Shares of eBay Inc. fell Thursday after the San Jose company delivered a first-quarter earnings forecast below analysts' estimates said the value of goods sold on its Web site had declined.
The company said it was hurt by the global e-commerce slowdown, which offset efforts by its chief executive, John Donahoe, efforts to raise sales by overhauling listing fees and bolstering its PayPal Inc.
"When you look at the volume of trade that went through eBay, we held our own against the market," Mr. Donahoe said in an interview Wednesday, after the company released its fourth-quarter earnings report. "We didn't gain ground, but we didn't lose any."
Fourth-quarter payment revenue rose 11% from a year earlier, to $623 million, as more companies and customers opted to use PayPal. Active registered accounts climbed 23%, to 70 million.
However, the parent company's total revenue fell 6.6%, to $2.04 billion. Net income fell 31%, to $367.1 million.
Excluding some special items, eBay earned 41 cents a share, beating the average estimate of 24 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg by 2 cents.
However, the company predicted first-quarter earnings of 32 to 34 cents a share. The average estimate of 17 analysts calls for earnings of 39 cents.
By midmorning Thursday, eBay shares had dropped 12.27% from Wednesday's close, to $11.65.
