14% from the United Kingdom, 11% from China, 9% from Germany and 14% from other countries. These are geographic revenue disclosures, not separately reported segments.[20][6] [23][24][15][25][25][25][20][7][7][7][7][7][7][6]
Company history
Pierre Omidyar launched the online auction site AuctionWeb in 1995. It was renamed eBay in 1997, and eBay went public in 1998. Meg Whitman joined as chief executive that year; the company began expanding internationally, including into Germany in 1999.[26][27][28][29]
Acquisitions broadened eBay beyond its original marketplace. It bought the payments company PayPal in 2002, the internet-calling company Skype in 2005 and the ticket marketplace StubHub in 2007. John Donahoe succeeded Whitman as chief executive in 2008. eBay sold a majority stake in Skype in 2009, then separated PayPal into an independent public company in 2015.[30][31][32][28][33][34]
Devin Wenig led eBay after the PayPal separation. The company sold StubHub in 2020 and transferred its Classifieds business to Adevinta in 2021. Jamie Iannone became chief executive in 2020.[35][36][37][38] [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]
Sources
- EBAY INC — Full financial report (2025 Y)
- www.ebayinc.com[5]
- www.sec.gov[6]
- www.ebayinc.com[26]
- investors.ebayinc.com[27]
- investors.ebayinc.com[28]
- www.internetnews.com[29]
- www.sec.gov[30]
- www.sec.gov[31]
- www.ftc.gov[32]
- investors.ebayinc.com[33]
- investors.ebayinc.com[34]
- investors.ebayinc.com[35]
- investors.ebayinc.com[36]
- investors.ebayinc.com[37]
- investors.ebayinc.com[38]
Continue your research
From company context to financial detail.
Explore original sources and worldwide fundamental financial data and intelligence with Finbar.
Explore EBAY INC in Finbar ↗